Our story

When COVID-19 struck in Spring 2020, life changed for everyone. More than 14 million students were sent home from college campuses across the US, while internships, campus activities, and job offers seemingly vanished overnight. At the same time, one-third of global nonprofits were projected to shut down due to a lack of digital capacity. This was especially alarming, as their services were needed by vulnerable communities more than ever.

Spurred by the critical needs of both students looking for work and nonprofits seeking digital support, Computer Science students at Stanford created Develop for Good. We support diverse college students as they build software for nonprofits under industry mentorship. Our mission is to ensure every college student has the opportunity to gain real-world, high-impact tech experience, all while creating meaningful solutions for the nonprofit sector.

Today, Develop for Good engages students from hundreds of campuses across the country and around the world, with a focus on students who are underserved or underrepresented in tech. We empower the next generation of diverse tech leaders to learn by doing good, all while furthering the digital transformation of the nonprofit sector. At our core, Develop for Good is building towards a future where students, nonprofits, and corporations work together to expand access to technical education, advance digital equity, and unlock one another’s full potential.

Board of Directors

Christina Ward

Strategy & Operations, YouTube

Kristen Swanson

Head of Design, Okta

Justin Tinker

ML Engineering, Cofactr

Susan Epstein

AI Corporate Governance, Ex-Meta

Lisa Wong

Technical & Operations Leader

Craig Young

Founder, Inspiring Service

Mary Zhu

Founder, Develop for Good

Board of Advisors

Mendel Rosenblum

Founder, VMware
CS Professor, Stanford

Scott Forstall

iPhone Co-inventor
Former Chief of iOS, Apple

Kevin Wang

Founder, Microsoft TEALS
and Mentors in Tech

Jerry Cain

CS Professor, Stanford
Facebook 'Like' Button Co-inventor

Erica Hanson

Head of Developer Relations,
FlutterFlow

Bob Murata

Director of Program
Management, Adobe

Garron Engstrom

Social Impact Manager,
Meta

Rosalyn Mahashin

Founder, Resilient Moment

Minlan Duan

Founder, Jvolve

Our team

Mary Zhu

Founder & Executive Director

Mary Zhu graduated from Stanford University in 2021, completing both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science in four years. Born to immigrant parents and raised in New Hampshire, Mary grew up receiving nonprofit support and is particularly passionate about giving back and serving the economically disadvantaged. Mary founded her first 501(c)3 nonprofit in high school by baking and decorating cakes for charity. She has long advocated for skills- and passion-based volunteerism, and spoke at TEDxStanford about “Rethinking volunteerism: donating your comparative advantage.”

Mary Zhu

Executive Director

Mary graduated from Stanford University with both her bachelor's degree in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) and master's degree in Computer Science (Human-Computer Interaction). She is dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for families leaning on social sector support through education. Mary has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 list honoree, a TEDxStanford speaker, and an invited guest at The White House Summit on STEMM Equity & Excellence. Currently, Mary is working on beating her personal record of holding a 15.5-minute plank.

Kiki Liu

Program Director

Kiki is a passionate advocate for equity in tech and a firm believer in the power of design to drive social change. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Economics with minors in Consumer Psychology and Design to better understand how systems shape access and opportunity. A nonprofit leader since 2018, she began applying her design thinking and leadership experience to Develop for Good first as a volunteer in 2023. Kiki is deeply committed to uplifting first-generation and low-income communities through thoughtful, human-centered technology.

Michael Gabrielle

Nonprofit Partnerships Manager

Michael has over a decade of experience building programs and partnerships across arts, mental health, and education in both the tech and nonprofit worlds. As a first-generation Brown University graduate who began his career with a nonprofit internship, he deeply believes in Develop for Good’s mission of connecting and supporting students and mission-driven organizations. A practicing artist and long-time volunteer working with LGBTQ+ youth and the elderly, Michael brings empathy and creativity to his work—and outside of it, he's usually immersed in a book and always ready with recommendations!