Team | Bit by Bit

Meet The Team

A Conference by Girls for Girls

Hi, we’re the Bit by Bit 2023 Team! We’re a group of five high school girls at The Dalton School in New York City who is in charge of organizing and planning every aspect of the Bit by Bit conference. We’ve all been lucky enough to take computer science classes in high school and have loved them, and we want to make sure that every high school girl has the opportunity to engage with tech. We meet year-round to discuss what we want the conference to look like and how we can make our vision a reality. We can’t wait for you all to experience what we’ve put together!

Ciara Balanza

I’m Ciara Balanza, a senior at Dalton. I’m fascinated by the interaction between neuroscience and technology. I’m super excited to host Bit By Bit this year and hope you are inspired by the diverse career paths of our speakers. At Dalton, I am the Editor-in-Chief of our school newspaper and the Head of our Model UN team. Other than that, I love to be outdoors doing fun activities with friends or just reading a good book.

Uma Jeddy

I’m Uma Jeddy, a junior at Dalton, and have been on my school’s robotics team since freshman year. I’m particularly interested in the development of artificial intelligence and how it will shape our world. Over the summer, I enrolled in the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program where I learned 3 different languages: HTML, CSS, and javascript. Aside from Bit by Bit, I play volleyball, dance, and am an ambassador for WiSTEM. I cannot wait for all our participants to hear and engage with such inspiring women!

Zoë Lester

Hi! I’m Zoë Lester, a junior at Dalton. I enjoy coding and have been a part of the CS Team since freshman year. I hope everyone is getting excited for an amazing conference this year where you will be able to meet new people and hear from a bunch of interesting panelists. Personally, I am especially excited about the CS art and design panel I have been helping put together. Outside of Bit by Bit I like to play sports(Cross Country, Indoor Track and Lacrosse) and sing! I love exploring NYC, doing anything thrill-related, and all animals. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!

Tara Kamshad

I’m Tara Kamshad, a junior at Dalton, and I’m really excited to be a part of the Bit by Bit team! I am really passionate about computer science and how I can use CS for good. I'm the Director of Technology for STEM Mindset, a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to making STEM more accessible for underrepresented youth, and I was the only teenager invited to Meta’s Summit on Youth Safety and Wellbeing. At Dalton, I am the head of the women in sports club, and I enjoy playing soccer and hiking in my free time! I’m super excited to hear from all of our accomplished speakers and to meet everyone!

Claudia Liu

I’m Claudia, a senior at Dalton and I’m so excited to be hosting Bit by Bit this year! My interest in technology comes mostly from my robotics experience and my love for coding. I started coding by doing web design, taking summer programs in HTML and CSS. Since then I have taught myself Java, which I used for creating physics models, Python, which I used to analyze and graph data from a study on COVID effects on anxiety, and C++, which I used to aid in my web designing. At Dalton I also am the head of our Community Based Engineering Club and the founder of a tutoring club. I love playing soccer, ski racing, baking, and walking my dog. I’m so excited for our speaker lineup this year for Bit by Bit as they are all such fascinating women!