A Caribbean American was among ten other “Champions of Change” recently honored by The White House in D.C. for innovation in creating diversity and access in STEM fields. Jamaican-American Felecia Hatcher is on a mission is to create 10,000 African American Start-Ups as the Co-Founder of Code Fever.
The 30-year-old is among the champions the White House says “are creating opportunities for young people typically underrepresented in STEM industries by using unconventional approaches to enhance student exposure ranging from photography and film, to Hip Hop music, to coding competitions and community-based workshops.”
Code Fever is an initiative that trains black youth in the areas of technology and entrepreneurship. As an author, social entrepreneur and the chief popsicle of Feverish Ice Cream, Hatcher has been featured in Black Enterprise as the Innovator of the Week, Essence Magazine Tech Master, the NBC Today Show, The Cooking Channel, and Grio’s 100 African American’s Making History.
In 2008 she co-founded Feverish Pops, a Miami-based gourmet popsicle company that donates a portion of every pop sold to building community program that target South Florida’s 13 Targeted Urban Areas (TUA’s).
Before launching Feverish and Code Fever, Hatcher worked as a marketing manager for technology and gaming companies. A frequent keynote speaker presenting engaging talks on Entrepreneurship, Tech Education, and Embracing Failure at Google London, Girl Scouts of America, SXSW, Coca Cola HQ, FBLA, DECA, TEDxMiami and TEDxJamaica.
Hatcher is also the author of 2 books entitled: ‘How to Start a Business on a Ramen Noodle Budget, and the C Students Guide to Scholarships.’
President Obama issued an executive order creating the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans to help restore the United States to its role as the global leader in education; strengthen the Nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages; and ensure that American child receives a complete and competitive education that prepares them for college, a successful career, and productive citizenship. As part of National African American History Month, the White House Initiative is proud to honor these leaders for the work they do to make these goals a reality and to ensure even our youngest children become not only consumers in our global economy, but also creative innovators themselves.
The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals, businesses, and organizations doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.
