Presentation for the 2019 Massachusetts Sustainable Communities and Campuses Conference on March 29, 2019 in Cambridge, MA

1. Strong Women, Strong Girls
Rachelle DeCoste
Wheaton College
Mathematics Professor
Kristi Marsh
Savvy Women’s Alliance
and Choose Wiser
Founder

2. Rachelle DeCoste, Math & Laura Ekstrom, Biology
Wheaton Women in STEM

3. Degrees awarded to Women 1997, 2006, 2016
Social Sciences Engineering
NSF 19-304 |

4. Degrees awarded to Women 1997, 2006, 2016
Math and Statistics Computer Science
NSF 19-304 |

5. The facts
● Women earn half of all of the STEM Bachelor’s degrees, but represent only 24% of the
professionals in all STEM fields
● Greater disparity among women of color: only 11% of Bachelor’s degrees in STEM -
NSF 2015, 2016
● Nearly half of US female scientists leave full-time science after first child – Nature,
February 19, 2019
● “I'd say that many women I have seen want to be able to see themselves advancing but
looking at the top it's very hard to picture themselves there because they don't see a
good role model.” Sivan Aldor-Noiman, Director of Data Science for the Data
Science, Center of Excellence, The Climate Corporation

6. Diversity in STEM: the larger picture

7. Why the Wheaton Summit for Women in STEM?
• Wheaton has been a leader in women’s education
• Institutionalize our work mentoring women and
underrepresented minorities
• Provide role models to our students beyond the faculty
• Establish Wheaton as a leader among peers and as a hub
for work engaging and connecting women in STEM

8. Why us? Belong. Connect. Create. Pass it on.
Rachelle DeCoste, Associate Professor, Mathematics
● Enhancing Diversity in Grad Education (EDGE) Bridge program
○ Participant 1998, Grad Mentor 2002, Instructor 2015
● Career Mentoring Workshop
○ Founder and Director 2007 - 2018
● MAA/Tensor Grants for Women and Girls in Math
○ Director 2017 - present
Laura Ekstrom, Assistant Professor, Biology
● Promoting Women in Science (PROWiS), Wilfrid Laurier University
■ Participant 1996
● NSF Program for Underrepresented Minority Research, Florida Atlantic Univ.
■ Co-Founder 2007
● Bioengineering for Girls, EXPLO
■ Founding Professor in Residence, 2018-present

9. Inaugural Summit for Women in STEM, 2017
● Denise Sekaquaptewa, Psych, Michigan
● Karen Frey, Geosciences, Clark Univ
● Ivana Magovcevic-Liebisch, ‘89, Teva
● Suzanne Weekes, Math, WPI
● Catherine Roberts, Math, AMS
● Amy Mainzer, Astronomy, NASA & PBS
● The Rhoads, Raytheon, Siemans
● Connie Chow, The Exploratory
● Cynthia Wigren, Atlantic White Shark
Conservancy
● Many more…

10. Wheaton Summit for Women in STEM
Undergraduate Research Talks

11. Wheaton Summit for Women in STEM
Networking Lunch/Coffee and Casual Interactions

12. 2018 Wheaton Summit for Women in STEM
● Tricia Serio, Biology, UMass
● Kathy Aidala, Physics, Mt. Holyoke
● Suzanne Koven, MD MGH/Harvard
● Shamika Rucker, Engineer, Draper
● Kymberlee Dwinell, ‘76, Northrup
Grumman
● Judith White, HERS

13. Wheaton Woman in STEM Award
The Wheaton Woman in STEM award was established to honor an outstanding
woman in a STEM field. In addition to innovative scholarly research recognized by
her peers, this woman is committed to creating a diverse STEM community. She
does so through her professional engagement and her personal ethos. The
awardee inspires and supports others across STEM disciplines.
Daniela Rus
MIT Media Lab
Jennifer Tour Chayes
Microsoft Research NE

14. Data on Summit Participants
2017: over 20 different institutions
● Wheaton, Bennington, UConn, QCC,
Harvard, Middlebury, Stonehill,
UMass Dartmouth, Gordon, City
College of NY, Mass Bay, Simmons,
MCPHS Univ, Westfield State, BU,
UConn, Univ of New Haven, Eastern
Conn State Univ, URI, WPI,
Framingham State, Clark
● Raytheon, Alynylam, Novartis, UTC
Aerospace, Neograft, the Exploratory,
Teva, Autodesk, Siemens, American
Math Society, Atlantic White Shark
Conservancy
2018: Over 48 different institutions
● Wheaton, Bennington, Brown, UConn,
QCC, Harvard, Stonehill, UMass
Dartmouth, Salem State, Simmons,
Smith, MCPHS Univ, Westfield State,
BU, UConn, Wellesley, Mount
Holyoke, Westfield State, WPI, Curry,
Eastern Connecticut State University,
Bridgewater State University
● Alynylam, Novartis, TechGirlz.org,
Draper, EXPLO,
Johnson&Johnson,Tufts Health Plan,
Northrop Grumman

15. Summit Data

16. Summit for Women in STEM: Testimonials
The Summit was one of the most engaging event I have ever been to. It was inspirational, encouraging,
and absolutely amazing. It was wonderful being surrounded with successful and incredible women who
were not afraid to share about their failures and what they did to overcome them. The summit left me
feeling like I was capable of achieving so much more! Claudine Humure, Wheaton, ‘17
The Women in STEM summit was amazing. I gained confidence, which I lacked. I thought I needed to be
perfect, a geek or a nerd to be in STEM. I realized, that it is all part of the stereotypical society and
modern generation. The panel of women were amazing... I would attend over and over again as long as
I'm available. Gloria Effah, Quinsigamond Comm College
The Summit for Women in STEM was incredibly empowering. By seeing and hearing from successful
women in the STEM fields, I can now better visualize myself reaching my own career goals. Anna French,
Wheaton College, ’18

17. Sponsors

18. The Wheaton College Summit for Women in STEM
April 6, 2019
Belong. Connect. Create. Pass it on.
Dr. Sue Windham-Bannister, AWIS Dr. Paula Johnson, MD, Wellesley College

19. Thank you!
stemsummit@wheatonma.edu