Mission
Build the self-esteem of young girls and women from untapped communities, while providing interactive, culturally responsive STEM literacy, leadership, and technical training preparing them to thrive in ever-changing labor markets.
Ruling year
2015
Executive Director & Founder
Adamaka Ajaelo
Main address
6114 La Salle Avenue #297
Oakland, CA 94611 USA
EIN
47-2316798
NTEE code
Educational Services and Schools - Other (B90)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The fastest-growing occupations require science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) literacy, but despite efforts to diversify the STEM workforce, demographics have not significantly changed. Young girls and women from underserved communities experience social and economic roadblocks to quality STEM educational and career opportunities, resulting in fewer of them entering and remaining in the STEM workforce. Within this leaky STEM pipeline, there is a significant number of minority women in the U.S., who have scarce access to the education and support that enabled professional success in STEM. They face many obstacles in their education and career pursuits, including the lack of inclusion within the STEM community. Since women of color are disportionately underrepresented in STEM, many of the products and solutions that affect their daily lives, are often not reflective of their view points.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
STEM Exploration Camp
An one-week summer camp that provides STEM curriculum and career exposure through a culturally responsive lens. The camp incorporates relevant materials and mechanisms, such as modern pop-cultural references, social media and any relevant gender, age, and ethnicity connections, where applicable. The goal is to:
•Recruit, spark STEM curiosity and ignite systems thinking
•Model STEM leadership for participants, increasing their confidence and positively influencing attitudes toward STEM topics
•Curate hands-on, interactive experiences and engaging conversations with STEM professionals
STEM Engagement Club
A program that curates hands-on field-trips and interactive conversations with STEM professionals. We provide opportunities to dive deeper into STEM concepts, and provide additional knowledge and mentoring for college-preparedness. The goal is to engage and sustains STEM cohort by encouraging the pursuit of STEM-centric careers and studies.
STEM Internship & Career Services
A program that places untapped talent in STEM business and industry with paid internships and career paths. We provide additional mentoring, and professional and career development to prepare participants for corporate and community leadership, and establish networking opportunities with influential women in STEM. The goal is to increase the number women and minorities pursuing STEM education and entering the STEM workforce, and unlock hidden sources of innovation. (Program launching in December 2020).
Robotics Club
A weekly (fall) after-school FIRST robotics program encouraging coding and engineering principles. the goal is to strengthen STEM cohort by encouraging the pursuit of STEM-centric careers and studies, while tackling real-world problems while competing against teams.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students showing interest in topics related to STEM
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of computer literacy/skills/technology courses conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We seek to change the face and culture of STEM innovation by providing culturally relevant training and career opportunities for young girls and women from underserved communities to thrive in the global economy. Our cohort model provides wraparound support of mentorship, role models and culturally relevant STEM content to drive outcomes of constituents' occupational identity in STEM, and increase recruitment and retention of the STEM talent pipeline. We are a catalyst for building and diversifying the next generation of STEM innovators and entrepreneurs to disrupt the world!
Our overall goals are:
-Increase youth interest and engagement in STEM education and career pathways
-Increase entry and retention of STEM workforce pipeline
-Expand and scale the development of culturally relevant STEM learning content and environments
-Ensure that women of color are recognized as a viable source of top STEM talent
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
More than a STEM education or career training program , we build the self-esteem of girls and young women from untapped communities, by providing interactive, culturally responsive STEM literacy, leadership, and technical training preparing them to thrive in ever-changing labor markets. Our STEM immersion programs provide wraparound support of mentorship, role models and culturally relevant STEM content to drive outcomes of their occupational identity in STEM, and increase recruitment and retention of the STEM talent pipeline. We recognize that skills and capabilities are not impacting girls performance and achievement in STEM; rather a lack of encouragement and acknowledgement is one of the leading barriers. We transform their minds from a fixed mindset to that of growth mindset, unleashing their inner innovator.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our staff mirrors the demographics we serve and have shared experiences of systemic barriers impacting the access of education and career pathways within this space. Our program was founded by black women in the STEM talent pipeline, and the vision for the program was rooted in her shared experience as she matriculated through the STEM pipeline. These experiences make us well positioned to fully understand and tackle root causes of the barriers to entry as well as retention within the STEM pipeline. Our leadership team includes award winning educators in the public K-12 and higher education sectors, and program leaders in the STEM industry. We provide our participants with consistent role models and representation of themselves through all program touch-points.
Additionally, the programs that we recruit for use a design thinking (a non-linear, iterative learning process) approach that is rooted in understanding and empathizing with our constituents' challenges to develop a curriculum and events that address their needs. We emphasize a student-centered approach and use agile techniques of iterating on STEM learning materials to be easily adaptable.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Key Accomplishments to Date:
-Over 1,200 youth since 2020
-60% retention rate since program inception in 2015
-75% of participants have established STEM occupation identity
-71% of participants are from low-income communities
As we look forward to expanding our program scope and geographical reach.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Constituents verbal feedback,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Self-eSTEM
Board of directorsas of 7/27/2021
Shalonda Tillman
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/30/2020Policies and practices developed in partnership with Equity in the Center, a project that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems within the social sector to increase racial equity. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
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