Rachel Décoste joins the Congressional App Challenge team after two decades of experience in Information Technology (IT), including designing Air Traffic Control systems and web applications in both public and private sectors Rachel’s first computer programming project was in 1989, when she taught herself the GW-BASIC programming language to create a randomized math quiz for kids. By 1997, Rachel was called “a pioneer” for website creation in Us Magazine. Rachel  innovated web 2.0 technology before the term was coined.  Rachel has defied the odds by pursuing a career in tech. Rachel aims for the Congressional App Challenge to be a catalyst for increasing the geographic, gender and racial reach of STEM among American youth.