admin Around the world, women are reshaping the meaning of leadership. No longer confined to token representation, they are setting new standards in how industries evolve, innovate, and respond to a changing world. Their work is not only breaking barriers, but building systems that are more inclusive, intelligent, and future-ready. These are leaders who bring clarity to complexity, and action to ambition. In fields as diverse as finance, sustainability, and education, their influence is unmistakable. Each one offers a distinct blueprint for progress—none more compelling than a woman reimagining the future of digital literacy from the ground up.
As the founder of CODDY Programming School and a leading light in the global movement to democratise tech education, Oksana Selendeeva has become a name synonymous with fearless innovation, inclusivity, and lasting impact. Under her leadership, CODDY now spans 23 countries, delivering transformative programming education to children aged 4 to 18, and reshaping how the world thinks about early-stage digital fluency.
“Every child should speak the language of technology as fluently as their native tongue — that’s the future I envision”
– Oksana Selendeeva
Building the Bridge Before the World Knew It Needed One
Oksana’s journey began with a simple, unsettling realisation in 2016 — the world was hurtling into a digital future, but children weren’t being prepared for it. “Everyone said: ‘Why does a child need to code? Let them play football instead!’,” she recalls. “But I could see that in 10 years, these children would live in a world where digital literacy would become as essential as reading.”
That spark ignited the creation of CODDY, born from a belief that coding could be taught to children long before it was considered conventional. The mission wasn’t just to teach programming — it was to embed digital fluency into the very fabric of childhood development. With over 110 original courses — from Scratch for toddlers to full-scale Python programs — CODDY has since become a pioneer in holistic IT ecosystems for children.
Leading with Vision, Guided by Purpose
What sets Oksana apart isn’t just what she built, but why she built it. “Education isn’t about teaching — it’s about making kids fall in love with learning,” she says. Her methodology centers on igniting curiosity and sparking joy. At CODDY, programming is framed not as a technical skill but a creative medium. The children aren’t just passive learners — they’re creators, builders, even entrepreneurs. Some of their games have topped App Store charts, and many of their projects blur the line between classroom and startup.
Her long-term vision is crystal clear: “Every child should speak the language of technology as fluently as their native tongue,” she asserts. “I dream that our graduates will create technologies that solve humanity’s biggest challenges.”
Success Measured by Lives Changed
In a world obsessed with valuation metrics and bottom lines, Oksana offers a refreshing redefinition of success. “Of course, profit matters — without it, we can’t help children. But my main metric is the number of young lives we’ve changed for the better,” she explains. Every year, over 3,000 children from orphanages and difficult family situations receive free education through CODDY.
And it’s not just about access — it’s about transformation. One of the most poignant moments in her journey came from a mother whose autistic child, after just one class, asked to return. “That had never happened before,” she said. Oksana recalls, “That’s when I understood: we’re not just building a business, we’re changing lives.”
Turning Crisis Into Opportunity
Few stories of leadership shine brighter than those forged in crisis. When the pandemic hit in 2020, CODDY lost 80% of its in-person students in a matter of weeks. Rather than fold, Oksana and her team pivoted at breakneck speed. “In one month, we completely moved all our 110+ courses online,” she says. They didn’t just replicate existing formats — they reinvented them with interactive learning, gamification, and a new virtual pedagogy.
The result? CODDY didn’t just survive — it tripled in size. The online format allowed children from even the most remote corners of the world to access high-quality IT education. From crisis came scale, and from adversity, access.
Breaking Every Barrier, One Code at a Time
CODDY’s rise is marked by a series of bold decisions that challenged the norms. The school was the first to prove that children as young as four could grasp programming concepts through games, stories, and play. It shattered gender stereotypes with 40% of its student base being girls, and it expanded far beyond elite urban centers, reaching children in small towns and remote regions.
Most significantly, Oksana targeted the social divide in education. “Talent doesn’t depend on parents’ wallets,” she states emphatically. Whether from an orphanage or a wealthy family, every child at CODDY is seen as a creator-in-the-making.
Inclusion as a Daily Discipline
For Oksana, inclusion is more than a mission — it’s a practice woven into every layer of the organization. Programs like IT Without Borders specifically support children with developmental differences. The school adapts its methodology, trains instructors accordingly, and nurtures a safe environment that often sees these children outperforming so-called “typical” peers.
“We don’t see this as charity,” she says. “It’s an investment in the future.” Over 3,200 children from socially vulnerable groups have already benefitted — many now attending technical universities and shaping their own futures in tech.
A Leadership Style that Builds Belief
At the core of Oksana’s leadership is radical trust. CODDY operates with a flat hierarchy where even the youngest employees are empowered to propose — and implement — new ideas. This open structure has cultivated an environment of ownership and innovation, resulting in a staff turnover rate of just 3%, compared to an industry average of 20%.
Transparency and purpose anchor the team’s motivation. Every Friday, they read out parent feedback in meetings — often emotional, always motivating. “When a mother writes that her son with autism found friends for the first time in his life at our classes, all problems fade into the background,” Oksana shares.
Future-Facing, Ethics-Led Innovation
AI is often painted as a disruptor, but Oksana sees it as a tool — one to be wielded with ethics and empathy. CODDY’s courses already involve children building their own neural networks, but the focus is on control, not dependence. “We teach children not to fear AI, but to control it,” she explains. Emotional intelligence, ethical application, and human creativity remain core pillars of the curriculum.
New launches reflect this belief. 2025 will see the rollout of specialized AI tracks for different age groups, cybersecurity programs for teens, and the Green Code project — where kids create apps and games addressing climate change and sustainability. One student has already developed an air quality monitoring app for his city.
A Role Model for the Next Generation
As a woman leading in both tech and education, Oksana embraces her responsibility to model inclusive, sustainable, and values-driven leadership. “Women naturally think systemically and long-term,” she notes. “We think not just about today’s profit, but about the world we’ll leave to our children.”
She sees Gen Z not as a challenge, but a blessing. They crave meaning, autonomy, and flexibility — and CODDY gives them all three. “A 22-year-old developer proposed an idea that changed the entire company,” she says. “And this happens regularly.”
A Legacy in the Making
As CODDY steps into its next chapter, the focus remains clear: deepen quality, expand access, and never lose the heart in the code. “We’re not chasing scale,” Oksana insists. “We’re building an educational domain for decades ahead.”
It’s a bold claim — but one that feels entirely within reach. Because in a world driven by innovation, it is not the tools that matter most, but the people who wield them with wisdom, compassion, and relentless belief in the potential of others. That’s what makes Oksana Selendeeva not just a successful founder, but a truly inspiring woman icon of our time.
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