1:15 PM - ROOM 207

NM MESA is a program that has had proven success in the state of New Mexico for over 40 years.  The MESA model works to provide quality STEM support to create diverse, well-educated, professionals who reach their full potential as leaders through Math, Engineering, Science, and technology Achievement.  Through a network of partners, programs, and services, NM MESA works to build a students' STEM identity and connect the STEM pipeline from public education to higher education to career.

Come to this session to learn about programs that have been successful, how to build your own STEM network, resources that are available, and why NM MESA is the “Pre-College Program That Works!”  

1:15 PM - ROOM 209

Silicon Valley earned notoriety over the years both for its incredible innovation and its remarkably homogeneous workforce. Now, it’s home to a pioneering program designed to bring more young, diverse talent into its healthtech ecosystem — a niche that fundamentally requires diverse perspectives in order to improve healthcare for all people.

Learn how healthtech companies and local higher education institutions collaborated to develop a hands-on curriculum, designed to prepare students from diverse backgrounds to enter the healthtech innovation ecosystem. And find out why their results are worth talking about!

Executive Director, Diversity by Doing Healthtech

Assistant Director, Impact1 at Stanford Biodesign

1:15 PM - ROOM 211

The Office of Research Experiences & Education (OREE) is part of UL Research Institutes (ULRI) and develops resources and creates experiences in safety science along the continuum of middle school to graduate school students. This session will explore OREE’s programming specifically for postsecondary and graduate students. By the end of this session, participants will understand the need for a standards-literate workforce and how OREE is bridging the gap by building online, open access standards education resources.

Participants will also understand the impact that quality mentorship and professional development have on successful internship experiences and how OREE’s Internship Engagement Initiative (IEI) is promoting access to such experiences to increase persistence in STEM and further build the field of safety science.

1:15 PM - ROOM 213

With STEM jobs projected to grow 10.8% in the next year, the United States will need to fill approximately 3.5 million jobs by 2025. In order to address this growing need, external stakeholders must take an active role in engaging with students and institutions and exploring alternative pathways to provide support and resources to help students persist to graduation, open the doors to job opportunities, and come prepared with hard and soft skills to be workforce-ready. Community colleges may be the answer to fill current gaps, but many stakeholders do not know how to properly engage with them. 

Come hear how ASME has engaged with 30 community colleges to broaden access to STEM careers for underrepresented groups and is now scaling multi-faceted programming like skills-based workshops, student competitions, and work-based learning to support community colleges across the country and help create opportunities for community college students, women, BIPOC, and other historically marginalized groups to enter the STEM workforce.  You’ll gain best practices and a strategy for enhanced engagement with these specialized groups to develop your own engagement program to help fill your pipeline with skilled and diverse STEM talent.

Director, Workforce Development, ASME

1:15 PM - Ballroom

This session will feature presentations from accomplished educators Christine Girtain of Toms River New Jersey and Doug Henderson of Val Verde Unified in California sharing their experiences and creating and scaling career exploration and STEM pathways work in their respective districts. 

This session will advance the STEM Innovation Forum participants’ understanding of:

• Implementing replicable practices that engage stakeholders from industry, postsecondary institutions, and other relevant institutions for more engaging learning experiences.
• Leveraging effective communication with key educational stakeholders including students, caregivers, and educators about STEM careers and pathways.
• Executing large scale projects that deepen and add relevance to STEM learning.