Cristina Mancini has built a career that shapes culture. As the current CEO of Black Girls Code, Mancini’s world seems like it would revolve around technology — which is true, at least partially. But at its core, it’s about humanity.
“I’ve had a very long career, not always a linear career, but I am a creative executive at heart and that has served me well in many different ways,” Mancini tells Her Campus. Mancini’s foundation is in media, having served as an art director for Warner Bros. before working her way up to becoming an Executive Vice President at 20th Century Fox. “I love story worlds. I love being able to create worlds that bring joy to the fans who loved the stories.”
Her transition into tech became more intentional after a defining moment around 2016, when she attended an AI-focused conference in San Francisco. “I loved everything that they were talking about,” she says. “However, I looked around the room and that’s when I first noticed that I was the only Black woman in a very large ballroom.” When she questioned the lack of representation during a Q&A, a keynote speaker dismissed her concern. “He scoffed at me and said that, ‘algorithms are math and math can’t be racist.’” Looking back, Mancini calls that statement “so myopic in nature,” especially, she says, when you consider “who is the one that is inputting the data sets that affect the algorithms that are literally coding every aspect of our life.”
This moment helped galvanize Mancini not only to delve further into technology, but also to uplift others to help them do so too. In 2018, she began working at Salesforce, working her way up the corporate ladder to becoming the Chief Engagement Officer and Chief Marketing Officer by 2021. Then, in 2023, at what she describes as her “peak career” at the time, she made a pivot that redirected her path in a very deliberate way: She became the CEO of Black Girls Code.
Founded in 2011, Black Girls Code works to expand access to tech education for girls and young women of color who have historically been excluded from those spaces. According to Black Girls Code, women earn only 19% of computer science degrees, and less than 2% of tech roles are held by Black women. The biggest drop in engagement happens between ages 13 and 17, when confidence shifts and academic paths start narrowing.
To combat this, Black Girls Code’s programming combines technical training with mentorship and community, with the idea that staying in the industry requires confidence as much as skill — because it’s not just about learning to code; it’s about making sure young Black girls see tech as something they belong in and can grow within. “My desire isn’t just for our learners to get jobs; it’s to accelerate in jobs,” Mancini says.
At the helm of Black Girls Code, Mancini is making it clear that the existence (and success) of Black women and girls in tech cannot depend on temporary initiatives or shifting corporate priorities — it’s much bigger than that. “We do not only belong in tech coming through DEI initiatives; we belong in tech and in all spaces,” she says. “We deserve to be there. We are brilliant. We are creative. We are innovative.”
While imposter syndrome is often treated as inevitable in competitive spaces like tech, especially for Black women, Mancini rejects the idea altogether. “I don’t believe in imposter syndrome,” she says. “I do not give that weird voice in my head — that is [an] imaginary energy — to decide what opportunities I’m going to take or not take.” In her view, self-doubt can become a barrier long before anyone else questions your place in the room.
At the same time, she acknowledges how isolating those rooms can feel. “It is exhausting being the only one in the room, but we cannot decide to leave the room because of that,” she says.
Instead, Mancini encourages Black girls and young Black women in tech (or in any space that still lacks representation and empowerment, for that matter) to be bold — not just for yourself, but for those who will come after you, something she’s understands from her own lived experience. “Do not shrink,” she says. “Your voice is incredibly important. The lack of representation should just be inspiration. When you get there, you create space for others.”