No Ceiling: Krista Peryer

Krista is the president and co-founder of The Geek Foundation, a revamped idea on school that’s accelerating graduates into the technology workforce in just six months. Krista was inspired to start the nonprofit, which provides its education at no cost, after she ran into barriers to get into the industry. She was a single mom who’d struggled with poverty, and the thought of years in college seemed out of reach. Today, she’s partnered with companies like O’Reilly Automotive, Jack Henry & Associates and Pitt Technology Group, and she has a vision for taking The Geek Foundation nationwide.

On Breaking Cycles
“It’s hard for people to break out of those cycles of poverty if there’s no means to accessible and affordable education or if there’s no one telling them that they can.”