Girls For Technology Encourages and Empowers Youth

October 15 2019 Innovation Destination: Hartford Women In Business 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, engineering, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Girls For Technology, math, science, startup, STEM, technology, women-owned business

The Girls For Technology team at Capgemini North America in New York City. (Photo credit: LMG Photography)

MetroHartford Alliance Content Manager Nan Price spoke with Sabrina Tucker-Barrett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Girls For Technology in June 2018. (Read the interview: Girls For Technology Encourages STEM, Entrepreneurship). Since then, the startup has achieved some significant accolades. Sabrina reached out to Nan to provide some updates.

NAN PRICE: What’s new since we last talked?

SABRINA TUCKER-BARRETT: Things are going well, and we have a lot going on. I always feel like I’m on a rollercoaster!

We’re gearing up for our upcoming inaugural gala, The Future is Now, which will take place Friday, November 15 with proceeds supporting our programming. We’re excited to have Jasmine Lawrence as our keynote speaker. She’s a Facebook Engineer and entrepreneur and has an encouraging message to share.

We’ve also been forming collaborations and launching some new initiatives, including SparkHart, an annual immersive hackathon we formed in partnership with InfoSys. The event, which engages up to 100 diverse youth in Hartford, will take place during Computer Science Education Week in December.

In the first quarter of 2020, we’ll be launching Pipeline 4.0, a high-tech career pre-apprenticeship workforce development program that provides training, support services, and career navigation assistance for young adults ages 18 to 24.

We’ve accomplished a lot in the past year, too. In May 2019, a team of students from Girls for Technology participated in a Facebook’s Engineer for the Week challenge called “Chatbot for Change.” The girls created Eboni, an artificial intelligence-based virtual adviser for young black professionals. Last October, representatives from Facebook came to Hartford to meet our team. Girls For Technology was the only girl-serving organization in the east coast visited by Facebook. Of the 20 competing teams, our team made it to the final round of the competition and won the Social Impact Event, which was one of four awards presented. It was a powerful opportunity to show the girls how hard work and dedication can pay off.

In other news, Girls For Technology has formed partnerships with the University of St. Joseph. It’s being funded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the Aurora Foundation for Women and Girls in Greater Hartford. Every other Saturday, St. Joseph’s faculty and students are on campus teaching middle and high school girls about virtual reality, augmented reality, and gaming. We’ve also had female community leaders come in and speak to the girls about college, careers, and readiness, including Carrianne Polo, Founder of New Park Creative; Nicole Wagner, CEO of LambdaVision, an engineer from Lockheed Martin, and you!

NAN: We talked about the importance of mentoring in your first interview.

SABRINA: Mentorship is huge. It’s helpful for the girls to see professionals in the workforce who are relatable. It gives them aspirations and helps build their self-confidence.

NAN: What does Girls For Technology need moving forward?

SABRINA: More community involvement to expose youth to emerging technologies at a young age. In addition, I would love to see more corporations/companies stepping up to not only understand, but to take measurable action to ensure they’re working diligently to improve and retain a diverse talent pool of women and people of color. It’s hard to see yourself growing in a company when you don’t see yourself represented. This brings innovation to businesses and companies succeed. The risk of overlooking diversity in the workplace can be detrimental and can affect all aspects of business.

In terms of what Girls For Technology needs moving forward, I would also emphasize that we’re looking to expand our board development. We’re looking for people to step up and join our board. Right now, we have about five including an attorney, someone from the financial sector, and someone in the healthcare insurance industry.

We’d like to diversify to add more perspectives. More specifically, we could add some men and someone from education or the real estate industry. We’re also looking for seasoned people who have board experience.

NAN: You mentioned a couple of future goals. What else is next for Girls For Technology?

SABRINA: It’s exciting to see the business growing. It’s even more exciting to see it making a difference in young girls’ lives. We’re hoping to scale the organization across the state and increase awareness of our programming and initiatives.

Learn more about Girls For Technology

VISIT: www.girlsfortechnology.org
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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Connecticut Science Center STEM Careers Initiative

August 07 2019 Innovation Destination: Hartford CT Lifestyle, Initiatives 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, Connecticut Science Center, engineering and math, Hartford, science, STEM, STEM careers, STEM learning, technology

Connecticut Science Center President and Chief Executive Officer Matt Fleury at the new STEM Career Connections initiative launch Wednesday, August 7.

Connecticut Science Center President and Chief Executive Officer Matt Fleury spoke with MetroHartford Alliance Content Manager Nan Price about the new STEM Career Connections initiative launched by the Science Center this week.

NAN PRICE: Tell us about the new STEM careers initiative and how it will impact the Hartford region.

MATT FLEURY: The STEM Career Connections initiative is a natural honing of conversations about the importance, significance, and relevance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in the lives of our community, its citizens, and its employers.

With the STEM careers initiative, we’re trying to illuminate for people—parents, kids, educators—the presence and availability of exciting jobs in the STEM disciplines here in Connecticut. We want to show them that these jobs are readily accessible by people from all facets of our community. And there are clear pathways to get those jobs that are more accessible, approachable, and affordable than many people perceive.

If we don’t prepare a workforce and successive generations of individuals to be ready for those jobs, employers won’t have the talent they need. The “magic” of Connecticut’s success over many years has been the talent we can offer employers in our innovating economy.

NAN: How will the new STEM Career Connections help create pipelines for youth to enter the workforce here in Connecticut?

MATT: The Science Center’s unique role in creating a pipeline of talent for Connecticut is our reach at a highly influential age in a young person’s life. If, by the age of 13, you see yourself in a STEM career, research shows that you’re two times or more likely to actually be doing something in those fields as an adult.

So, engaging kids at an early age is critical because, if you don’t provide a spark—some sort of inspiration—it can be an uphill battle to encourage kids to take an interest in STEM learning, which potentially leads to a career in STEM. It’s important because there are so many terrific opportunities right here in Connecticut. And we have to make sure we connect people to those opportunities. That’s why we call the initiative STEM Career Connections.

NAN: Let’s talk about those connections. In what ways is the Science Center helping to introduce those pathways?

MATT: Our STEM Career Connections initiative is deliberately pulling together different players in the pipeline between childhood and academic studies and training and a career. So, we bring together employers, career counselors from schools or colleges, enrollment officers from community colleges, and practitioners who can model what it looks like to be a STEM professional.

In many cases, we can help them envision themselves in STEM careers. For example, wouldn’t it be wonderful if our diverse community could see and meet women who are successful in the science field or minorities who are successful with technology? We can showcase that.

We want to enable kids to see themselves as part of that future. We do that through as many of our contact points as possible, from our activities and programming to our exhibit galleries to our engagements at local libraries and schools. We strive to provide real-world perspectives and represent real-world practitioners to make things more personal and tangible.

We created a sharp logo with an iconic message we’ll display at many of our exhibits to indicate that this is a place or a science topic where you find a STEM career opportunity.

NAN: From a wider perspective, tell us about the role the Connecticut Science Center plays in the community.

MATT: In the early 2000s, the Connecticut Science Center was envisioned by leaders at the state level, among industry, the community, and educators who recognized that our country and our state were losing our historical and traditional advantage as a base of great human talent. Other countries and competing economies were outpacing ours in the recruitment and graduation of people in the science fields, which would threaten our leadership as an innovation-based economy. Here in Connecticut, that has always been our story.

So, the Connecticut Science Center was created to visually and publicly reassert—the way our dramatic building does on the Hartford skyline—that Hartford and Connecticut still see ourselves as a place of innovation. Inside our building, we deliver on that message by inspiring people with specific experiences to see themselves as part of that culture now and going forward. And, through the STEM Career Connections Initiative, they can see themselves in those fields.

NAN: How can Hartford become known as an innovation hub—and what role does the Connecticut Science Center play?

MATT: We need to develop a critical mass around innovation and technology as a community. There are great assets to build on here in Connecticut and we need to celebrate and support them more.

The Science Center is a part of creating that energy. What’s exciting is that, since we opened 10 years ago, we’re able to look around and say it’s not just us any longer. We now have science, technology, and innovation neighbors ranging from MakerspaceCT in the old G Fox building to the Stanley Black & Decker Manufactory 4.0 to UConn Hartford, the University of Connecticut’s new campus downtown, not to mention several innovation initiatives in InsurTech, FinTech, and digital health—all adding to the already rich array of creative cultural institutions that are part of that innovative culture we’re creating. From the genomic sciences cluster to the west to the engineering and R&D centers of United Technologies to the east, the region is increasingly thick with technology.

Hartford has made a ton of progress if you go back to the genesis of the Connecticut Science Center around the turn of the century. If we can double that progress in the next 10 or 20 years, we’ll see a much different community that’s ever more innovative, enticing, and exciting.

Find out more about the Connecticut Science Center

VISIT: ctsciencecenter.org
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

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CT Startup Offers STEM Learning Platform

February 13 2019 Innovation Destination: Hartford Startups 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, startup, STEM, STEM learning

In 2016, Ashley Pereira launched Career In STEM, an innovative online platform for science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM) career exploration.

Connecticut business founder, mompreneur, and former high school teacher Ashley Pereira started her “action-oriented social enterprise” Greater Goods Consultants LLC in 2012. In 2016, she launched her company’s latest initiative, Career In STEM®, an innovative online platform for science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM) career exploration.

Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price spoke with Ashley about her transition from teacher to business owner.

NAN PRICE: Give us a little background. How did you develop the business concept?

ASHLEY PEREIRA: While I was still teaching and before I had kids, I knew a family friend who was an evaluator. I started working for her doing side jobs. Three years ago, when my daughter was born, I decided to leave the classroom full-time.

Initially, I wanted to make the same amount I earned as a teacher. I enjoyed evaluation work and had gained enough experience, so I emailed people and asked if they wanted some help doing their research and evaluation. I named my starting rate and I built up enough business that I was able to quit my job and keep doing the evaluation work. Everything was word-of-mouth and it grew organically. I was just doing what I enjoyed. That’s pretty much what it still is today.

NAN: Do you have employees?

ASHLEY: It’s mostly just me. I have a decent number of subcontractors who do my web development and graphic design. I had an intern, Briana Hernandez, who I just promoted to Program Manager. She’s a graduate from Eastern Connecticut State University, which is where I got my Master’s in teaching. She’s awesome! We also have an intern coming on this spring semester, Anindya Martadarma. She’ll be working as Business and Community Development intern to expand our market in New York City.

NAN: Tell us more about Career In STEM.

ASHLEY: The idea behind Career In STEM began when I was a teacher. I primarily taught science to ninth graders. One year, my homeroom class had a mission to complete a job shadow toward their overarching portfolio, which would be due by their senior year. We spent hours every Friday working on it and, at the end of the year, only three of my 15 students completed the mission. The problem was, the kids really had no idea how to navigate the world of careers, which I found kind of scary because they’re going to be out there soon enough.

That planted the seed. Also, in teaching in an inner-city school in Hartford, I often got the question: Miss, why do I need to know this? A lot of times, I didn’t have a good answer. For me, it’s easy because I love science! But trying to get a ninth grader, who is at a third-grade reading level to be interested in anything science-related was challenging.

My last year teaching, the state adopted new science standards. I was going to have to change my entire curriculum anyway. To meet those new standards and try to answer kids’ questions, I aligned everything I did with careers. I was still doing the same content, but through the lens of STEM careers—each day students worked as a certain person, for example a materials scientist in a phase-change lab, to learn not only the content but how it connected to careers and the real world.

Career In STEM is the embodiment of that. It’s everything I did when I was teaching that final year. It’s everything I wish I knew when I was an undergraduate studying to be a veterinarian because I loved animals and had no idea what else I could do other than be a vet. It’s also information I wish I had when I was a teacher to show my students what’s out there.

When I asked most of my students what they wanted to do for a career, they would say: Basketball player, football player, nurse, lawyer—jobs they knew. But there are so many other options and ways to earn a decent income. A lot of times you don’t even need a Bachelor’s degree if you want to work in a trade industry. How would these students know?

NAN: Let’s talk about reSET. You and I connected after I saw your pitch at Flight Night last November. How did you become involved?

ASHLEY: One of my advisors, Chip Janiszewski, has been my friend and mentor since I was in college. He’s an active member of the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, and we met 10 years ago at a Chamber networking event. He mentioned reSET as an entrepreneurial resource to check out when I was first getting started with the business and trying to figure out the process. Nobody knows where to start when they are starting. reSET was a starting piece. And I started small by joining their mailing list about five years ago and listing myself in the member directory.

When I saw the latest Flight Night event posted, I figured it was the right time for me to try pitching. My company has been gaining traction. I’ve been earning money and I’ve been working on my next steps. For me, Flight Night was an opportunity to get out there. I haven’t done any networking and I realized that’s going to be key to my growth in Phase 2 of my company.

I was a teacher. I don’t really have any knowledge or training on the business side. I need to be able to connect with businesses and understand their needs, so I can provide something of value for everybody, not just my idea of what I think is valuable.

NAN: Have you utilized other startup resources?

ASHLEY: Yes, I’ve been meeting monthly with Entrepreneur-in-Residence Eric Knight at reSET. He’s a great resource to run ideas by and make connections. Every time we meet, I create another list of things to do. I work on that list and then I come back the next month with what I’m working on and what I need help with.

I’ve also used SCORE a few times. I’d love to check out the University of Hartford Entrepreneurial Center and the Windham Region Chamber of Commerce too.

NAN: You mentioned going into Phase 2 of your company. What does that look like?

ASHLEY: That’s a good question. Phase 1 was the embodiment of everything: I posted all the lessons I had created as a teacher for sale and I made a couple of online courses for summer camps to test the waters. Phase 1 is working, it’s profitable, and I haven’t really had to do anything. It does it on its own.

Phase 2 is serving as an aggregator rather than as a producer. So, much like Innovation Destination Hartford is a hub of entrepreneurial information, I see myself as becoming a hub for those interested in STEM careers.

My target is students interested in STEM careers who don’t know what to do or where to start. I would be the starting point. And then really anybody else—teachers, nonprofits, schools, businesses, and parents looking to help their teens in the career exploration process. The STEM pipeline is so leaky right now. An information hub for providers and searchers doesn’t exist. I saw that as a teacher—my students couldn’t figure out where to find information. So, I want to put it all in one place. That’s Phase 2.

I tested my vision for this aggregator with the STEM Career Connectory, which is a Facebook group with more than 300 members. I’ve noticed people are hesitant to post things in the group because they don’t want to be seen as selling something. But the teachers want to know about it. As a teacher, I would’ve loved to know there was a coding nonprofit in my city where I could refer kids who are interested in coding. I want to bridge that gap between the people who are looking for things and the people who want to be found without making it feel like you’re being sold to. Phase 2 for Career In STEM is the creation of a place where people come for knowledge and connect with all kinds of STEM services.

Of course, I still want them to buy information. And maybe I’ll make a commission or maybe you’ll only be able to see certain information if you’re a member of my site. I haven’t figured out the monetization piece 100%.

I also want to fuel that STEM pipeline. So, my first step in bringing Phase 2 to life includes the job shadow finder. Not only would that be helpful for teachers and students, but there’s no better way for companies to build their pipeline than to offer opportunities for teenagers to job shadow. And then, if they can connect kids with a mentor and have them come to some events, they can build their STEM talent pipeline while kids are still in high school. Don’t companies need that? I think they need it. Right now, I’m testing that as a pilot study.

NAN: Aside from funding, what’s been your biggest startup challenge?

ASHLEY: I don’t really need funding. It’s free for me to make my lessons. It’s not free for me to host my website, but that cost is minimal. So, funding isn’t a challenge for me. What is a challenge is time. I’m a mompreneur. The whole reason I started my own company and left a full-time job I loved was to raise my kids. I love my business, but I’ll never let that take first place.

I know I could be making $1 million. But being there for my kids is worth more than that right now. Obviously, I could scale faster. I could get more done. I could be in every school in America. But that’s not my priority right now. So, time is my biggest challenge—but I’m okay with that.

Another big challenge is getting people to answer me! Big companies—the ones you would think would be most in need of a STEM pipeline and complain the most they don’t have enough workers—need to return my phone calls, because I have teenagers who want to job shadow there right now!

I don’t know the way around that. So, what I need the most is connections. Obviously, knowing where to start and knowing how to navigate the business world is challenging for me because I have no formal business training.

NAN: That’s where meeting with Eric may help.

ASHLEY: Yes. And he’s a great connection because has a STEM company, so he’s able to answer my questions from a lot of different lenses.

NAN: Any advice you would offer something thinking about launching a startup?

ASHLEY: My advice would be to just start. I had every excuse under the sun too—I was a teacher, I didn’t make a huge salary, I have kids, I have to pay the mortgage. Everybody has the same excuses. Either you do it or you don’t.

Start small. That’s also why I don’t believe I needed funding. I feel like a lot of people start out thinking they need investment, but they haven’t proved their concept can work. I think you should prove you can work with where you are and what you have to get your business off the ground.

I know if I had gotten funding five years ago for what I thought I wanted to do then, it would have been completely different. I believe my limited time has been the best thing for my company because it’s imposed training wheels. And it’s made me take incremental steps, which is perfect, because I can do this baby step and see what works, see what doesn’t work, make tweaks, and take the next baby step.

If I had $1 million from day one, my company would definitely not be what it is now. So, I believe training wheels and baby steps are a good thing. Don’t try to go to the max. Take a little step first. It didn’t cost me anything. I started this company with zero dollars. I put all my lessons plans onto a huge teacher website and they started to sell. I used that money to build my website and then I used that money do this.

So, I think baby steps are good. Big dreams and goals are awesome too, but slow down first and just start. That’s my best advice.

Learn more about Career in STEM

VISIT: careerinstem.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

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Girls For Technology Encourages STEM, Entrepreneurship

June 20 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Women In Business 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, engineering, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Girls For Technology, math, science, startup, STEM, technology, women-owned business

Sabrina Tucker-Barrett is President and Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut startup Girls For Technology.

Sabrina Tucker-Barrett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Girls For Technology, co-founded the startup in 2015 to encourage girls ages 11 to 17 to explore opportunities to become tomorrow’s leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Sabrina spoke to Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price about the process of launching a nonprofit startup and the progress the organization has made over the past three years.

NAN PRICE: How did you develop the business concept Girls For Technology?

SABRINA TUCKER-BARRETT: When I launched Girls For Technology three years ago I noticed, as technology was rapidly advancing, our youth were not being prepared with the foundation of 21^st century skills. Equity amongst schools across the state was not equal. At the time, there were very few STEM initiatives within the public school systems—particularly in the inner city of Hartford and more broadly the State of Connecticut that targeted youth of color.

As an African-American girl growing up in New London, CT, I was fortunate to attend a suburban school, where the quality of education and funding was better. I personally witnessed my peers at school who, at a very young age, had the opportunity to excel in sports and music, pursue hobbies and interests, and gain exposure to other cultures through international travel.

However, girls from my neighborhood who predominately looked like me did not have many of the same opportunities, resources, or support. The economic and educational disparity I observed between my school and my neighborhood inspired me to become a philanthropist and advocate for other girls. At a very young age, I realized certain opportunities weren’t available to meet my needs, I knew I wanted to focus on marginalized, under-represented girls.

NAN: When did you launch the startup?

SABRINA: I wrote a mock proposal about Girls For Technology back in 2011. I had a vision of offering opportunities to help girls learn how to code and do robotics. I wanted to see more marginalized girls get into the STEM fields and think about pursuing those types of careers. I wrote that in the proposal—and a lot of that has actually come to fruition.

I sat on the proposal for a while, at the time I was still working in corporate America. After I had my twins in 2012, I was deciding if I wanted to go back to work within the insurance field or stay home with the kids. And then my husband said: “Remember that proposal you wrote back in 2011? Let’s make it happen.”

We decided to officially launch Girls For Technology in 2015.

NAN: You co-founded the company with your husband, correct?

SABRINA: Yes, my husband, Anthony Barrett, was the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Girls For Technology. He had many years of works experience within the nonprofit sector. We combines our passion and ideas for making a difference in youths lives and the rest was history. Although he has moved on and is now the Executive Director at the Wilson-Gray YMCA here in Hartford, he’s still very passionate about the mission.

NAN: Coming from a corporate background, did you have any business background?

SABRINA: I didn’t have any formal training. However, my father was an entrepreneur who owned and operated a heavy highway construction business for many years. He wanted me to follow his footsteps and become an entrepreneur focusing on civil engineering and highway construction. He always said the most rewarding thing is when you become your own boss. Unfortunately, at the time I did not personally see women like myself in that field, so I didn’t think that was possible. Instead, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration degree and worked in the insurance industry for nearly eight years. But I feel like I’ve always had that entrepreneurial spirit!

NAN: What have you learned on your entrepreneurial journey? Any surprises?

SABRINA: I didn’t realize launching a nonprofit startup would be so complicated. I thought you could apply for grants, write grants, and if they liked what you had written, and foundations liked the work you were doing in your community, then you would receive funding

It’s not quite that simple. You have to show results, data, metrics, and impact—the list goes on.

Another point I’d like to mention, I’ve learned that perseverance and having a strong level of mental fortitude is very important, even when the future may not seem as bright. I trust the process and I continue to build my support network.

NAN: Let’s talk about the importance of focusing on STEM. Why is that close to your heart?

SABRINA: For the nation to meet the evolving workforce needs, it starts with our youth. Reports show that America will need to add 1 million more STEM professionals by 2022. We must welcome diversity within the STEM industries. It’s vital. As a nation, we must continue to support African-Americans and others who are underrepresented in these fields. When we look at the statistics for women of color going and staying in STEM professions, the numbers are grim.

Many of our youth, especially in urban school settings, aren’t prepared to meet the demanding needs for college and STEM professions. It’s important that girls as young as third grade start having positive interactions with role models so they can aspire to one day be the next Mae Jamison, mechanical engineer, venture capitalist to help change the trajectory of more girls later pursuing such careers.

NAN: In what ways are you encouraging future entrepreneurs?

SABRINA: Girls For Technology combines leadership with the STEM focus. We offer a variety of educational and career-oriented programs and leadership workshops where we are teaching young girls what it takes to be a leader and how to handle yourself in the work environment.

NAN: You also collaborate with other local organizations.

SABRINA: Yes. We subcontract with Hartford Public Schools to provide after-school enrichment programs. Aetna supports us by allowing our girls to visit and tour their worksite. Through the company’s Women in Tech initiative, Aetna has talked to the young ladies about serious career options—not just at Aetna but within the STEM fields. They’ve discussed what those career options look like and what types of classes the girls need to take to prepare for those roles.

Our youth have also visited the HAI Group in Cheshire where they learned about data protection in an age of cyber security threats and breaches. High school students were able to apply creative and critical thinking to develop case study solutions.

In 2017 Girls For Technology took a group of 25 girls on a field trip to YouTube and Google in New York. Also, through the White House Council on Women and Girls initiative, Girls For Technology was invited to visit the White House in 2016 along with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). Most recently we were invited to the U.S. Department of Defense in Virginia.

NAN: How have you been getting on the radar—especially with the White House and some of these larger companies?

SABRINA: LinkedIn is one of my best tools, and basic networking to reach out to different companies. Some companies are finding us, too. Actually, the White House found us—I was shocked. It was amazing.

NAN: You’ve received some accolades in the short time since you’ve launched the startup.

SABRINA: Yes, it’s been great! I was nominated for a Connecticut Entrepreneur Award and won second place in the Education category. The event recognizes entrepreneurs throughout Connecticut. It was an honor to be nominated and receive that award.

I also received a 100 Women of Color award in March 2017. The annual event celebrates 100 women from the Greater Hartford area who are positive role models and committed to bettering the community. I sit on the Board of Advisors for National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) for the State of Connecticut and was recently asked to sit on the Board of Directors for Innovation Places, an initiative of CTNext.

Most recently, I was chosen by The Network Journal “40 under 40” to recognize young African-Americans across the United States who have proven to be exceptional performers in their industry.

The Girls for Technology mission: Changing the future of science, technology, engineering, and math professions by inspiring and equipping girls of all backgrounds to pursue these fields.

NAN: Let’s talk about the importance of mentoring—which is noted in your bio on your website.

SABRINA: I am a true supporter of mentoring; I know the power it holds especially for marginalized youth. It’s important for the girls we work with to find positive mentors at an early age. Mentors provide encouragement and give them hope for their future.

One way we blend innovation and mentoring together is every Monday during our after-school program we incorporate our #WomenWhoSTEMSeries into the lesson. Girls can virtually interact with women from across the United States who currently work in STEM fields. We ask each guest speaker to share their journey into STEM and words of encouragement.

NAN: How are you finding those mentors for the girls?

SABRINA: I find mentors through local colleges and universities, various women infinity groups in corporations, LinkedIn, social media, and word of mouth. Mentors have not only mentored girls, but also volunteer their services in various ways to push the Girls For Technology mission forward.

NAN: You have an entire board of directors. How did you build that support network?

SABRINA: A few of the board member are friends I’ve known for many years—their backgrounds aligned with our mission. So, I had a network, but I feel it grew much larger after I started the organization. Other board members my husband knew, and then others were intrigued by the organization and want to give back to the community. It’s a small board. As the organization grows, I plan on growing it.

NAN: How are you getting the word out about what you’re doing?

SABRINA: I’m constantly pushing the mission near and far, so people understand the importance of what we do. I use a lot of social media and I send virtual newsletters. It’s also a lot of word of mouth from parents.

The Hartford Public Schools is a huge supporter—they funded our organization with $40K this year to support our after-school program. One of the state representatives has allocated funding for us through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Another huge supporter is the The Prosperity Foundation.

NAN: What you’re doing is obviously making a social impact.

SABRINA: When I think about social impact—especially for the North Hartford region, where poverty is so high—it’s really about helping these girls realize they’re capable of doing many things. When we take field trips and they’re introduced to women who look just like them, it gives them hope that they can also do those types of jobs.

I find many of these young girls have the interest, but the direction of how to get to where they want to go is not provided or afforded to them. Girls For Technology helps spearhead that direction.

NAN: You’re making such a huge impact on these girls’ lives. That’s got to make you feel incredible.

SABRINA: It really does. I amaze myself sometimes by the impact and opportunities I have personally had since forming Girls For Technology, I’m truly pleased in the direction in which the organization is going and planning for the future.

NAN: Looking to the future, where do you see the startup in the next few years?

SABRINA: I see us becoming a national organization within urban areas across the Northeast. I would say probably three to five years from now. We’re still very new and grassroots.

While I don’t personally own Girls For Technology, as it is a nonprofit and there are no owners, I’m 100% vested and committed to its mission and hold significant legal and ethical duties to the organization. Girls For Technology is my baby I continue to nurture and see it grow from a little seed. I just love all the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur, and seeing my vision come to life!

Learn more about Girls For Technology

VISIT: www.girlsfortechnology.org
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Interested in reading about additional STEM-related startup initiatives? Read our feature stories:

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Female Leaders Tout Connecticut’s Nurturing Environment for STEM Industries

February 26 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Innovation 0 comments Tags: Connecticut Technology Council, innovation, science technology engineering and mathematics, STEM, technology, Women of Innovation

This piece by Editor and Writer Mike Wollschlager originally appeared on Connecticut Magazine online February 19, 2018.

Photo courtesy Connecticut Magazine.

It’s been widely reported in recent years that people are leaving our state in droves. Other than spending a little less time sitting in traffic, there are few positives one can take from that. The Connecticut Technology Council, a member-based organization that supports the tech ecosystem in Connecticut, is working on initiatives to not only keep people from leaving the state, but to attract people from beyond our borders to come here and join the workforce.

“The companies that are reaching out of state to find talent, once they identify the talent, the talent doesn’t want to move to Connecticut for all the reasons that you know—in terms of our state budget, the cost of living, the opportunities for a social life,” says Taylor Van Antwerp, the CTC’s manager of talent and workforce programs. “From the outside looking in, it doesn’t attract people.”

One of the initiatives the CTC hopes will help reverse this trend is the Women of Innovation awards, the council’s signature event which will be held at the Aqua Turf in Southington on March 28. “This is how we recognize and celebrate women tech or STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] leaders in Connecticut. Connecticut does have an amazing economy for tech companies and there are hundreds of women leading this workforce and it’s not always recognized,” Van Antwerp says.

While Connecticut companies haven’t experienced the reckoning of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements in response to widespread sexual harassment on the level of Silicon Valley or Hollywood, that doesn’t mean the playing field is level within the state’s STEM industries. Rose Day, a winner of the CTC’s Connecticut Skills Challenge initiative while a student at the University of Hartford, has witnessed this first-hand. “You always get looked at differently. When I worked at iDevices [the Avon-based tech product firm] I was the only woman engineer that we had on staff, so at times people would forget I was there or not realize that a woman actually worked with them.”

Day, a Torrington native who attended Oliver Wolcott Tech before heading off to UHart, is now in graduate school at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After winning the skills challenge, she was asked to return to serve as a mentor the following year and is now on the committee that will select this year’s winners at the 14th annual Women of Innovation awards. “When the finalists are announced, we’re there at the end of it to say, ‘Hey, we’re the people here to support you. We’re the women already working in this area. … Women of Innovation also recognizes the younger students. It recognizes the kids in high school, it recognizes the college students and then it recognizes the women that are also out there in the workforce.”

Hartford has long been known as the Insurance Capital of the World, but its reputation as a tech hub is a new identity. A recent Brookings Institution report ranked Hartford No. 4 in the nation for technology. “The climate for women in Connecticut is relatively unknown. One, because no one thinks of Connecticut as a tech hub. But we are becoming a tech hub,” Van Antwerp says. “We have a great, supportive climate for women leadership and that continues to grow. There are several women-owned and/or women-led tech firms in Connecticut and I think we need to support that and celebrate that.”

Susan Froshauer, Yale entrepreneur in residence and a Women of Innovation finalist in 2005 and 2006, in addition to being a current committee member, is one of those women. “Connecticut is a place where I go to events and meetings and there’s always a bunch of women around the table,” Froshauer says. “When I was doing my own company, and certainly for years in the very early days at a place like Pfizer, that was not the case.” Froshauer lauded the extraordinary progress that has been made in our state, pointing out that women are leading companies and universities here at home and are down in Washington as legislative and congressional leaders.

She also extolled mentoring systems currently in place, in which women such as Janis Collins of Westport-based The Refinery, a business accelerator with a mission to fuel the growth and close the funding gap of women-led companies, are coaching female CEOs of start-up companies. “The funding step is often the problem, because women have historically had a hard time getting their companies funded. Since we have specific programs in Connecticut targeting that, we’re in really fine shape,” Froshauer says. “We have a lot of really wonderful women CEOs. When I did my company there were none, almost U.S. wide.”

Van Antwerp says the women-empowerment movement in Connecticut in STEM fields is quite strong. With events such as Women of Innovation, the CTC is hoping to promote that, and ensure continued growth in the future.

“I think CTC, with this event, has been out in front,” Froshauer says. “I don’t know how many states have events where they specifically recognize a broad spectrum of women with serious, high-end accomplishments in their professions. It’s wonderful; you just sort of sit there with your mouth open listening to what folks have done.”

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$5M STEM Grant Awarded to CT Colleges

February 07 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Higher Education 0 comments Tags: CCSU, Central Connecticut State University, college, Connecticut, Farmingtin, higher ed, higher education, Manchester, Manchester Community College, MCC, New Britain, science technology engineering and math, STEM, Tunxis Community College

This piece by Web Editor Patricia Daddona originally appeared in HartfordBusiness.com January 30, 2018.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $5 million grant for three colleges in central Connecticut to boost the diversity of students who pursue careers in computer science, mathematics, and physics.

Over the next five years, the new scholarship program will provide financial and academic support to approximately 90 under-represented, low-income students enrolled at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in New Britain, Manchester Community College (MCC), or Tunxis Community College in Farmington.

Scholarship recipients will be in line for financial aid of up to $10,000 a year, as well as programming that helps support these students in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, said Zulma R. Toro, president of CCSU.

“Our scholarship recipients will form a cohort and, together, they will receive intensive enrichment and interventions designed to help them succeed academically,” said Kurkovsky. “It’s a distinguishing feature of our program and likely set our application apart from the nearly 500 NSF grant competitors.”

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5 Tips to Help Women in Tech Develop an Executive Presence

September 12 2017 Innovation Destination: Hartford Women In Business 0 comments Tags: business women, STEM, tech, technology, women entrepreneurs, women in business

Entrepreneur Guest Writer Safia Ali provides techniques to help give women in tech an advantage. This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur - Women in Business July 10, 2017.

Entrepreneur Guest Writer Safia Ali is Director of Product Design at StubHub.

I never planned for a professional career path. I disliked high school, and I struggled with traditional academia.

Luckily, my mother recognized my keen eye for art and design and realized that my poor academic performance was simply misguided. Disregarding tradition, and in a move considered extremely progressive in our native Pakistan, she placed me in the country’s top coed art school—and from there, the spark was lit. I graduated with honors and already had a flourishing business in my final year of college.

Today, as the head of product design for a global technology company, I’ve seen—and experienced—the challenges that women face when advancing their careers in technology, especially when it comes to establishing their reputations as leaders. Women make up a small percentage of the technology workforce, earning just 20% of all bachelor’s degrees in computer science. For the percentage that do break into the field, a tougher challenge remains: staying there. Consider the following:

Only 26% of computing jobs are held by women, with just 5% in managerial roles. Women working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are 45% more likely than their male peers to leave the industry within the first year.

The long-term effects of these turnover rates can be discouraging. But, I believe that for all women, understanding and personifying five key skills and behaviors can help us establish an executive presence—one that commands respect among our peers, helps us manage up and keeps us motivated to continue the climb. Over the years, employing practices such as working smarter, exuding confidence, showing empathy, mastering strengths and following my gut helped me establish myself as a leader in my area, and I’ve been fortunate to watch several of my female mentors use these traits to succeed at companies like Oracle, Intuit and eBay.

After defying the odds myself, here are my favorite techniques to help give women in tech an advantage:

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND MASTER THEM

With my mother’s support, I channeled my artistic energy and played into my strengths, earning a graduate degree in web design and becoming an expert in what I love most. I got my design start early; from age 7, I would arrange furniture in the house, design clothes for my dolls and give fashion advice to my mom.

If you haven’t already, find out what you love doing most and master that skill; turn your passion into a career and it won’t feel like a job. You will be far more successful at what comes naturally to you than any job or skill you pick up. Once you have identified your super power, take classes, read, and continue investing in that path on a daily basis.

WORK SMARTER

Women work far more hours than men in the modern workplace, averaging an extra 39 days per year at work.

But, in my experience, it’s not how much you do, but what you do that matters. Learn to say no. Prioritize ruthlessly, pick your battles and stay aligned with the business. Assess opportunities and identify where you can add value strategically, rather than spreading yourself too thin. Doing so will not only prevent you from burning out, but will also make you look smarter and more strategic.

HONE YOUR PEOPLE SKILLS

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize both your emotions and the emotions of others, adapting and adjusting your actions as appropriate. When measured against 33 other important workplace skills, emotional intelligence was the “strongest predictor of an individual’s performance.”

To build your leadership skills, practice empathy and learn how to manage situations as they unfold. Listen actively, get familiar with employee pain points and put yourself in your colleagues' shoes. Network with people across all levels in the company. As a designer, I had to serve my customers; as a design leader, I have to serve my team.

LEVERAGE CLARITY AND CONFIDENCE

Strong communication is essential to your perception as a female leader. I’ve found that speaking with impact to colleagues, superiors and even strangers requires clarity and confidence. It's particularly important to maintain composure in high-stress situations, with 79% of senior executives noting that confidence and “grace under fire” are important characteristics in female leaders. What’s more, overconfidence is a consistent character trait among successful entrepreneurs.

Speak and act with purpose and ownership in the workplace. If you know your space really well you will be able to speak to it with clarity and confidence.

TRUST YOUR GUT

Too often, women become comfortable in their current positions and fail to grow into management roles or take on new challenges. I’ve found that the solution to stagnation is to trust your gut.

Take action when you feel yourself becoming static in your position. It’s easy to stay in a role once you are comfortable. Push forward as soon as you become comfortable. Every six months, take some time to reflect on your current role. Are you doing something more than last year, have you grown professionally, what are you learning, who are the people around you? Are you learning from them or are they burning you out? If you find yourself questioning your honest answers, move on. Don’t stay too long in a role or a company that doesn’t challenge you.

All women face considerable challenges when it comes to advancement in tech. Establishing executive presence is a key factor in building your perception as a leader. Use these tactics—master your strengths, work smarter and well with others, exude confidence and trust your gut—and you'll continue climbing upward toward a healthy and enduring career.

Executive presence doesn't always mean being the best in the room. Instead, strive to be the person that people want to work with. Remember that a boss has a title, a leader has people.

About the Author
Safia Ali is Director of Product Design, StubHub. Originally from Pakistan, Safia holds a master’s degree from San Francisco's Academy of Art College. Before StubHub, she led product design teams at Intuit.

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Innovative Leadership Series for Women

June 05 2017 Innovation Destination: Hartford Women In Business 0 comments Tags: BEACON, Biomedical Engineering Alliance and Consortium, entrepreneurs, innovation, STEM, technology, women entrepreneurs, women in business

BEACON has launched B-VIBRANT, an innovative new leadership series designed for women engineers, scientists, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and designers in all STEM-related roles.

Breakthrough Strategies: Overcoming Barriers to Your Success

Thursday, June 8 at Medtronic in North Haven, CT

Learn of the four common barriers to your success and how to overcome them.
Discover what holds you back from achieving your career goals.
Find out what is in your control and learn how to overcome the barriers.

Navigating Your Career: Taking Control of Your Future
Thursday, June 22 at Medtronic, in North Haven, CT

Explore how to invest in your growth, development and connections.
Find ways to navigate a career with few role models or mentors.

The leadership series events are facilitated by Sue Salvemini, Founder and President of Focal Pointe Consulting Group, Inc., who has more than 25 years of corporate and military experience developing leaders, building teams, and launching medical device products and companies.

Learn more about BEACON (Biomedical Engineering Alliance and Consortium) at

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Connecticut Among Nation’s Leaders in Innovation

March 27 2017 Innovation Destination: Hartford Accolades 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, Connecticut Technology Council, CT, innovation, research and development, STEM, technology

This story originally appeared in Connecticut By the Numbers March 23, 2017.

Connecticut is the nation’s ninth most innovative state, according to a new analysis by the financial website WalletHub. The state also placed sixth in research and development spending per capita and ninth in venture-capital funding per capita, the review of the 50 states found.

Overall, the top 10 most innovative states included District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Utah, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New Jersey ranked #12 and New York was #16. At the other end of the spectrum, the least innovative states were Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia.

In individual categories, Connecticut placed:

13^th – Share of STEM Professionals
14^th – Share of Science & Engineering Graduates Aged 25+
15^th – Projected STEM-Job Demand by 2020
15^th – Avg. Internet Speed
24^th – Share of Technology Companies
27^th – Eighth-Grade Math & Science Performance

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, “Human Capital” and “Innovation Environment,” evaluating those dimensions using 18 relevant metrics.

The Norwalk Hour is reporting that Connecticut Public Television is moving forward with its plan to create an innovation and tech center along Wall Street in the heart of Norwalk. The project would require bonding from the state, with Connecticut Public Broadcasting borrowing another $5 million to $7 million, Hearst Connecticut Media learned last October.

The Connecticut Technology Council’s annual Women of Innovation event takes place next week, on March 29. The Women of Innovation event seeks to create: “a growing network of women in the ‘trenches’ of STEM.” Finalists are the scientists, researchers, academics, manufacturers, student leaders, drafters, entrepreneurs, and technicians “who create tomorrow’s advancements through their tireless efforts today,” the organization said. The awards will recognize academic innovation and leadership at the high school and college level, community innovation and leadership, entrepreneurial innovation and leadership and research and innovation leadership, as well as innovation and leadership at small and large businesses.

Data used to create the ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Science Foundation, National Center for Education Statistics, Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Tax Foundation, Consumer Technology Association, Akamai Technologies, U.S. Cluster.

Learn more, read the full report from WalletHub “2017’s Most & Least Innovative States”

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Social Impact Startup Focuses on STEM Learning

February 15 2016 Innovation Destination: Hartford Startups 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, innovation, reSET accelerator, social impact, startup success, STEM

Kate Pipa is Co-Founder and CEO of Genuis Box, Inc.

Kate Pipa, Co-Founder and CEO of Genuis Box, Inc., is passionate about helping introduce kids to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Pipa shared her experience with building a startup, working with reSET’s accelerator program, and being involved in Connecticut’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Innovation Destination Hartford: Tell us about Genius Box. When and why did you and Shivangi Shah start the company? How did you develop the business concept?

PIPA: Genius Box is a monthly subscription box service for kids. For curious young minds, Genius Box delivers a monthly STEM adventure right to your door packed with projects and learning opportunities.

We are geared toward 8- to 11-year-olds and delve into a new topic each month, from Earth Science to Gravity to The Sun. Our directions come in an envelope that says “Top Secret: For Your Eyes Only” and include a narrative “Challenge Card” with a story presenting a challenge to solve by completing the activities in the box. Then, there are at least three activities and all the items needed included in the box to explore the topic at hand.

The business concept was actually developed through a startup competition when Shivangi and I were undergrads at Northeastern University in Boston. We demoed our idea with a minimum viable product and ended up coming in second place. After receiving a lot of positive feedback and excitement around the idea, we decided to explore it further and eventually launched a crowdfunding campaign to beta test our concept. We raised an initial $10,000 through that process, which proved we had a product people were willing to buy and customers to test it. From there, we developed and sent out beta boxes with “Circuits” and “Kitchen Science” themes in early 2014, then gathered feedback. This also allowed us to test supply chain management and logistics, as well as how we were presenting our curriculum and box activities. From there, we took customer feedback into account and iterated and launched a full subscription model in December 2014.

IDH: Why focus on STEM for kids?

PIPA: When Shivangi and I were taking part in the startup competition, it was becoming evident how STEM careers and fields were evolving and growing in importance, on a global scale. Having grown up in the 90s and early 2000s, we were worried that “kids these days” were being inundated with screens and gadgets and not learning by going outside, digging in the dirt, and setting up experiments, like we had.

We wanted to bring back the experience of learning by doing—like making an explosion with Mentos and Diet Coke—plus focus on STEM because of its growing importance. We felt we could make STEM fun and engaging to really inspire lifelong curiosity and love for the topics.

In high school both of us were disengaged with how we were learning science and were really turned off by it. Now we have a great appreciation for it. So, we felt we could bring STEM topics to life in a fun, engaging way that really could connect kids with real-world examples of why these topics are important and, most of all, fun to learn about.

IDH: How does your product work?

PIPA: Genius Box is a monthly subscription box service, so you sign-up and receive a physical box through the mail once a month filled with stuff. Each box comes with a “Challenge Card” that introduces the current topic in the form of a narrative story with a challenge to solve by doing the activities in the box.

For example, our first box explored the topic of “Kaleidoscopes.” The Challenge Card set the scene: The famed Kaleidoscope del Sol in Spain has gone missing and pieces of it have been found. Now we need your help to put it back together again. Using knowledge of light reflection and refraction, it is your mission to rebuild the kaleidoscope with items from the box.

IDH: In your CTStartup Podcast interview, you mentioned the company initially pivoted with regard to making a social impact—can you expand a little on that?

PIPA: From the beginning, our goal was to always make some sort of social impact through our business. I was studying social entrepreneurship as my major and Shivangi was studying it as a minor, so making our business have an impact socially was an important motivator for us.

Our first thought was doing a subscription box focused on a different cause each month. For example, water rights, clean energy, or poverty reduction. We realized that this was more of a niche topic with a smaller audience that might be hard to gain traction. So, we started thinking about STEM and the way kids were learning these days and thought there would be a lot of value in providing hands-on projects and learning experiences in a convenient way for parents that was also fun for kids. Our mission is to “empower the change-makers and problem-solvers of tomorrow, today.” We are really passionate about kids feeling empowered to make change, even at a young age.

And, to expand on social impact, Genius Box is a new type of corporation called a “benefit corporation,” which is now recognized in Connecticut and 29 other states. That means that, as a legal entity, our mission is to generate positive social impact for society, not just maximize profit for shareholders.

For every Genius Box sold, we donate $1 to the non-profit ManyMentors, which supports middle and high school students’ interest in and pursuit of STEM careers, with specific support for women and minorities who are often drastically underrepresented in the STEM fields. As of January 2016, we have donated close to $1,700 to ManyMentors.

IDH: Where do you see your company in the next few years?

PIPA: I would like to work on expanding our audience through outreach to schools, after-school programs, summer camps, and organizations such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. We already have 14 great boxes created, so in the next year I’d like to expand from the subscription model and offer previous boxes through these different channels, with the potential for bulk discounts.

IDH: How have Connecticut’s startup resources help to shape your business?

PIPA: The venture accelerator out of the reSET co-working space in Hartford was a great stepping stone for getting introduced to and more involved in the Connecticut startup scene. I had just moved home from college and wasn’t too familiar with the resources in Connecticut. This was a great way to go through a structured class with assignments and homework while meeting other entrepreneurs, bouncing ideas around, and working on the business in a very thought-out fashion. Just being in the reSET ecosystem allowed for access to workshops, mentors, and service providers to help answer questions and give advice on different challenges that can come up when starting your own business.

IDH: Any advice for entrepreneurs or startup business owners?

PIPA: Get involved with the local startup scene. Visit the local co-working spaces, go to workshops, see what the local Chamber of Commerce is offering. I think the entrepreneurial ecosystem is great for so many reasons, but having that support from other local entrepreneurs plus the ability to share advice, resources, and ideas is huge.

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Girls For Technology Encourages and Empowers Youth