Code for Tampa Bay Brigade was founded in 2012 by Terri Willingham, as part of the development of the HIVE makerspace project at John F. Germany Public Library. It was one of the earliest regional Brigades.It was originally called Code for Hillsborough, then we opted for the Tampa Bay identifier so that we could be more inclusive. The group hosted its first National Day of Civic Hacking event in 2014 and in 2016, hosted two NDCH events, including the first one ever in St. Petersburg.
The first Core Leadership team consisted of Terri, Chris Willingham, Phil Muino, and John Punzak, and the group met monthly at the HIVE.
Mike Turtora ran the Brigade from June 2017 to January 2018, with Michael Ritchie who upgraded website, & support from Michael Sunderland, and hosted a Zika themed NDCH event in 2017.
In 2018, Terri Willingham resumed leadership of the Brigade, with a new management team, and refocused mission and goals. Starting in May, Code for Tampa Bay will host two monthly meetings: 1st Mondays at the Hillsborough County Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, and 3rd Mondays at TEC Garage in St. Petersburg, as well having plans in place for two NDCH events and improved civic tech outreach and engagement year round.