Bethlehem Gronneberg is a seasoned Software Engineer, an inspirational speaker, an author, and a social entrepreneur with a vision to exponentially expand the inclusion of diverse voices in the technology workforce. By providing opportunities and exposure to technical skills, entrepreneurial mindset and practical confidence-building experiences for teen girls, Bethlehem strives to be a global agent of change that fosters young women’s affinity to the world of computational design thinking.
Referred to as the “unlikely STEMinist” by the Huffington Post article, Gronneberg is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of uCodeGirl, a non-profit designed to inspire, engage and equip teen girls so that they can confidently choose to forge a pathway to technology careers and engineer their world.
A Bachelor of Science degree from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia in Statistics and Computer Science launched Bethlehem’s tech career as the first webmaster for United Nations – Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA). After 20+ years in the software industry as Software Engineer, Sr. Software Engineer, Software Engineering Manager and a masters degree in Software Engineering from North Dakota State University, Bethlehem has shifted her career focus to be a social entrepreneur – an advocate for women in technology.
Ms. Gronneberg is the recipient of the prestigious Bush Foundation Leadership Fellowship. As a Bush Fellow, she is challenged to think big and to think different. Bethlehem is also committed to bringing the real-world experience of software development to classrooms as a Computer Science lecturer at Concordia College. Bethlehem currently serves on the Executive Board of Prairie Public Broadcasting Services (an affiliate of PBS), as the Advisory Council of the Innovative Education Task Force of North Dakota, and the Advisory Council Chair of Equity and Access to Education and Innovation for the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE), Ethiopia.  Ms. Gronneberg’s efforts in sparking curiosity and intellect with young women had been highly commended by the United States Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota who invited Bethlehem to be a guest of honor to attend the 2019 State of the Union address of the United States of America.
Bethlehem has served on various councils and boards including the Fargo Chapter of the International Women in Technology. Bethlehem was named the 2018 YWCA Woman of the Year in Science and Technology.  The 2018 Exceptional Women Leaders by Women Economic Forum and as a finalist for the 2019 GlobalMindED Inclusive Leaders Award. Bethlehem is committed to a world where the people who create and build technology products and services mirror the people and societies for which they create and build.
Bethlehem’s advocacy extends to advancing literacy in early childhood in her native country, Ethiopia. She has served on the board of a non-profit organization called Ethiopia Reads. Driven by a strong desired to share her great experiences of growing up in Ethiopia, Bethlehem has written a children book entitled “The Alphabet takes a Journey: Destination Ethiopia!” Ms. Gronneberg has spoken on numerous occasions on the topics of literacy and the inclusion of women in technology, nationally and internationally at conferences, summits, symposiums, and alike.