The Buffalo Chapter of Girl Develop It is announcing the region’s first all-female hackathon, GDI Hacks. The event, which will take place on Saturday, February 7th, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., will be one of the first events to take place in the newly constructed 43North incubator at 640 Ellicott Street. During the hackathon, teams of women developers, entrepreneurs, technologist, web developers and marketing experts will be challenged to provide several area non-profit, women or minority-owned businesses with new and updated websites.

Girl Develop It is a nonprofit organization created to provide affordable and accessible programs to women who want to learn web, software and mobile application development through mentorship and hands-on instruction.

GDI Hacks is a day-long hackathon event and collaborative programming competition in which several teams will face off to deliver the best website in a 12 hour period. Between three to five area businesses will be selected to receive a website overhaul to improve their online presence. Participants will then present their ideas to a panel of judges and prizes will be awarded for the most innovative and useful websites.

“At Girl Develop It we know that an outstanding web presence can have a great impact to business. It is important to us that our hackathon not only help our members hone their skills, but also helps local non-profits or small businesses succeed. It’s a win-win,” said Lena Levine, Founder of Girl Develop It Buffalo.

All final websites will be judged by local technical experts: Sabrina Ramsey, CEO of Insight International, Barbara Sherman, PhD, professor at Buffalo State College, and Marnie Lavigne, PhD, President and CEO of Launch NY. Female mentors from the Buffalo business community will also be available throughout the day to guide and provide valuable advice to the hackathon teams.

The all-female hackathon will be run in partnership with International Institute of Business Analysts (IIAB) who has helped select the lucky companies to benefit from a new website and 43North who have offered their new incubator space for the competition.

“43North’s incubator is designed to be a collaborative space where new ideas flourish and the work of Buffalo’s community of innovators is amplified,” said Peter Burakowski, 43North Senior Marketing Manager. “We are proud to host Girl Develop It’s all-female hackathon on Feb. 7.”

GDI Hacks is open to women in the region of all skills and levels of expertise who are ages 16 and over. The hackathon is free for all interested participants, but preregistration for the event is required by February 6, 2015 at www.gdihacks.com. Meals and snacks will be provided.

The hackathon is sponsored by: AT&T, Hodgson Russ, InfoTech Niagara, and Launch NY.

“AT&T proudly supports Girl Develop It Buffalo and applauds the organization for hosting the first all-women hackathon in Western New York,” said Marissa Shorenstein, New York State President, AT&T. “AT&T is committed to closing the gender gap in technology and partnering with organizations that provide women with opportunities, skills and confidence necessary to become future technology leaders.