Tech Alpharetta’s Women's Forum Celebrates the Continued Growth and Impact of its STEAM Mentoring Program
2024年7月30日 - 8:45PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
Organization to Host Fourth Annual Golf
Classic to Raise Funds to Support Program’s Mission to Empower
Young Women to Pursue STEAM Careers
Tech Alpharetta's Women's Forum is proud to announce the
continued success and expansion of its STEAM Mentoring Program, now
launching its fourth cohort. Established in 2021 to address the
gender gap in STEAM careers, the program has grown from an initial
group of five mentees and five mentors to this fall’s cohort of 38
high school girls and 38 female tech executive mentors.
The program, which partners with Fulton County Schools'
Innovation Academy public magnet high school in Alpharetta, aims to
inspire and guide young women toward rewarding careers in Science,
Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). The program
provides crucial mentorship and encouragement by connecting
students with accomplished female executives as they decide on
college majors and career aspirations.
Mentors represent a range of large enterprise companies,
including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Best Buy, Global Payments,
LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, Scientific
Games, Verint, and more. The program consists of monthly sessions
at Innovation Academy, featuring brief curriculum presentations
followed by one-on-one mentoring. Additionally, field trips to
corporate offices, such as those hosted by Microsoft and LexisNexis
Risk Solutions last year, offer students invaluable exposure to
real-world STEAM careers. In addition to the obvious value received
by the students, mentoring offers numerous benefits, including
personal fulfillment, professional development, and the chance to
contribute to diversity and inclusion initiatives.
In a significant development, the Tech Alpharetta Women's Forum
STEAM Mentoring Program was recently approved by the IRS as a
501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization. This status will
enable the program to expand its reach and impact.
Karen Cashion, President of the Women's Forum and President and
CEO of Tech Alpharetta, states, "Our volunteer mentors and board
members have dedicated nearly 400 hours in the past school year
alone to growing and running our WF STEAM Mentoring Program. We're
grateful to them for all the time they have generously volunteered
to grow our program's impact and potential for future growth."
The program has been supported by several corporate sponsors,
including Surgical Information Systems, Morgan Stanley, Scientific
Games, FiServ, Verizon, and Veryable. These partnerships have been
crucial in providing resources and opportunities for mentees.
To support the program's growth, Tech Alpharetta will donate 50%
of the net proceeds from its Fourth Annual Golf Classic, taking
place on September 30, 2024, to the STEAM Mentoring Program. The
Women’s Forum is also seeking additional corporate sponsors and
future mentors. The program aims to foster an inclusive environment
where young women are empowered to pursue careers in STEAM,
ultimately contributing to a more balanced and innovative
workforce.
Companies interested in sponsoring or donating to the program
can contact Lisa West at lisa@techalpharetta.com.
The current Women's Forum Board of Directors includes:
- Sunita Arora, Chief Operating Officer, Medicus IT
- Sherry Askin, CEO & Founder, Omni Software Systems
- Karen Cashion, CEO & President, Tech Alpharetta
- David Fisher, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley
- Cheryl Kleiman, Regional Vice President of Sales,
Flexential
- Karyn Mullins
- Rachel Nagrowski, Executive Director, Sales Operations &
Enablement, Verizon Business Group
- Jenni Palocsik, Vice President, Verint
- Emmy Webber, CMO, Surgical Information Systems
- Laura Wysong, CEO & Founder, Tranzhalo
- Pam Whitlock, STEM Program Director & Computer Science
Teacher at Innovation Academy High School
- Binita Patel, STEM Teacher at Innovation Academy High
School
- Lisa West, Executive Director, Women's Forum STEAM Mentoring
Program
About Tech Alpharetta Women's Forum STEAM Mentoring
Program
The Tech Alpharetta Women's Forum STEAM Mentoring Program
connects high school girls with accomplished female mentors who are
leaders in STEAM fields. The program aims to inspire young women to
pursue rewarding careers in STEAM, addressing the significant
gender gap in these crucial fields.
About Tech Alpharetta
Tech Alpharetta (previously the Alpharetta Technology
Commission), the first organization of its kind in Georgia, was
established in 2012 by the City of Alpharetta and is an
independent, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization today. The
organization, whose mission is to help grow technology and
innovation in Alpharetta, includes a strategic advisory board of
Alpharetta’s leading technology companies, and provides technology
thought leadership events for area tech executives, a STEAM
mentoring program for high school students, technical and
leadership development courses through its Tech Studio initiative,
and the Tech Alpharetta Innovation Center, a flourishing tech
startup incubator that is home to more than 50 tech startups.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240730528703/en/
Rachel Jimenez Trevelino/Keller rjimenez@trevelinokeller.com