The nonprofit was founded by Cornell University alumnus Jehron Petty in May 2020, after he perceived that his own success in the computer science field was an "anomaly in the ecosystem". Through largely mentorship-based operations, the nonprofit hosts multiple in-person and virtual support programs and events. The goal of these events is often for its members to obtain scholarships and internships. As of September 2026[update] for the 2026–27 school year, the nonprofit had 108 chapters and 6,001 members at universities across 31 U.S. states, two Canadian providences, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.. Stated goals of the nonprofit were to increase brand recognition to be on par with similar organizations like National Society of Black Engineers and Black Girls Code.
Activities
ColorStack is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its stated purpose is to build connections between minorities majoring in computer science, providing academic advising and career development opportunities as a means of doing so. To accomplish this, the nonprofit organizes a number of programs and events, including an annual three-day conference called "Stacked Up Summit". The summit in particular has featured engineers from companies including Duolingo and Netflix, and offered opportunities for underclassmen to talk to recruiters. Virtual events within and between chapters including hackathons have also been organized by the nonprofit or local chapters. The nonprofit also hosts a community on the team communication platform Slack, where members can collaborate on coding and other personal interests.
Aside from large annual events, smaller events organized and hosted by local chapters make up the majority of club meetings. These vary but often focus on technical and professional development or social activities. Technical and professional development events have included learning technical skills, taking professional photos, networking, resume building, practicing interviews, and attending conferences and speaker events with field professionals. For some chapters' speaker events, recruiters or employees from large companies have been invited to give talks. Many of these events are mentorship-focused, with their end goal being to have members obtain scholarships and internships. Social events vary by chapter as well, but often focus on relieving occupational burnout through less technical events like arts and crafts. At Binghamton University, a "Sip and Apply" event takes place where members eat foreign cuisines while applying to internships, and at Columbia University and Virginia Tech, pizza dinners are held to help members socialize and discuss the field.
The nonprofit was founded by Jehron Petty, a student at Cornell University majoring in computer science in the class of 2020. After completing internships at Two Sigma and Google as a software engineer and product manager, respectively, Petty reportedly realized he was an "anomaly in the ecosystem". The few other African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students studying with him were not performing as well, which he credited to a lack of proper support. While still a student, Petty was co-president of the club Underrepresented Minorities in Computing at Cornell (URMC), where he helped increase club membership and became inspired by the impact it had on the problem. Taking principles from this club, namely the focus on mentorship and inspiring and supporting minority students in computer science, Petty formed an early version of ColorStack. With help and advice from Makinde Adeagbo, founder of the similar organization /dev/color, Petty made the club national and a nonprofit. Petty launched ColorStack as its own organization shortly after graduating in May 2020, fundraising nearly US$500,000. In August 2020, the nonprofit partnered with the technical recruiting platform Triplebyte, which agreed to incubate the nonprofit and provide its operational funding for at least two years. Around this time, the nonprofit had 600 students across its chapters. After one year, the nonprofit had grown to 1,000 students, and had raised over a million dollars from corporate sponsors and other investors. The nonprofit had also grown to be managed by four full-time employees and one intern. Further growth came after restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted, which had prevented some chapters from beginning operations. In 2021, ColorStack gained Microsoft and Netflix as sponsors of one of its "Stacked Up Summit" events. In 2025, the nonprofit opened its first chapter outside of the U.S. in Alberta, Canada.
According to a March 2026 report, the nonprofit is now based in Freeport, New York, and has 987 employees. Some goals stated by Petty for the future of the nonprofit were to increase brand recognition to be on par with similar organizations like National Society of Black Engineers and Black Girls Code, which he hoped to accomplish through increased marketing and operational support.
Locations
States with chapters present States with chapters coming soon or unofficial
For a new chapter to be opened, a minimum number of students is needed to show interest in joining. As of September 2026[update], the nonprofit had chapters across the United States and Canada, with 108 chapters and 6,001 members at universities across 31 U.S. states, two Canadian providences, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.. Some universities with chapters include the University of Miami in Florida, Northwestern University in Illinois, Bard College and Columbia University in New York, Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and Virginia Tech in Virginia.
Reception to the nonprofit at these schools has been overall positive. The Director of Undergraduate Programs at Virginia Tech, Paige Johnson, remarked that the nonprofit was the first they had seen to bring similar organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers together under a centralized group. The nonprofit's chapter president at Binghamton University, Julian Ortiz, remarked the nonprofit gave an outlet and resources to students who largely came from backgrounds without them. In May 2026, the Binghamton University chapter won the school's award for best "Multicultural Pre-Professional Organization", presented by their Multicultural Resource Center.
