Just weeks from the expiration of its current lease, Hacker Dojo has found a new home for its scrappy club of coders and makers -- but it won't be in Mountain View.
In a message sent out Tuesday, April 19, the nonprofit's staff members announced they had signed a lease for a new office space at 3350 Thomas Road in Santa Clara. If all goes according to plan, Hacker Dojo will leave its current space at 599 Fairchild Drive in Mountain View by the end of May.
The last few months have been marked by turmoil among Hacker Dojo's leadership and its hundreds of members.
Last month, the board of directors suspended a longtime staffer after learning she had racked up years of personal expenses on the nonprofit's credit card. In the days following, some members have demanded that Hacker Dojo schedule board elections and adopt stronger transparency rules.
In recent days, a splinter group has threatened to leave unless they see a "Dojo reboot" -- in other words, the resignation of the entire board of directors.
But the hacker space has survived tough challenges before. Back in 2012, the city of Mountain View nearly shut down Hacker Dojo for a string of code violations in its original Whisman Road location. A frantic fundraising campaign -- including, among other things, techies stripping down to their skivvies for a fun run -- generated enough money for the group to relocate to its current home.
Comments
Monta Loma
on Apr 21, 2016 at 11:12 am
on Apr 21, 2016 at 11:12 am
Name the credit card embezzler that they let go.
another community
on Apr 21, 2016 at 1:15 pm
on Apr 21, 2016 at 1:15 pm
That person's name was mentioned in a previous article. Just click on the "turmoil" hyperlink.
Embarcadero Media does not have to rehash all the details in each article about Hacker Dojo.
Old Mountain View
on Apr 21, 2016 at 2:24 pm
on Apr 21, 2016 at 2:24 pm
In other states, people sometimes go to prison for embezzling money from nonprofits (and profits as well). The woman is lucky that she was only suspended (so far).
another community
on Apr 21, 2016 at 5:34 pm
on Apr 21, 2016 at 5:34 pm
@Dee:
No one said that the district attorney isn't going to press charges. They may be building a case now with plans to charge her later. To do so, they would minimally need some cooperation from Hacker Dojo's board to provide financial records, etc. The embezzlement was only recently discovered so this is probably still several months away for the DA to press charges.
Right now, the board sounds so dysfunctional, they might be able/willing to comply.
Anyhow, be patient and let the authorities proceed. In time you may read another headline about charges being brought up against this embezzler.
Shoreline West
on Apr 25, 2016 at 8:51 am
on Apr 25, 2016 at 8:51 am
Sad to loose Hacker Dojo to Santa Clara. Mountain View needs to do a better job in retaining business.