2021 Summary
This year, Women in STEM remained committed to growth and development, expanding our reach across multiple countries. Within our organization, we dedicated significant resources to planning internal events for our ambassadors and chapters worldwide. We look forward to 2022 and all of the opportunities Women in STEM will have in the new year.
17
New Chapters
307
New Members
1
New State
4
New Countries
Our Chapters
In 2021, Women in STEM welcomed 17 new chapters: Appleton North HS (WI), Asociación Escuelas Lincoln (Argentina), BASIS Independent Silicon Valley (CA), Colegio Brader (Panama), Crystal Lake South HS (IL), DelCampo School (Honduras), Glen Burnie HS (MD), Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School (Canada), Lenape HS (NJ), Los Gatos HS (CA), Lovejoy HS (TX), Powers Catholic HS (MI), Saint James School (MD), Stuttgart HS (Germany), The Science Academy STEM Magnet School (CA), Two Rivers HS (MN), and Wharton HS (FL).
Each chapter hosts meetings individually at their school, and focuses on Women in STEM’s three main initiatives: outreach, mentorship, and networking. Whether they have discussion based meetings, field trips, guest speakers, or do STEM based community service and outreach, we are constantly impressed by the dedication each chapter has to improving female representation in STEM fields. To see more of our chapters, visit the Our Chapters page on this website, and to start a chapter at your school, send us a message on the Become an Ambassador page.
ATHENA’S International Conference
For the second year, ATHENA’s International Conference ran during the month of February. Professionals from Latin America’s most prestigious universities hosted weekend lectures about their areas of research and their experience as women scientists. During these lectures, participants got to interact on a personal level with the professors by asking questions, listening to the presentations, and staying in contact with professors after the conference. The conference serves as an opportunity for Latin American female students to explore new fields and earn an insider's perspective on how to succeed in STEM.
Call with Dr. Lemere
On February 12 WiSTEM hosted Dr. Cynthia Lemere, Ph.D., a Scientist in the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. Her research focuses on understanding and using the immune system therapeutically to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Lemere earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and education from Mount Holyoke College and a master's in neurobiology from SUNY Albany. One of her current research projects includes the effects of deep space galactic cosmic radiation on brain aging and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in studies in mouse models and human neural cells in preparation for NASA's first manned mission to Mars.
Project G-Force
Project G-Force was a blast! This 5-day tech and networking event allowed participants to learn about a myriad of STEM-related skills, from coding in HTML to project management. Each day's activities were packed with educational content and personal discussions. We thank Linda and @zedfellowship for the insane amount of effort and work they put into the project!
International Expansion
This year, Women in STEM expanded significantly across the globe. Gina Regalado starts the DelCampo chapter in Honduras. Valerie Morales and Ana Carolina De León found the Colegio Brader chapter in Panama. Anna Roth starts the Stuttgart chapter in Germany. Junior Boluwatife Asaba begins the Holy Trinity Catholic chapter in Canada, and Maya Drouin starts the Asociación Escuelas Lincoln chapter in Argentina.
New Leadership
As senior members of the Leadership Team graduated high school, new members applied for their positions for the 2021-2022 school year. Erin Tran, ambassador for the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology chapter, took on the position of President of Women in STEM where she helps plan for the overall direction and changes this year. Laura Sabrosa, from the Brazil chapter, is now the Director of Development. Director of Publicity and Communications, Aparna Ganesh, is the ambassador from the Richard Montgomery chapter. Nora Sun, Co-Founder of ATHENA and Founder of ENVISION and ambassador of the Walter Payton chapter, takes on the role of Director of Digital Media. Emmy Wang from the Thomas Haney chapter joins as the Director of Internal Affairs. Aditi Anand (Canyon Crest chapter) and Ananya Chandrasekhar (East Brunswick chapter) become Co-Directors of Outreach, and Maddie Stearns (Thayer chapter) and Lara Capellino (Argentina chapter) become Regional Directors of Outreach of Massachussetts and Argentina, respectively. Firmiana Wang, ambassador from the University Laboratory chapter, is this year’s Website Manager. The Leadership Team is excited to work together this upcoming year, and can’t wait for what the future of Women in STEM holds!