People of color, especially women, are heavily underrepresented in STEM fields. Yet, through afterschool programming, Kids in Tech has been able to help create a pipeline of diverse students to engage in STEM , gaining skills and practical knowledge to become future leaders in tech and science. For this kick-off event, you will hear impactful stories and insight from Kids in Tech Board members, partners and participants to learn about our innovative approach Kids in Tech is taking to bridge the digital divide.
Scientist who have won the Nobel Prize are 17 times more like to be painter, 12 times more likely to have been a poet and 4 times as likely to also be a musician. There is something to be said about success in STEM and a connection to the arts. In this conversation we will explore how we should use art to motivate STEM education learning in schools, workplaces and other afterschool settings.
Legislators and advocates alike are fighting to ensure STEM is an integral part of education in Massachusetts, across our nation, and the world. During this conversation, panelists will investigate these STEM education and workforce development policy priorities: (1). STEM skills for all through applied learning; (2). Guided pathways to college, careers, and lifelong learning; (3). Alignment to economic and workforce development through employer partnerships; and (4). early childhood STEM education initiatives. How can policy be used to drive to change for our nation’s children?
The nature of work is constantly evolving. The pace of change will only accelerate in the years ahead, presenting new opportunities and challenges for the workforce as a whole, but especially for underrepresented groups and women. These transformations will continue to displace many workers, eliminating their jobs and requiring them to learn new skills. These transformations will also create other jobs and entire new industries we have yet to imagine; they will liberate us from rote tasks, increasing our productivity and leaving us time to explore our creativity and full potential. Through this session, we explore how advancements in technology are shaping this future, and how STEM education can equip us to exist and advance in this new environment.
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Samantha is an Net Impact Board Fellow with Kids in Tech and the Founder of Samantha E. Roy Consulting. She has experience in partnership management, program design and delivery, and consulting with mission-driven organizations. She is fluent in Spanish and is a graduate of IE Business School and Roger Williams University.
Jael is a Net Impact Board Fellow with Kids in Tech. She also currently works as the Business Development Leader for AI Applications at IBM where she helps facility management and corporate real estate teams implement AI and IoT technologies to derive insights and create cost savings for their operations. Her passions are Social Enterprise, Technology, and Arts & Culture. She is graduate of Kansas State University.
Managing Director, Market Manager, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Dan is the Managing Director and Market Manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank in the New England region. He leads the team that provides wealth management strategies to individuals and their families and nonprofit organizations. Dan is responsible for delivering the firm’s investing, credit, tax and estate planning, family office management and philanthropy capabilities to individuals. Dan earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.
Investor Relations, Corporate Development, and Social Responsibility
Christine Cloonan is a bilingual (English-Spanish) finance professional with expertise in investor relations and financial analysis for tech and telecommunications companies. She is passionate about corporate social responsibility, as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives. She is also former secondary school educator and coach. She holds a Masters in Finance from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She is also a graduate of Bowdoin College and Middlebury College.
Data Strategy Senior Analyst, MassHealth, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Pierson is a graduate of the The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Operations, Information and Decisions; Social Impact and Responsibility. He currently works as the Data Strategy Senior Analyst at MassHealth with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Multicultural & International Student Services Coordinator, Middlesex Community College
Maria McDuffie Clark obtained her undergraduate degrees at North Carolina State University in Sociology and Psychology. After graduation, she moved to Massachusetts to pursue her Masters in Community Social Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She currently serves as the Multicultural & International Student Services Coordinator at Middlesex Community College. She leads all efforts for creating, implementing, marketing and assessing diversity initiatives as well as developing and implementing intersectional programming for diverse students focused on social justice and multicultural competencies that will lead to increased recruitment and retention. She is also a proud AmeriCorps Alumnae.
Sales and Operations Leader
Armond is a sales and operations leader with extensive global experience opening new markets and distribution channels in market-driven B2B industrial companies. He is also adept at managing P&L by driving supply chain and logistics efficiencies as a general manager. With a background in industrial and energy engineering, he has expertise in electrical and power management components and solutions, serving market segments including energy, smart grid, data centers, HVAC, material handling, and sustainability. He is also multi-lingual, speaking English and French proficiently. He also holds an MBA with a concentration on Business Engineering.
Director of Marketing, Global Messaging, HubSpot
Marwa began her professional career in technical support at Bullhorn before joining the marketing team. From there, she wanted experience in the B2C space and worked on the launch of the email program for tjmaxx.com before launching back into the startup space and heading to BevSpot. From BevSpot, she joined HubSpot to oversee the email automation team. The team continued to grow to oversee all global communications across all marketing channels including email, bots, live chat, WhatsApp and more. She is a holds a BA in psychology from the University of Connecticut.
Head of Data Engineering, Global AI & Data, Bose Corporation
Kishore is a seasoned, highly innovative senior technology leader with over 20 years of experience in developing and growing software products and services both at startups and large enterprises. Having played multiple roles over the years covering the entire software delivery life cycle, he has significant experience in designing, developing and architecting highly scalable, high-volume enterprise search applications, web services/applications, mobile, and Cloud based applications.
He obtained his BS in Electrical Engineering from Bangalore University (India), MS in Computer Science from Bridgewater State University and an MBA from Isenberg School (UMass, Amherst) in addition to numerous other executive and professional certifications from MIT Executive Education and HBS Online programs.
NaBeela has held various communications roles with Americorps and taught community workshops on social media marketing and branding for organizations like Lowell Makes and her own start-up, Prae. NaBeela remains engaged in her community and is currently starting a literary journal called Lucky Jefferson. She volunteers her time at schools to improve educational disparities and to jumpstart free and accessible weekend creative writing programs. NaBeela holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Advertising from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is obtaining a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University.
Associate Director, Procurement & Operations, TripAdvisor
Freya is a strategic business leader with nonprofit and for-profit experience, focused on addressing operational challenges across finance, sales, HR, marketing, product management, engineering and IT. She is a graduate of Tufts University and Northwestern University. She also holds a certificate in nonprofit management from Boston University.
Associate Research Director, Jobs for the Future
Dr. Sullivan is a community advocate, educator and researcher passionately committed to transformation towards a more just society. For 25 years, Dr. Sullivan has worked to build individual, organizational, and community capacity to be more civically engaged and empowered. She hold a Ph.D. in public policy from University of Massachusetts Boston and holds of Masters of Arts in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research.
Vice President, Diversity, Access, and Inclusion, Suffolk University
Dr. Smith is a highly seasoned higher education professional with 20+ years of experience and has provided supportive services to students across the educational pipeline. She have obtained three higher education degrees; Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Master of Education in Student Services, and Doctorate in Educational Leadership all from universities in Georgia (Georgia Southern and Argosy University/Atlanta).
Area Health Education Center Project Coordinator at Georgetown University Medical Center
Alicia M. Bibbs, M.Ed, is the DC Area Health Education Center Project Coordinator at Georgetown University Medical Center. Prior to Georgetown, Alicia worked at Howard University as a Pre-Health Advisor. Alicia has experience supporting bio-behavioral and epidemiological research projects at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Alicia also served as an AmeriCorps member with Citizen Schools National Teaching Fellowship in New Mexico and Texas. Alicia holds a Master’s in Education degree in Curriculum, Instruction, & Education Leadership from Lesley University; along with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology from Clark Atlanta University. Alicia is passionate about education and healthcare equity in underserved communities in the United States.
Senior Product Manager, Salesforce
Jared attended Boston College for his undergraduate studies, and Boston University for his graduate degree. He has worked in the software industry for over a decade. Most recently, he worked as a product manager for mobile applications at HeyWire for 6 years before being acquired by Salesforce. Since the acquisition, he has led product for various Messaging Platforms at Salesforce.
Grants & Communications Consultant
Dawn loves working in the nonprofit sector to improve the lives of young people in her community. She has nearly 20 years of professional experience. Her fundraising experience has included private foundations ranging from the Lowell-specific Theodore Edson Parker Foundation to national funders like The Kresge Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She has also managed both proposals and reporting for public funds at the city, state, and federal levels. Dawn also has experience managing branding, media relations, and social media workplans, in addition to working with development colleagues on annual appeals and events of all sizes.
President & CEO, Hunter + Co Communications
Jan is a PR Consultant and former radio journalist. She has proven expertise in designing and executing successful global media relations programs for top brands. She is a graduate of Boston College.