Christina N. Outlay, Ph.D

Christina N. Outlay, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Information Technology (IT) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the founder of colorcoded, Inc., whose mission is to get more girls, minorities and low-income youth interested in computing. She is a married mom of four and a chronic overachiever who is constantly juggling multiple priorities. She is a Chicago native and currently resides near Madison, Wisconsin.
Christina worked with the CyberGirlz and CyberHigh programs at UW-Whitewater beginning in 2012 and became the UW-Whitewater CyberGirlz camp director in 2015. While running the CyberGirlz camp, Christina was concerned that, while the camp was growing every year in numbers, there was not much diversity in the types of campers participating. Seeing this as an opportunity, Christina developed “CyberGirlz colorcoded” that same year as a one-time outreach program with a grant and support from UW-Whitewater. After successful completion of the initial effort, Christina expanded colorcoded and made it available to all youth.
Christina holds a B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Information Systems from DePaul University and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has 12 years of IT corporate experience from State Farm Insurance, Allstate Insurance, Apartments.com and the U.S. Navy Reserve. She also has 12 years of academic teaching and research experience in Business IT.
Christina is a board member for Ghana Code Club, a board member for Collaboration for Good, 2019 Madison Magnet Impact Award finalist, 2018 UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economic Service Award recipient, 2017 Brava Woman to Watch and 2013 UW System Outstanding Woman of Color in Education. She has been quoted in The Capital Times, Madison 365, and Wisconsin State Journal.
In her "free" time, Christina teaches WERQ, Barre, HIIT and indoor cycling classes in the Madison area. She also enjoys traveling, gardening and spending time with her family and friends.