Herbert Brown is senior instructor for the Mississippi Coding Academies’ Downtown Jackson Campus and South Jackson Campus in partnership with DSC Training Academy.
He previously served as a teacher for the Algebra Project at Lanier High School in Jackson from 2006-2010. He later worked as a financial aid counselor at Tougaloo College.
Currently, he serves on the board of directors for the Algebra Project as treasurer. Brown received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Jackson State University and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Mississippi College.
Andrew S. Stamps is director and senior instructor for the Mississippi Coding Academies’ Gulf Coast campus. Stamps is a computer scientist specializing in graphics and visualization. The first of his family to attend and complete college, he has two degrees in computer science, a B.S. from Dillard University with minors in fine arts and mathematics, and an M.S. from Mississippi State University.
Stamps is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in computer science from MSU. As a lifelong learner, Mr. Stamps has also received research grants from NASA, the MSU Bagley College of Engineering, and Microsoft.
Stamps has work published in IEEE Vis conference proceedings, and the NASA Space Grant Consortium conference. He served as an IEEE Vis conference chair from 2011-2014. He has also worked as a software developer at Georgia Pacific, as a lead developer as Spatial Information Solutions, and as a team leader at IBM.
Aquita Bryant is a junior instructor for the Mississippi Coding Academies in Jackson. Aquita was born and raised in Jackson. Upon graduating from Forest Hill High School, she attended the Mississippi University for Women for two years, majoring in Business Administration.
Upon her certification from the MCA, she was hired by Hx5 as a “Business Analyst 1: Software Coder” with the US Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center in Vicksburg.
Jessika Hayes is the instructor for the Mississippi Coding Academies’ Golden Triangle campus. Born and raised in Columbus, Hayes is a graduate of Columbus High School and Mississippi Coding Academies. She studied Visual Art and Graphic Design at the Mississippi University for Women for two years before transferring to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division where she studied Graphic Design/Web Design for a year.
In July of 2019, after graduating MCA, Hayes accepted the full-time position as Columbia Municipal School District’s first Coding Facilitator. There she worked with Bulldog Bytes, a computer science camp for children, helped establish the Columbus Cyber League, a club for girls in grades 3-5, facilitated a summer coding program called “Athletes For Computer Science, and served as a judge for the 2020 Major League Hacking Hackathon and Mississippi State University.
Lauren David is a junior instructor for the Mississippi Coding Academies in Jackson. Lauren was born and raised in Columbus; after graduating from Columbus High School, she attended Mississippi State University. During her time at MSU, she earned a spot as an intern for the Walt Disney Company at the Walt Disney World Theme Parks and Resorts. Upon completion of the internship, she decided to stay in Orlando and work for the Mouse, making dreams come true.
After five wonderful years in Florida, she decided to move back to Mississippi to attend school again, this time at Mississippi Coding Academies. After earning her certificate from the academy, she went to work for the IT Department at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.