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ColorStack
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Genre
FoundedMay 2020; 6 years ago (2020-05) in Cornell University
FounderJehron Petty
Headquarters
Freeport, New York, U.S.
Number of locations
95 (2026)
Area served
  • Canada
  • United States
Services
Members5,873 (2026)
Number of employees
987 (2026)
Websitecolorstack.org

ColorStack is a nonprofit student organization which offers academic advising and career development opportunities for computer science majors in the United States and Canada. The nonprofit is specifically designed for students from minority backgrounds as a means to improve diversity in computing.

The nonprofit was founded by Cornell University alumnus Jehron Petty in May 2020, after perceiving that his own success in the computer science field was an "anomaly in the ecosystem". Through largely mentorship-based operations, the nonprofit hosts multiple in-person and virtual support programs and events. The goal of these events in often for its members to obtain scholarships and internships. In February 2026 for the 2025–26 school year, the nonprofit had 95 chapters and 5,873 members at universities across 27 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and Alberta, Canada. Stated goals of the nonprofit were to increase brand recognition to be on-par with similar organizations like National Society of Black Engineers and Black Girls Code.

Activities

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ColorStack is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.[1] Its stated purpose is to build connections between minorities majoring in computer science, providing academic advising and career development opportunities as a means of doing so.[2] To accomplish this, the nonprofit organizes a number of programs and events,[2] including an annual three-day conference called "Stacked Up Summit".[3] The summit in particular has featured engineers from companies including Duolingo and Netflix, and offered opportunities for underclassmen to talk to recruiters.[4] Virtual events within and between chapters including hackathons have also been organized by the nonprofit or local chapters.[5][6] The nonprofit also hosts a community on the team communication platform Slack, where members can collaborate on coding and other personal interests.[2][5]

Aside from large annual events, smaller events organized and hosted by local chapters make up the majority of club meetings. These vary, but often focus around themes of technical and professional development or social.[6] Technical and professional development events have included learning technical skills, taking professional photos, networking, resume building, practice interviews, and attending conferences and speaker events with field professionals.[5][6][7] For some chapters' speaker events, recruiters or employees from large companies have been invited to give talks.[4][8] Many of these events are mentorship-focused,[9] with their end goal being to have members obtain scholarships and internships.[7][5] Social events vary by chapter as well, but often focus on relieving occupational burnout through less technical events like arts and crafts.[6] At Binghamton University, a "Sip and Apply" event takes place where members eat foreign cuisines while applying to internships,[7] and at Columbia University and Virginia Tech, pizza dinners are held to help members socialize and discuss the field.[10][11]

History

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The nonprofit was founded by Jehron Petty, a student at Cornell University majoring in computer science in the class of 2020.[2] After working internships for Two Sigma and Google as a software engineer and product manager respectively,[1] Petty reportedly realized he was an "anomaly in the ecosystem".[2] The few other African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students studying with him were not performing as well, which he credited to a lack of proper support.[2] While still a student, Petty was co-president of the club Underrepresented Minorities in Computing at Cornell (URMC), where he helped increase club membership and became inspired by the impact it had on the problem.[12] Taking principles from this club, namely the focus on mentorship and inspiring and supporting minority students in computer science, Petty formed an early version of ColorStack.[2][12] With help and advice from Makinde Adeagbo, founder of the similar organization /dev/color, Petty made the club national and a nonprofit.[12] Petty launched ColorStack as its own organization shortly after graduating in May 2020, fundraising nearly US$500,000.[1][2] In August 2020, the nonprofit partnered with the technical recruiting platform Triplebyte, which agreed to incubate the nonprofit and provide its operational funding for at least two years.[2][9] Around this time, the nonprofit had 600 students across its chapters.[9] After one year, the nonprofit had grown to 1,000 students, and had raised over a million dollars from corporate sponsors and other investors.[2] The nonprofit had also grown to be managed by four full-time employees and one intern.[2] Further growth came after restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted, which had prevented some chapters from beginning operations.[12] In 2021, ColorStack gained Microsoft and Netflix as sponsors for one of their "Stacked Up Summit" events.[3] Between September 2025[13] and February 2026, the nonprofit opened its first chapter outside of the U.S. in Alberta, Canada.[14]

According to a March 2026 report, the nonprofit is now based out of Freeport, New York, and has 987 employees.[15] Some goals stated by Petty for the future of the nonprofit were to increase brand recognition to be on-par with similar organizations like National Society of Black Engineers and Black Girls Code, which he hoped to accomplish through increased marketing and operational support.[2]

Locations

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A multicolored map of chapter locations by state in the United States
  States with chapters present
  States with chapters coming soon or unofficial
  States with only inactive or former chapters

For a new chapter to be opened, a minimum number of students are needed to show interest in joining.[16] As of February 2026, the nonprofit has chapters across the United States and Canada, with 95 chapters and 5,873 members at universities across 27 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and Alberta, Canada.[14] Some universities with chapters include the University of Miami in Florida,[17] Kennesaw State University in Georgia,[18] Northwestern University in Illinois,[5] Bard College[16] and Columbia University in New York,[11] Lehigh University in Pennsylvania,[4] and Virginia Tech in Virginia.[10]

Reception to the nonprofit at these schools have been overall positive. The Director of Undergraduate Programs at Virginia Tech, Paige Johnson, remarked the nonprofit was the first they had seen to bring similar organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers together under a centralized group.[10] The nonprofit's chapter president at Binghamton University, Julian Ortiz, remarked the nonprofit gave an outlet and resources to students who largely came from backgrounds without them.[7] In May 2026, the Binghamton University chapter won the school's award for best "Multicultural Pre-Professional Organization", presented by their Multicultural Resource Center.[19]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Meet The 2021 Fellows". Blavity.org. 2021. Archived from the original on September 12, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Graham, Michelai (July 15, 2021). "Jehron Petty's Nonprofit Inspires BIPOC Computer Science Students". Lifewire. Archived from the original on February 14, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  3. 1 2 wpengine (September 20, 2021). "Startup Cornell Podcast Spotlights Jehron Petty". Cornell University. Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Qi, Atsuka (September 24, 2025). "Color Stack launches at Lehigh to support Black and Latinx students in tech". The Brown and White. Archived from the original on April 22, 2026. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Mella, Janelle (November 22, 2024). "ColorStack supports Black and Latinx computer science students through mentorship and professional connections". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Scullin, Grace (March 8, 2026). "ColorStack provides computer science students with community and competitive edge". Pipe Dream. Archived from the original on March 10, 2026. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Robbins, Hadley (January 15, 2024). "ColorStack aims to help Black and Latinx computer science students launch careers". BingUNews. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  8. ↑ Terrell, Gino; Brobakke, Emma (May 29, 2026). "Microsoft Leader Returns to Mentor Tech-Minded Tommies". University of St. Thomas. Archived from the original on September 9, 2026. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Dickey, Megan Rose (August 12, 2020). "Triplebyte incubates ColorStack to increase Black and Latinx representation in CS programs". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Moxley, Tonia (February 12, 2025). "Nakyah Vaughan emerges as a first generation superhero". Virginia Tech. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "How Do You Break Into the Tech Industry?". Columbia News. January 23, 2026. Archived from the original on September 6, 2026. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Provost, Kaitlin (November 23, 2020). "Cornellian addresses underrepresentation in computer science". Cornell University. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  13. ↑ "ColorStack Chapters - Updated 9/26/25". Notion. ColorStack. September 26, 2025. Archived from the original on October 6, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  14. 1 2 "ColorStack Chapters - Updated 02/04/26". Notion. ColorStack. February 4, 2026. Archived from the original on September 6, 2026. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ "How many employees work at ColorStack?". Revelio Labs. August 2026. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Bard Students Establish a ColorStack Chapter to Support Computer Science Students". Bard News. March 3, 2026. Archived from the original on March 12, 2026. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  17. ↑ Collazo, Gaby (March 19, 2026). "ColorStack builds its own community at UM". The Miami Hurricane. Archived from the original on August 16, 2026. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  18. ↑ Gates, Ashlynn (February 12, 2025). "16 Clubs and Organizations for Black Students". Kennesaw State University. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  19. ↑ Mousseau, Kim (May 7, 2026). "Binghamton honors student diversity and achievement at Commencement ceremonies". BingUNews. Archived from the original on September 6, 2026. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
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