Tea & “bytes” Luncheon Highlights Need for
Next Generation of STEM Leaders
Tech Sassy Girlz’s Annual Fundraiser Benefits Scholarships and Programs
Tea and “bytes,” the annual fundraising event held by Tech Sassy Girlz, the signature outreach program of Collegiate Pathways, Inc., (CPI), will benefit scholarships and programs for underrepresented middle and high school girls interested in future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
The event is scheduled for Friday, March 17, 2017 from 9am – Noon at the Orlando Science Center, located in Downtown Orlando at 782 East Princeton Street. This year’s special guest speaker is Quincy Brown, Ph.D., a program director for STEM Education Research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She was previously a senior policy advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. While in that role, Dr. Brown’s portfolio included Agricultural Entrepreneurship, STEM Education, and the My Brother’s Keeper STEM+ Entrepreneurship initiatives. Dr. Brown was previously an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Drexel University. She is also a recipient of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) CI Fellows Postdoctoral Research Fellowship award and was a National Science Foundation GK-12 and Bridge To the Doctorate Fellow.
Dr. Brown was a professor of Computer Science at Bowie State University. Her research interests included Mobile HCI, CS Education, and Broadening Participation in Computing. In 2011, she founded Girls Who Will, a summer program for middle and high school girls. Through her research, she sought to identify methods of facilitating human interaction with advanced technologies to support learning. Her projects included exploring the ways in which young children use touch and gesture interactions with mobile devices, first responders’ use of mobile devices during emergency evacuations, and modeling inquiry behaviors on mobile devices.
Tech Sassy Girlz is working to change the face of STEM and develop the next generation of STEM women leaders. As part of this implementation, a new 2017 Scholarship Program is now available, made possible by the financial contributions of companies such as CenturyLink. This continued support is helping girls majoring in STEM to pursue a college degree. Scholarships offered are the CenturyLink (high school), Leonne R. Mathias (college and geared for nursing) and the Courtney R. & Laine M. Powell (college geared for Computer Science) scholarship.
Details about the event are available at http://bit.ly/2mPXMmu.
“Our Tea & ‘bytes’ fundraising event allows Tech Sassy Girlz to develop a pipeline for future women leaders in STEM through scholarships and educational outreach programming. We are helping to cultivate innovators, makers and pioneers of the future by opening doors and expanding their vision in STEM,” says Laine Powell, M.Ed., MSM, CPI Founder.
According to national research, in 2018, 8 million STEM jobs will be available in the United States, but the vast majority of U.S. students will be unprepared to fill them. 51 percent of all STEM jobs are projected to be in computer science-related fields. The Federal government alone needs an additional 10,000 IT and cybersecurity professionals, and the private sector need many more. STEM fields are at the core of the nation’s innovation.
Tea & “bytes” will also feature fabulous silent auction items such as an autographed Orlando Magic basketball, Universal Studios Theme Park tickets, wine baskets and more! 100% of proceeds raised will benefit Tech Sassy Girlz scholarships and programming.
To register and obtain more details, visit the events section of the website at www.collegiatepathways.org or email TSG@collegiatepathways.org. Seating is limited so advanced registration is required. Tickets are $45 per person and a limited number of corporate tables of ten are available.