On any given weekday, a group of tech-savvy young queer individuals from across the United States logs into a Zoom meeting to search for jobs, complete passport applications, or figure out how to leave a region where they feel unsafe or unseen. Sometimes, they simply want to connect with other neurodivergent friends navigating the challenges of a collapsing empire.
The Multiverse School: An Anarchist Learning Collective
"The Multiverse is an anarchist learning collective of leftist revolutionary nerds who like to make stuff," says Liz Howard, a computer science educator and founder of the Multiverse School. This online program teaches technical literacy and community survival to people who have been exploited or ignored by the tech industry. The daily job standup, a check-in where members look for work together, is one of its key programs. Another is the GTFO program, which has helped 700 people obtain their passports. The school also offers open-source software classes, prompt engineering courses, and an agentic coding curriculum—all delivered remotely.
Bridging the Tech Skills Gap
The Multiverse School's teachers can instruct students in coding, AI development, and other advanced technological skills. Howard emphasizes that "people who don't know how to code have less money than people who know how to code." According to Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, software developers earned a median annual wage of $133,080 in 2024, nearly three times the $49,500 median for all U.S. workers. However, gaining this expertise is often an obstacle. Coding bootcamps promise a shortcut into tech for those who cannot afford a four-year degree, but they frequently deliver a different kind of debt trap—tuition that outlasts jobs that never materialize.
From Insider to Outsider
Howard knows this from experience. Over more than a decade, they built and ran coding programs at places like Galvanize, CodePath, and Enki, a Duolingo-style app that has taught coding to roughly 2 million people. Howard observed that the number of women, queer individuals, and gender-nonconforming people in rooms where big tech decisions were made was minuscule. They watched who got funded, who got listened to, and who got pushed out—and eventually, they were pushed out themselves. Howard came to understand that the pipeline to tech success wasn't broken; it was working exactly as intended.
A Personal Transformation
Cassidy Barton, 42, a chief technical officer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, learned this lesson the hard way. After years in construction, AI drew him back to his childhood dream of programming. He enrolled in the Multiverse's engineering class in September 2024 and found that it changed his life, including his day job. Barton began using AI agents at the mechanical engineering firm where he worked, accomplishing in minutes what his colleagues had spent their entire careers learning to do. "I felt like the power that had been hidden behind paywalls of privilege had been removed for me," Barton says.
Origins and Business Model
The Multiverse School started as a distraction after a challenging breakup. "I was like, I'm going to go on the road and make a video a day because I'm sad," Howard says. Videos became coaching sessions, which grew into groups, and eventually a school. This origin story is not incidental—it is the methodology. Howard built something for people going through hard times because they were going through hard times themselves.
Howard's business model matches the mission. "We're a communist business model," Howard says. "Pay what you can. Nobody turned away for lack of funds. If you need a scholarship, just ask. We'll say yes." The curriculum is organized around survival and sovereignty, not just employment. According to the school's impact report, sliding-scale tuition from paying members subsidizes those who cannot pay, sustaining the model.
Accessibility and Privacy
The programming is also accessible to individuals who do not fit the neurotypical mold. For example, during a class about AI agents, instructions were provided on what to do if someone starts to feel manic—whether from hyperfocus or other challenges in processing instructions. Howard emphasizes freeing oneself from tech overlords: "You don't want to give Palantir all your data. Cool. Let's get open-source software on your computer and have less spyware on it. Slowly, slowly cut the cord."
Barton experienced this firsthand when his wife's period tracking app served her an ad for menstrual cramp relief three days before her cycle. "I was like, hold on, that's just a calendar," Barton says. "And then we looked into it, and it's selling her data. In a post-Roe world, that's a dangerous thing." So Barton's team built Cara, a free encrypted period-tracking app that lives on the phone, locks behind a screen, and never phones home. His entire team came from the Multiverse.
Community and Accountability
"If we're making friendships, nerdy friendships that produce something empowering, that give people agency, we're hitting those needs. We're stabilizing each other," Howard says. The GTFO program has helped people in unsafe places get their passports, navigate their options, and understand available technology. The job standup runs every weekday, not just to get people hired, but because, as Howard puts it, "every day till the Bell Riots start, we're going to get up and look for jobs, because we all still have to pay rent."
Howard is aware of the potential for the Multiverse to become what it fights against. They know that offering empowerment can feed a cult of personality and are committed to staying accountable. "If you show up in a place where people are starving and you have food, they love you. They'll do anything for you," Howard says. "It's unethical to use that. That's what cults are." To prevent this, the school has a code of conduct, a mutual aid coordinator with social work training, and people close to Howard with finely tuned noses for exploitation. "I'm just an autistic mom. I'm not very good at being an evil founder."
A Practical Invitation
The school's invitation is practical rather than utopian. Howard is not asking anyone to believe in a better world; they are asking people to show up on a video call that will help them deal with the world we live in. "We're trying to help regular, normal people get to the cutting edge of AI," Howard says, "because it's the only system that will help you learn it."
