About the Hackathon
This year's competition presents a unique opportunity for students across all academic disciplines to collaborate on real-world tech challenges submitted by local nonprofit organizations. Every project completed will directly support the local Humboldt community, making this a chance to apply your skills for a meaningful cause.
Event Details
Total design and programming time: 22 hours spread across two days, with a kickoff event before hand...
Kickoff Event: Thursday, March 6th from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM in BSS 166 (required for participants)
Competition begins: Saturday, March 8th from 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM and continues on Sunday, March 9th from 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM in Harry Griffith Hall.
Team Details
Whether you're a programmer, artist, entrepreneur, or someone else eager to contribute your talents, you'll have the ability to apply your skills for a meaningful cause.
Team Size: 2 to 5 people, all majors welcome.
Team Composition: We require at least one student with programming experience on a team.
No team? No problem: we'll help you find one!
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Cyril Oberlander
Warner Tillman
John Wegis
Joyce West
Judges
Meet the judges who will be evaluating the projects and awarding prizes!
Sharon Tuttle
Cal Poly Humboldt
Sharon is a long-time Computer Science professor at Cal Poly Humboldt, and feels that computer science has a great potential to be a source of social good. She is delighted that the CS Club's Hackathon is focusing on this potential.
Casey Hefner
Cal Poly Humboldt - ITS
Casey has worked in technology for over a decade, most recently serving as a Sysadmin on campus. In addition to his tech career, Casey is dedicated to community service, volunteering with Planned Parenthood and distributing harm reduction supplies.
Bob Schoenfield
Krisp Technologies, Inc.
Bob is an early-stage technology professional, serving as the founding COO and current EVP at Krisp, a leading Voice AI company. His work focuses on driving innovation and growth in the AI and technology space.
David Tuttle
Cal Poly Humboldt
Ben Kovitz
Cal Poly Humboldt
Shannon Whitmore
Illumina
Mentors
Meet the mentors who will be available to help contestants with their projects!
Edwin Espinoza
Cal Poly Humboldt
Edwin has experience in developing cloud software and approaches programming with a positive and open mindset. He is passionate about leveraging technology for social good, recognizing that social good is something that is often neglected in the technology space.
Siri Varma Vegiraju
Microsoft
Siri Varma Vegiraju is a seasoned expert in healthcare, cloud computing, and security. Currently, he focuses on securing Azure Cloud workloads, leveraging his extensive experience in distributed systems and real-time streaming solutions. Prior to his current role, Siri contributed significantly to cloud observability platforms and multi-cloud environments. He has demonstrated his expertise through notable achievements in various competitive events and as a judge and technical reviewer for leading publications. Siri frequently speaks at industry conferences on topics related to Cloud and Security and holds a Masters Degree from University of Texas, Arlington with a specialization in Computer Science.
Tara Strickwerda
StreamGuys
A customer success leader with over 25 years of experience delivering simple to complex solutions across multiple industries, many of them Humboldt-based. A problem solver by nature and by education, Tara earned a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt); translating her equation solving skills to solve real world problems faced by clients and organizations.
Anthony Cavuoti
Remnant Entertainment LLC
A recent Cal Poly Humboldt alumnus, Anthony is a creative game and web developer, driven by innovation, problem-solving, and a passion for crafting meaningful digital experiences.
John Wegis
GenomeMedical and Cal Poly Humboldt
John is a Principal Software Engineer at GenomeMedical with over 25 years of experience in full-stack development, backend engineering, and software architecture. His expertise includes Python, Flask, FastAPI, distributed systems, and cloud technologies. In addition to his industry work, John teaches CS 357 - Software Project Management at Cal Poly Humboldt, where he mentors students in software engineering best practices, Agile methodologies, and real-world project execution. He's passionate about innovation and education, and enjoys guiding teams through technical challenges to build scalable, impactful solutions.
Todd Chittenden
Five9
Todd has been in the telecommunications industry for 29 years, starting as a technician and has worked his way to become an architect. His journey reflects both his broad experience and his sense of humor.
Clay McGlaughlin
College of the Redwoods / Humboldt County Office of Education
Clay has been working in the IT field for over 20 years, starting as a user support analyst at a university and working his way up to director of IT for a Humboldt nonprofit. He currently teaches Computer Information Systems classes at College of the Redwoods as well as intro to computer programming for HCOE.
Sean Haas
Libsyn, Inc.
Michael Crispin
Cal Poly Humboldt