**Interviews Available With Renae Williams & Mouse CEO Larry Lieberman**

Mouse, a national youth development nonprofit that empowers students to use technology as a force for good, today announced the hiring of Renae Williams as Chief Program Officer.

"We are thrilled to welcome Renae to our team," says Larry Lieberman, chief executive officer of Mouse.org. "Renae’s expertise lends well to Mouses’s effort to provide computer science education for black, brown, female and queer students and teachers,” he continued. Williams joins Mouse after serving as the Director of Computer Science School Pathways for the previous four years. Williams also served as chief program officer and & Co-leader, BLEND Employee Resource Group for the Department of Education, aimed at increasing professional development among educators of color and under-resourced groups.

“I am committed to ensuring that our most vulnerable youth are being prioritized, and that they have access to resources and programs that care for them, their families and communities and provide tenable opportunities,” says Williams. “I am so excited to join Mouse. We have the passion, fervor, and commitment to ensure our youth have long lasting experiences & jobs in computer science.”

In 2020, Mouse announced its partnership with the NYC Department of Education to ensure that the proper technology is in place to support all forms of learning this school year.

Prior to joining the Department of Education,, Renae served as the Dean of Academics and Culture at Community Partnership Charter School, as well as an Instructional Technology Coach at Educate, LLC. Renae has a Master's Degree in Education from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Missouri.

About Mouse:

Mouse was founded in 1997 by entrepreneur, Andrew Rasiej and Founding Executive Director, Sarah Holloway. Along with leaders from the ‘high tech’ community in New York City, Mouse spearheaded the process of wiring public schools for Internet access in New York City. Mouse’s first project brought over 200 volunteers together to wire Andrew Rasiej’s neighborhood high school, Washington Irving High School. In order to coordinate volunteer efforts, Andrew created a registration database matching his volunteers' varied skills with schools needing particular assistance. This database marked the birth of Mouse, an organization that has served over 170,000 students since 1997.

For many years, Mouse pioneered innovative school programs in support of its mission: to be a catalyst for the effective integration of technology in teaching and learning in urban public schools, empowering students and schools to succeed in today's knowledge-based economy. Mouse's two main programs were Mouse Squad, a student-driven technical support help desk program that addresses the technology needs of elementary, middle and high schools; and TechSource, a research and policy initiative that provides information and leadership around critical education and technology issues facing urban districts with the ultimate goal of increasing the quality and pervasiveness of effective technology usage in public schools. Together, these initiatives support 21st century learning communities for public school students and teachers.

Today, Mouse designs computer science and STEM curriculum on its online learning platform, Mouse Create; trains K-12 educators; and engages students through the Design League program and events at the Mouse Creative Computing Lab.

Media Contact:

Ashley Bernardi
202-316-3298
Ashley@nardimedia.com