You Belong Here.

Hey, I'm Kedasha👋🏽 and I'm a Developer Educator, Speaker and Software Engineer.

If you had told me in 2019 that I’d be where I am today, I would have laughed in your face. Back then, I was broke, broken and struggling. I was drowning in debt, with a credit score barely holding on in the 400s, dodging calls from creditors like they were a full-time job. It didn’t make sense — how could I be an educated woman in the so-called “land of opportunity” and still struggle to make ends meet? 🤷🏽‍♀️

I tried everything. I picked up side hustles, started businesses, hopped from one job to another, desperately trying to find a way out. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t just budget my way out of a low-paying job. I needed to dramatically increase my income—and I needed to do it fast.

One day, while scrolling through Instagram — mind you, at that time, financial education podcasts were my jam and finance influencers were my jelly — I saw a post that stopped me in my tracks. This influencer was casually talking about how they learned to code and were now making a bajillion dollars. Two thoughts hit me instantly: 1.What is this "code" they’re talking about? and 2. How do I earn a bajillion-dollars?

This is when the journey begins.

From swiping up on that Instagram story, I landed on a blog post that led me to a free coding resource. One click after another, and I found myself in an intense, year-long coding bootcamp. It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I quit my full-time job, worked 3 part time jobs, and threw myself into learning a whole new skill set. Within 10 months, I secured a role as a Junior Software Engineer. 18 months later, I was promoted to a mid-level engineer and by 2022, I was working at GitHub - THE developer company.

The first tech role I landed tripled my salary. Just to put it in perspective: in 2019, I earned $27,000, and by 2020, I was making... well, you do the math. And it didn’t stop there. Over the last five years, I’ve worked my way through the ranks to earn bookoo bucks, navigated tech bro culture (insert heavy eye roll here), stood on large tech stages as a speaker, worked through burnout, and built a thriving career that I could never have imagined back in 2019. And by the way, I’m debt free 💅🏽.

But as I moved through this journey, something became glaringly obvious to me: getting into tech is just the first step. What nobody talks about is the challenge of staying in tech—thriving in tech. I saw so many people like me, early-career engineers from underrepresented backgrounds, struggling not just with imposter syndrome but with the lack of guidance needed to advance. The gap between the skills we were taught and the skills needed to grow in this industry is huge. And no one seemed to be bridging that gap.

That’s why I created That LadyDev. I realized that early-career engineers—especially Black women and underrepresented individuals—needed more than just an entry point into tech. They needed mentorship, support, and a clear path to upskill and grow. They needed someone to say, "You belong here, and not only can you stay, but you can thrive."

Here’s the reality: it’s projected that by 2030, companies will lose a staggering $6 trillion due to the tech skills gap. I can’t even wrap my mind around a number that big, but what I do know is that you can be the right person with the right skills to close that gap. You have the potential to be a leader, to prosper, and to build a legacy.

I’m tired of seeing us struggle. It’s time for us to stop surviving and start thriving. I built That LadyDev to help you do exactly that — to provide the guidance, mentorship, and resources that will take you from feeling stuck to owning your career. Whether it’s closing the tech skills gap, breaking the cycle of poverty, or achieving financial independence, I’m here to show you that it’s possible.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but I am saying that it’s worth it. It’s time to live the life you’ve never dreamed of. Let’s make it happen—together 🌸.