Remembering Richard A. Sun, MCA Co-Founder

[Pictured left to right: Bryce Mullican, Richard A. Sun and Herbert Brown]

With great sadness, the board of directors of Mississippi Coding Academies acknowledges the passing of our co-founder, Richard A. Sun.

Rich was a founding member of the team that built MCA and Mississippi CodeWorks from ambitious ideas to an engine of change in the state of Mississippi. His vision, energy and determination were key factors in the graduation of over 100 coders out of hourly-wage jobs into professional middle-class opportunities and careers.

Rich wasn’t a native Mississippian, but he gave the state his all since locating here after a long and successful career in investment banking, including stints for Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, CS First Boston, UBS and in a variety of private equity roles. He put his own money and talent into early-stage startups through his firm, Sun & Co., and served as a board president and the first Entrepreneur in Residence for Innovate Mississippi.

Even as the Mississippi Coding Academies saw considerable success, Rich continued to push the envelope as a hands-on manager and a champion for MCA. Rich led the efforts to gain national recognition for the “The Enhanced Mississippi Model for EdTech.” As a result, MIT Solve and the X-PRIZE Rapid Reskilling Challenge celebrated the work that he and the MCA team have done with “Top 10” accolades in 2021.

Rich also served as chair and president of Mississippi Codeworks, Inc., the wholly-owned subsidiary of MCA, to develop custom software web and mobile apps for local and national clients. Mississippi CodeWorks employs MCA graduates in real-world tasks to meet the market’s demands while helping those recent graduates gain valuable workplace experience and skills.

The entire MCA team sends their best wishes to Rich’s wife, Dr. Phyllis Hollenbeck, and their family at this painful time. Mississippi has lost a dedicated leader who was laser-focused on growing entrepreneurship and a high-tech economy in the state. We will miss him.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 9th, at St. James Episcopal Church, 3921 Oak Ridge Drive, Jackson MS.