Ellen Joyce
Rising Star
USA and Canada
Digital Leader Academy
Being one of four girls, it makes sense that Ellen ended up in the world of chaos that is startups. Originally from Ireland and being the eldest of four means she has been training to be a CEO her whole life. The Irish “gift of the gab” plus the ability to convince 3 younger sisters to do things they really didn't want to do has prepared her well.
Ellen has been an educator her whole life. Her passion is working with students to help them reach their potential. This all began when she started tutoring her younger sister Sarah, who is dyslexic, and it inspired her to start a business that focused on math education for students with learning difficulties while completing her undergraduate degree in computer science and statistics at Trinity College Dublin. She grew the school from 1 student to 50 students and $32k ARR in 2019.
In 2019, Ellen received a Naughton Scholarship to complete a Masters of Science in Technology Entrepreneurship at the University of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Ellen started to investigate why there are fewer women in computer science in 2020 than there were in 1980 and how could you increase the number of women in tech. This led to her founding Digital Leader Academy (DLA), a startup that is on a mission to increase the size and the diversity of the tech workforce.
DLA works with high schools, community colleges, and universities to integrate technology education into all of their classes e.g. blockchain projects in supply chain classes, artificial intelligence lessons in marketing. The goal is to expose non-traditional STEM students to technology in order to increase their interest and knowledge of the topics.
Over the past 3 years, DLA has worked with over 1,000 students, the majority of whom are from low income neighborhoods. 90% of DLA’s students are from underrepresented groups and approximately 600 girls have been exposed to computer science when they otherwise would not have. Ellen has built a sustainable enterprise that drives real change in the communities that it operates in.
This year, Ellen was invited back to be an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame where she is teaching “Technology for Startups” to the next generation of entrepreneurs. It has been an honor to work with so many bright minds and help them start the companies of the future.
Ellen has been an educator her whole life. Her passion is working with students to help them reach their potential. This all began when she started tutoring her younger sister Sarah, who is dyslexic, and it inspired her to start a business that focused on math education for students with learning difficulties while completing her undergraduate degree in computer science and statistics at Trinity College Dublin. She grew the school from 1 student to 50 students and $32k ARR in 2019.
In 2019, Ellen received a Naughton Scholarship to complete a Masters of Science in Technology Entrepreneurship at the University of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Ellen started to investigate why there are fewer women in computer science in 2020 than there were in 1980 and how could you increase the number of women in tech. This led to her founding Digital Leader Academy (DLA), a startup that is on a mission to increase the size and the diversity of the tech workforce.
DLA works with high schools, community colleges, and universities to integrate technology education into all of their classes e.g. blockchain projects in supply chain classes, artificial intelligence lessons in marketing. The goal is to expose non-traditional STEM students to technology in order to increase their interest and knowledge of the topics.
Over the past 3 years, DLA has worked with over 1,000 students, the majority of whom are from low income neighborhoods. 90% of DLA’s students are from underrepresented groups and approximately 600 girls have been exposed to computer science when they otherwise would not have. Ellen has built a sustainable enterprise that drives real change in the communities that it operates in.
This year, Ellen was invited back to be an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame where she is teaching “Technology for Startups” to the next generation of entrepreneurs. It has been an honor to work with so many bright minds and help them start the companies of the future.