With a heavy heart I want to share the news of our former mentor Courtney Brousseau’s death. He graduated from UC Berkeley one year ago and was tragically shot a week ago in San Francisco – an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Courtney was part of Breakout Mentors for three full years, including mentoring the boys in one family the whole time. He shared his love of technology with them, keeping it fun for the students while they advanced. He had the unique ability to effortlessly put someone at ease. It was incredible to watch Courtney bond with this particular family who he said “have been so generous and become like parents away from home to me.”
I love that Courtney thrived in his mentoring and created a genuine personal connection, although the life-long friendship was tragically cut short. Courtney could have thrived in any role, not just technology, and I was looking forward to him one day running for president. Courtney was very civically engaged, from his time in college with Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) to his stint in Washington DC right after graduating with code.gov to his product management role at Twitter with a focus on inclusion. He really cared and worked very hard to make a difference.
I encourage you to learn more about Courtney Brousseau: SF Chronicle about his free speech efforts in high school, the Daily Californian with some quotes from friends, and his mentor profile. I also encourage you to tell his story, support his favorite charities like Coalition on Homelessness, and do what you can to stop gun violence (even if you support gun ownership, take on the burden to stop senseless tragedies).
If Courtney mentored your son or daughter and there is anything I can do to help, please contact me at 650-669-8789.