Welcome to the Operation Code board of directors, the governing board that supports mission execution at the 35,000 foot view of the organization. The responsibility and task is noble, honorable and challenging: ensure our nation's finest acquire the technical skills to succeed in a 21st century knowledge economy.

Veteran-founded, and led, Operation Code is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity nonprofit organization on a mission to get active military, citizen-soldiers, veterans and their families coding and building software to change the world. The organization is run by an all-volunteer staff in a remote/decentralized operating environment leveraging the Slack app to coordinate, integrate and synchronize CONUS and OCONUS efforts.

The endstate is to fill the nation's technical talent shortage with our nation's finest. At Operation Code, we don't believe veterans and their families who've sacrificed so much for their country should be unemployed/underemployed, all while millions of tech-related jobs are left vacant at American technology companies. It's simply a nonstarter and unacceptable.

In 2012, ex-Army Captain David Molina applied to a coding bootcamp to learn how to build web applications using modern web technologies, and again in 2014 when he learned that between one-fourth and one-third of monthly code school applicant inquiries were New GI Bill related. In summer 2014, Dave launched Operation Code to petition Congress to expand the New GI Bill to include code schools. Within months Dave launched the Software Mentor Protégé Program connecting volunteer software engineers with transitioning servicemembers, guard/reserve troops, veterans and military spouses to learn to code, all using a simple spreadsheet and his iPhone. This quickly expanded to an online peer-to-peer software mentorship program using the Slack app. By early 2015, Operation Code was deploying veterans to software conferences to network with their peers and learn the latest web technologies. On June 11th, 2015, Operation Code filed as an Oregon incorporated nonprofit and 11-months later on May 4th, 2016, received 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt status through the Internal Revenue Service. Learn more about our history here.

Our values are our northstar and serve as our guiding compass.

• Agile. We are expeditious in everything we do and innovative in all our approaches. We will bring new technology and new ideas to provide the best results for veterans.

• Service. We exist to meet the needs of veterans. We will humbly remember that their service was of the highest order and that Operation Code works for them.

• Accountability. We hold ourselves responsible for obtaining results that fulfill our Mission Statement and work towards our Vision. Donors, volunteers, and veterans can trust that Operation Code will do its best with the resources it is given.

• Integrity. We act consistently with Operation Code's mission, being honest and transparent in what we do and say, and accept responsibility for our collective and individual actions.

Specific nonprofit board duties, include, but not limited to:

• Fiduciary;
• Resource development;
• Strategy.

As a board director, you will participate in three (3) board calls via the Slack app (private board channel) held quarterly, attend one annual board meeting held in Portland, Ore. in November, serve on one or more committees, including, executive, nominating, and/or finance, and provide fundraising assistance to ensure the organization is firing on all cylinders at all times.

Read the full list of Operation Code Board Member Role & Duties. Read the full Operation Code Board Member Job Description.

In the spirit of open source and transparency, seamless communication and team coordination we use Slack, which serves as the organization's nerve center. During your board tenure, the following communication tools will ensure your situational awareness.

First, we use Slack, the real-time messaging app to coordinate, integrate and synchronize efforts for mission execution. Operation Code maneuvers its efforts in a remote, decentralized operating environment and leverages Slack for all organizational and internal communication. As a board director, you will be automatically subscribed to the general, board, operations, development, and social media channels. In the spirit of transparency and open source, Slack serves as our go-to communication platform, our virtual office and where veterans are learning to code, get help with jobs and network with each other in a supportive, and nurturing learning environment.

Secondly, we use GitHub, the open source platform to store our code and build new open source projects. Additionally, we use the operationcode-dot-org Slack channel for quick communication. If you have an idea that touches our website directly, please create an issue and read the CONTRIBUTING guide.

Finally, we use Airtable, a hackable customer relationship management platform for back-office tracking. Any contact we make with a donor, company, etc goes into Airtable for staff follow-up.

At Operation Code, we fulfill our mission through five major programs & services at no-cost to veterans:

• Software Mentor Protégé Program (SMPP). Operation Code provides 1-on-1 software mentorship as well as peer-to-peer mentorship helping our members get tips about code schools, resume support & help with technical interviews, and learn new popular programming languages, including Ruby, JavaScript, iOS, and Android. Learn more.

• Software Scholarships. Operation Code has enabled over 30+ members attend software engineering conferences, including GitHub Universe, CodeConf LA, Ruby on Ales, Signal, NodeSummit, and Startup Institute to learn more about programming languages, network with their peers, and connect with future employers in the technology industry. Additionally, we channel full-ride and partial tuition scholarships to our members, including Treehouse and Linux Academy. The education & mentorship activities reduce veterans unemployment, reduce veterans suicide rate, and reduce veterans homeless rate by providing military veterans technical knowledge that is high in-demand, boost self-esteem and provide military veterans financial resources to improve their employment outcome. Learn more.

• Military Veterans Technical Talent Pipeline. Through Operation Code’s Military Veterans Technical Talent Pipeline program, our members get support on their resume & cover letter, preparation for technical interviews and get introduced to hiring partners. Hiring partners hire our members on a three (3) to six (6) month contractual basis for no less than $6,000 p/mo or average software engineering salary wage for the area providing our members an opportunity to permanently fill the nation's technical talent shortage. Learn more.

• Deploy. At Operation Code, we employ military veterans to write code for client websites and web applications. By hiring our own, we ensure our veterans can support themselves, continue their learning while driving any profits (after wages) back to the nonprofit to keep delivering on our programs & services. Learn more.

• Code School Technical Assistance. When we launched in 2014, zero (0) code schools accepted the New GI Bill. Today, over half-a-dozens accept the New GI Bill, but it's not enough. Online programs like Treehouse, One Month Rails, and Udacity are unable to accept GI Bill or related military payment. We do advocacy on Capitol Hill to educate Members of Congress and their staff of the undue bureaucratic processes that bottleneck code schools from become eligible to accept the New GI Bill, all while helping code school CEO's navigate their states accreditation hurdles. In 2014, we launched a vetted code school list to help our members find a code school near them. Learn more.

Welcome aboard, and we look forward to your contributions while serving on the board of directors of Operation Code.

Role & Duties. A Guide to Nonprofit Board Service in Oregon. Board Member Self-Assessment. Board Toolkit.