Science Voices

Digital Science Education for Everyone

Tempe, AZ   |  https://www.sciencevoices.org/

Mission

We work on improving equity in digital science education. Through the co-development of new tools and learning experiences, we are helping overlooked communities improve their ability to teach, learn, and use science.

Ruling year info

2019

Founder

Dr. Lev Horodyskyj

Main address

416 E Carson Dr

Tempe, AZ 85282 USA

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EIN

83-3540082

NTEE code info

Education N.E.C. (B99)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Agavi

Agavi is a digital adaptive learning platform we are developing for use in places around the world where classrooms are under-resourced, whether through lack of equipment, electricity, or internet connectivity. This platform will allow teachers to build interactive activities via smartphone that can be geotagged and connect with low-cost equipment (like various sensors and measurement instruments used to teach lab skills), so that digital education can move out of the screen and into the real world. It is also being designed so that students can use the system even if they have poor connectivity or no connectivity at all, so that lack of infrastructure or high bandwidth costs are not a barrier to digital learning. The system will be deployed and tested in the US, Ukraine, Indonesia, and Brazil throughout 2022.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people
Immigrants and migrants
Academics

Greenworks is a Global North-South partnership for developing local capacity in environmental stewardship. Students from the Global North and Global South participate in a curriculum that teaches science and governance philosophy and skills related to environmental problems via participation in a diplomacy role-playing game. Here, they develop and hone their skills as they resolve environmental problems in a fictional world. Upon successful completion of the curriculum, students develop a local project that targets a local environmental concern, which we help shepherd to fruition via mentorship and funding. The program runs three times a year, in March, July, and September. We work with cohorts in the US, Indonesia, Brazil, and Ukraine.

Population(s) Served
Young adults
Adolescents
Academics
Economically disadvantaged people

We work to prototype, co-develop, and deliver general science education projects for informal learning for all ages. Our current public education projects are focused in the US Virgin Islands, working with the Etelman Observatory to integrate astronomy education into tourism businesses throughout the islands.

Population(s) Served
Families
Economically disadvantaged people
Self-employed people
Students

Where we work

Awards

Overall Winner (Agavi Project) 2020

DN Unlimited Hackathon

Affiliations & memberships

Blue Marble Space Institute of Science 2021

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We aim to improve equity in digital science education and improve the utilization of science in decision-making to tackle complex global issues via informed grassroots work.

We are developing the tools we need to tackle digital educational inequities (the Agavi program) and testing them with our partners in a variety of challenging teaching and learning environments. With this program we are aiming to raise enough revenue so that we can fund student projects and teacher training through the Greenworks project.

Our organization's leaders are globally connected and have physically worked (and are working) in challenging teaching and learning environments to gain first-hand experience in the challenges teachers and students in these environments face. Although we are still small, we are a globally connected group, attracting volunteers from around the world with skills in computer programming, interdisciplinary science, and global thinking.

The Agavi program is nearing deployment to our early testers (anticipated late 2021, early 2022), and has been completed exclusively with volunteer labor. The Greenworks program is now offered to students in the US, Brazil, Ukraine, and Indonesia.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Academics working in challenging teaching and learning environments, their students

  • 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),

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We are developing a professional development program for teachers to complement the student work done in the Greenworks program based on feedback from the academics who supervise the students in the program.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    We have moved into a more equal partnerships with the people we serve as a result of the conversations we have had with them.

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback,

Financials

Science Voices
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build 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.

Science Voices

Board of directors
as of 1/10/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Dr. Lev Horodyskyj

Tara Lennon

Arizona State University

Swathi Ashok Kumar

Verogen Inc

Bianca Costin

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? Not applicable
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • 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? Not applicable
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 09/09/2021

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
Decline to state
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/09/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • 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 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.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • 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.