Our story

When COVID-19 struck in Spring 2020, life changed for everyone. Universities across the U.S. abruptly sent 14 million students home, all while campus activities, internships, and even full-time new grad offers were canceled. Despite their personal challenges, students sprang to action to support each other virtually as the pandemic worsened and instances of social and racial injustice ensued. These moments of selflessness revealed an intrinsic desire in college students to care for and help others.

At the same time, one-third of global nonprofits were projected to shut down due to a lack of digital access. This was especially alarming, as vulnerable communities and families needed the support of nonprofits more than ever during these tumultuous times.

Moved by the compassion of their fellow classmates, and spurred by the critical needs of both students looking for work and nonprofits seeking digital support, two Computer Science students at Stanford created Develop for Good. The organization supported teams of students as they developed technical products for nonprofits, and later partnered with Silicon Valley tech companies to engage industry professionals as mentors to the students. As a result, Develop for Good provided tech students with guided, real-world project experience while they simultaneously helped the people and causes they cared about most.

Today, Develop for Good powers social good through students from all colleges and backgrounds. The Bay Area nonprofit especially prioritizes making its valuable, hands-on project experiences accessible to underrepresented students in tech to accelerate their careers. It strives to empower the next generation of diverse tech leaders to learn by doing good, all while furthering the digital transformation of the nonprofit sector. At its core, Develop for Good hopes to create a world where students, nonprofits, and corporations are dedicated to furthering technical education, generating social good, and helping one another unlock their fullest potential.

Board of Directors

Erica McLain

U.S. Olympian, PM @ Google

Erica is a U.S. Track & Field Olympian and recent inductee into the Stanford Hall of Fame. She was the youngest triple jumper to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and is today a leader in Silicon Valley—a Product Manager at Google, alumnus of Facebook and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and a graduate from both Stanford University and UC Berkeley Haas. She’s broken barriers, set records, and inspires students everywhere to succeed on all playing fields.

Craig Young

Young Foundation, Inspiring Service

Craig is a serial entrepreneur and venture philanthropist. By the mid-1990s, Craig was the leading outside software supplier to SDRC and Apple’s software subsidiary, Claris. He founded the Craig S. Young Family Foundation in 1995, and sold his most lucrative business to SDRC in 1998. He now leads Inspiring Service, a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and empower people and organizations to engage in volunteering that improves and strengthens their community.

Amay Aggarwal

Product @ Uber

Amay co-founded Develop for Good as a junior at Stanford, where he earned his Master's degree in Computer Science and Bachelor's degree in Management Science & Engineering. Amay is passionate about using AI/ML to aid developing communities. Having lived in India, Singapore, the UK, New Zealand, China, and currently the US, Amay enjoys traveling and is fluent in several languages. He is now an Associate Product Manager at Uber.

Advisory Board

Mendel Rosenblum

Founder, VMware
CS Professor, Stanford

Scott Forstall

iPhone Co-inventor
Former Chief of iOS, Apple

Mo Fong

Executive Director, Stanford Technology Ventures Program

Kevin Wang

Founder, Microsoft TEALS
and Mentors in Tech

Jerry Cain

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

Erica Hanson

Global Head of Developer Community Programs, Google

Bob Murata

Director of Program Management,
Adobe

Garron Engstrom

Social Impact Manager, Meta

Rosalyn Mahashin

Advisor, Mentor, Investor

Josh Weiss

Graduate School of Education Director, Stanford

Minlan Duan

Strategic Partnerships, Waymo

Philip Chow

Founder, Humanitas.ai

Bryan Breckenridge

Partner, VITAL

Murray Buckman

Tax Leader & Educator

Lisa Wong

Advisor, Tech Leader

Executive staff

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

Founder & Executive Director

Mary graduated from Stanford University, completing both her BS and MS in Computer Science in 4 years. She grew up receiving nonprofit aid and is dedicated to serving the economically disadvantaged. An advocate for skills-based volunteerism, she spoke at TEDxStanford about “Rethinking volunteerism: donating your comparative advantage.”

Amanda Lo

Program Director

Amanda is an interdisciplinary UX Designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and recent graduate from the University of California, San Diego. She has been a leader at Develop for Good since 2020 across multiple portfolios of nonprofit projects. She is passionate about designing for civic good and helping college students break into tech.

Stephanie McKenzie

Engagement Director

A multi-certified empowerment coach, Stephanie is an award-winning TEDx speaker and marketer. With more than three decades of entrepreneurial experience, Stephanie has been featured on CBS, Fox, and Cosmopolitan Magazine. Stephanie is best known for serving multi-passionate, high-achievers—the type of student Develop for Good attracts!

Eric Lai

Technology Director

Eric is a seasoned Senior Software Engineering Manager who has led teams at nimble startups and tech giants alike, including Delphix, Pure Storage, Microsoft, and Amazon. Before pursuing his software engineering career, Eric tutored students for 15 years. He is passionate about merging his experiences together to support aspiring technologists.

Jefferson Hwang

Mentorship Director

A Software Engineering Manager by trade, Jefferson has an intimate familiarity with the resourcefulness needed to thrive in a startup environment. With a BS in Computer Science from WashU, MBA from UC Irvince, and years of nonprofit board experience, Jefferson is particularly passionate about mentoring and nurturing the careers of college tech students.