2019 Summary
We are so proud of all of Women in STEM’s growth in 2019. This year we focused on expansion and infrastructure, from strengthening old relationships to creating new, and even international, ones. We look forward to our continued progress in 2020 as we form more ideas, chapters, and partnerships.
28
new chapters
630
new members
6
new states
2
new countries
Our Chapters
In 2019, we welcomed 28 new chapters to Women in STEM: Bellevue (WA), Bridgewater-Raritan (NJ), Chemu Senior HS (Ghana), Clarke Central HS (GA), Dalton School (NY), Denmark HS (GA), Farmington HS (MN), Glenbrook South HS (IL), Gunn HS (CA), Interlake (WA), Lafayette (MO), Northside College Prep (IL), Palo Alto (CA), Rancho Bernardo HS (CA), Sherwood HS (MD), South Forsyth HS (GA), St. Paul’s School for Girls (United Kingdom), Tampa Independent (FL), Westwood HS (AZ), Whitney Young (IL), Woodlands College Park HS (TX), and Wylie E. Groves HS (MI).
The chapters create their own meeting plans and organize their own events, such as outreach to elementary schools, panels with female experts in STEM, and mentorship meet & greets. Between chapters, the ambassadors work closely to create goals and share resources. To see all of our 38 chapters, explore the “Our Chapters” page of our website or follow our social media pages to keep up with them in real time.
College New Venture Challenge
Women in STEM was selected to participate in the University of Chicago’s College New Venture Challenge (CNVC) this fall. This year’s cohort was their most competitive yet, and we competed with all college teams. CNVC is the #1 ranked startup accelerator nationally and a selective entrepreneurship course at the University of Chicago traditionally only available to undergraduate sophomores and up with business ideas. Throughout the fall quarter, WiSTEM founder and Executive Director, Ananya Asthana, built a team to apply and learn to scale the organization further. Our team includes a UChicago sophomore majoring in Economics, Naina Prasad, and a Social Service Administration (SSA) student and UIUC graduate, Ariana Flores. Ananya is ecstatic about this opportunity to learn and collaborate with them. We can’t wait to see how WiSTEM will develop as a business as a result, both in the short and long term.
International Expansion
This year Women in STEM expanded to two new countries: Ghana and the United Kingdom. Wendy Nyafre, from St. Paul’s School, joined Women in STEM in March, and Angel Happy Torwudzo and her ChemU Senior HS chapter in Ghana joined in August. We look forward to branching out even more in 2020!
New Leadership
Women in STEM instituted new leadership positions over the summer to meet the organization’s growing needs and welcomed new officers into some of our other positions. For instance, we created the Director of Publicity and Communications, currently filled by Max Freeburg and Anvi Peddi, to help WiSTEM form collaborate with like-minded organizations and gather data from our current chapters. Avantika Khanna and Emma McMullan also joined our leadership team as the Director of Outreach and Director of Development respectively. Hannah Davis continues her second year as our Director of Digital Media, focusing on building our online platform and networks. Founder and President, Ananya Asthana, took her third year in storm, working tirelessly to build our business foundation and create more opportunities for members. Our leadership team has been integral to WiSTEM’s expansion, and we look forward to seeing how they will continue to shape the organization’s future!
Online Presence
We continued our online presence this year on Instagram and Facebook, working to establish stronger connections with other brands. We’ve received recognition, in the form of interviews, shoutouts, and collaborations, from organizations such as Women’s March, Research Illustrated Magazine, and STEM Teen. Our social media presence expanded to LinkedIn this fall as well. In 2020, we plan to institute networking seminars that demonstrate how our members can use these connections to help them navigate the STEM world, professionally and otherwise.
