John Sturman — Lead Instructor & Co-Organizer, Google Developer Group for Hudson Valley and Capital Region, NY
John Sturman brings more than 30 years of experience in software, technical instruction, and project management to the OpenHub team. A ScrumAlliance Certified Scrum Master and trained Liberating Structures facilitator, John has spent his career making technology accessible to learners at every level — from elementary school students encountering code for the first time to graduate students and adults navigating career transitions into tech.
For over 20 years, John has taught a series of popular project-based Computer Science courses at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), working with juniors, seniors, and graduate students on applied, collaborative technical challenges. That same project-first philosophy carries into his work at OpenHub, where he teaches programming across online and in-person formats and co-leads the Google Developer Group Hudson Valley alongside Yulia Ovchinnikova — facilitating Build With AI programs for the regional tech community over the past two years.
What distinguishes John as an educator is his genuine enthusiasm for learning itself. He approaches every new technology as a learner first, and brings that openness into the classroom in a way that puts students at ease and models the curiosity and resilience we aim to develop in our youth TA cohort. His ability to teach across age groups and contexts — from college labs to community workshops to youth programs — makes him uniquely suited to the intergenerational structure of OpenHub's educational initiatives.
John lives on an old dairy farm in the Catskills and keeps honeybees. When he is not playing with his computer (or his ukulele), he is often found skiing or boating. He is known by "Stay Calm and Play Ukulele!" - it means you can play ukulele together!