Celebrity Cruises announced Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of international nonprofit Girls Who Code and author of international bestseller, “Brave, Not Perfect,” as the Godmother for Celebrity Apex.
She will name the new ship at the official inaugural ceremony in Southampton, UK, on March 30, 2020.
Celebrity said that with its Edge class of ships, it is selecting Godmothers who are breaking ground in their respective fields for people around the world.
The first Edge class Godmother, who inaugurated Celebrity Edge in November 2018, was Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, renowned for her advocacy of educational opportunities for girls everywhere.
Since launching in the U.S. in 2012, Girls Who Code has reached 185,000 girls at nearly every stage of their educational journey The organization is on pace to close the gender gap in new entry-level computer science jobs by 2027, with college-aged alumni of Girls Who Code majoring in computer science and related fields at 15 times the national average. In 2019, Girls Who Code was named the #1 Non-Profit on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list.
In addition to being the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani is a lifelong activist who surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress in 2010.
“Reshma is bridging the gap in the historically male-dominated technology industry,” said Celebrity President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “She is evolving the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does, inspiring a whole new generation of girls and women to bravely pursue this field. Because she is a game-changing visionary, she is the perfect godmother for a game-changing ship like Celebrity Apex.”
“Girls Who Code is committed to giving girls more visible role models in computer science and helping them see that this is a field where they can really thrive,” said Saujani. “Just as we are on a mission to close the gender gap in tech in our lifetimes, Celebrity Cruises’ is leading the way to create a more diverse future in the maritime industry. It is an honor to have the support of Celebrity Cruises in our work, and to be named as the Godmother for Celebrity Apex.”
In addition, Celebrity will also collaborate with Girls Who Code to offer educational coding programs as part of the cruise line’s Camp at Sea S.T.E.M. experiences onboard Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Edge, along with related experiential offerings and products.
Celebrity Apex will begin its inaugural season in April 2020 with a mini-season of five sailings to Northern Europe destinations and then spend the summer sailing seven-to-12-night itineraries in the Mediterranean. In November, Celebrity Apex will reposition to Fort Lauderdale for a winter season of week-long Caribbean sailings.
