Meg Kaufer, chief visionary officer, of the STEM Alliance, joined us at our club’s March 28th meeting at the Larchmont Yacht Club. The Alliance is “a nonprofit which bridges systemic gaps in science, technology, engineering and math education with the goal of empowering communities, inspiring innovation and creating opportunity for all.”
She spoke about the need to train students for the local workforce, calling it a crisis in STEM equity. There is a low percentage of Hispanics and women in STEM jobs locally.
The Alliance started twelve years ago and has served more than 2500 students from K through 12th grades. Strategic partnerships have been formed with over 40 companies and organizations in the metro New York area to fund its programs.
Meg discussed the many activities sponsored by her organization which include:
- Math competitions
- Competitive robotics
- Sail cruises
- Tinkering nights
- The STEM-tastic Festival, a county-wide event to be held at the Westchester Children’s Museum on May 9th. STEM-tastic is for over 1,000 people which brings Science, Technology, Engineering & Math to life with dozens of hands-on activities.
- Summer programming
She turned her attention to the Digital Equity work stream, which connects high-need community members to computers, training and affordable internet access. This program serves 1,500 adults, seniors and teens annually.
Future plans for the Alliance include:
- A STEM-mobile, coming in 2025-26
- Women Advancing Through Tech (WATT) in Yonkers
- The Eliza STEM Lab in Inwood
We also heard from Mary Grace Pagaduan, managing director of resource development.
For further details, go to the STEM Alliance’s website at: www.thestemalliance.org .
