Ria Galanos began teaching AP Computer Science A in 2003 at Centennial High School in Roswell, GA and then moved to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA in 2012 where she taught Data Structures (the old AP Computer Science AB course), Android App Development, Artificial Intelligence, and a senior research course.  She sponsored both the Coding Lady Colonials (an all-girl computer science club) and HackTJ (the school’s 28 hour overnight hackathon). Ria is passionate about introducing young people to the field of computer science, teaching them how to program, showing them how to create something from nothing, and making them thirsty to learn more. She enjoys collaborating with and mentoring other teachers in order to improve student achievement and retention in computer science.  She is interested in finding ways to increase: the number of students who take computer science courses at the secondary level, the percentage of girls and under-represented minorities in those courses, and the number of students who pursue further study in the field. Her current areas of focus are building the confidence of females in computer science courses and creating interdisciplinary real-world computer science assignments that help make computing relevant and personal for all her students. To complement her classroom teaching, she served as a leader at the APCS A Exam Reading from 2007-19, was a member of the AP Computer Science A Development Committee from 2017-19, and served terms on the board of directors for the Computer Science Teachers Association and the National Consortium of Specialized STEM Schools.  As a workshop consultant for the College Board, Ria has trained hundreds of teachers preparing them to teach the AP Computer Science A course. In 2011, she received the Aspirations in Computing Educator Award sponsored by the National Center for Women & Information Technology and Google for her support of young women’s participation in computing and technology. This past July, she left the classroom and began a software engineering role with Yext, a B2B company that integrates with hundreds of leading brands to keep their business information up to date everywhere it counts.