Karlie Kloss

On this episode of A Call to Lead, you'll meet Karlie Kloss, a 26-year-old wonder who is building on her success as one of the world's top fashion models to expand her leadership platform and scale her social impact. She is teaching young women how to code at Kode with Klossy, her tech summer camps across the U.S. She is helping to discover the next generation of fashion designers on Project Runway, where she is the new host and executive producer. And she's constantly looking to hone her own leadership skills. Here are a few highlights from my interview with Karlie:

1. Karlie explained why she learned to code: "I really wanted to understand what all of these tech entrepreneurs, primarily men, knew that I didn't know. That was this kind of mysterious, hidden, secret language that the people who knew it were able to build ideas into billion-dollar enterprises. I felt like I was just seeing the world be transformed by technology and by these technologies built by a small handful of people. I was really inspired but also confused. Why weren't more girls being encouraged to see opportunities in that direction?"
2. Here's why she started Kode with Klossy: "I was really inspired by the idea of being able to problem solve...to use coding to build solutions to problems. And to be able to help other young girls realize that they could learn that, even if you're not a guy in a hoodie."
3. Karlie talked about her summer camps to teach young women to code: "Kode With Klossy is a drop in the bucket, but it's still an important drop. And I hope it inspires more people and particularly young women to realize that they can and should pursue [tech careers]. Even if they don't see as many women as there should be, it doesn't mean they can't be."
4. What is Karlie's favorite coding language—Ruby, JavaScript, HTML, CSS or Swift? "Ruby, because it's very intuitive. It's an easier beginner language and it was the first one I learned, so I think I have a soft spot in my heart for it."
5. Karlie was inspired by Michelle Obama's book, Becoming. "Michelle Obama is the most incredible, classiest, smartest, most just inspiring human being. And yet, she's super vulnerable."

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Jennifer Morgan is a member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and President of SAP’s Cloud Business Group.