NEW ORLEANS - Dr. Calvin Mackie, host of the Let’s Talk STEM podcast, talks with Kate Ayers, director of STEMM education and outreach at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, about the challenges advancing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for Black and Hispanic students in Memphis.

“We take a variety of approaches to addressing issues of equity and access to STEM learning experiences,” Ayres says. “A lot of our work focuses on developing school partnerships to offer afterschool programs within the school or hosting curriculum collaboratives to really work with the educators to co-create and integrate more science into the learning day. And that's especially true at the elementary school grade levels.”

Ayres leads the Cancer Education and Outreach Program at St. Jude, a community outreach program that increases diversity of the biomedical workforce by addressing inequities in K-12 STEM education. Ayers works with educators to co-create science learning modules that integrate cancer concepts into the classroom curriculum. In addition, Ayers established the St. Jude Science Ambassadors Program, which connects Memphis youth to diverse scientists to dispel misconceptions related to who scientists are and who can be a scientist. She is also a founding member and chair of the Memphis STEM in Medicine Ecosystem, a city-wide initiative aimed at addressing inequities in STEM education specific to the Memphis area.

Ayres is frank in acknowledging that the education system in Memphis and many other urban areas do a disservice to children of color.

Calling the inequities “an education debt,” Ayres says, “Let's be honest. There are Black and Brown children who have not been served by our education system. And that becomes generational, a generational debt has been accumulated.” She is not comfortable calling the disproportionate education levels between Blacks and Whites a gap. “It's not a gap,” she insists.

“It's a debt that's owed. We have to work as communities to make sure that we are paying tribute to that debt that is owed to these communities that have not been served.”

– On the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, guest Louie Lopez, director of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education and Outreach office at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD STEM), outlines their cradle-to-career approach that engages nearly a million students a year in STEM learning.

Noting that DoDSTEM partners with STEM NOLA, the leading affiliate in Dr. Mackie’s STEM Global Action movement, Lopez says the DoD collaborates and funds organizations nationwide to provide STEM learning opportunities and offers scholarships and internships to thousands of students each year. Further, Lopez talks about the important role that parents play in the career paths of their children and the need for them to be informed.

“Parents have a lot of influence, especially in many of the cultures that we work with in underserved communities,” Lopez says. “It's really important that parents are educated with these opportunities so they can pass on that information to their (children). The last thing that we would want to see is for the parents to not be informed about these opportunities and continue a cycle of belief that (their children) don't belong in a (STEM) profession.”

Moreover, Lopez says they help parents recognize that “their kids do belong.”  In fact, the mission of DoD STEM is to attract, inspire, and develop exceptional STEM talent across the education continuum to enrich the current and future DoD workforce to meet defense technological challenges. 

Dr. Mackie calls it “critical” for parents, educators, and advocates for young people to know about the array of DoD programs and how children can benefit. “I have spoken often about the economic benefits of STEM careers,” he says. “There are jobs that pay well, have upward mobility and are sustainable. Unfortunately, many students from traditionally underserved backgrounds and communities have been underrepresented in STEM education and careers in STEM fields... DOD has career opportunities that our young people deserve and our young people need.”   

Lopez notes that DoD sponsored programs allow students to engage in a wide range of technology projects. For instance, he says, many technologies used by the general public started with research first conducted by DoD, such as the internet and voice recognitions.  He adds that “it is important to have diversity in the workforce.” As an organization that develops technologies for our men and women in the military, those who defend our nation, he says, “we believe that innovative technologies are driven by diversity, by the diversity of the workforce, the diversity of thought, lateral diversity, academic diversity.”

Dr. Mackie adds: “DoD depends on a strong workforce that is comprised of STEM professionals. These are STEM based careers where they can use their talent to solve real world problems and make a real and lasting impact on our community and in our nation.”

ABOUT STEM GLOBAL ACTION 

Dr. Calvin Mackie founded STEM NOLA in 2013. The New Orleans non-profit is committed to expanding STEM education, especially in communities of color.  In July 2021, Dr. Mackie launched STEM Global Action, a campaign and network pursuing STEM education for children, parents, and communities. His initiatives have impacted more than 100,000 students, 20,000 families and 5,100 schools across the U.S., and in five countries. 

LET’S TALK STEM WITH DR. CALVIN MACKIE EXTOLS THE EXTRAORDINARY SEVETRI WILSON, A BLACK WOMAN WITH A FLOURISHING TECH COMPANY AND DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE NEW ORLEANS – The new episode of Let’s Talk STEM With Dr. Calvin Mackie spotlights the amazing journey of Sevetri Wilson, a Louisiana native who pursued her dreams. Wilson turned a desire to help non-profits succeed into a tech company that raised an astounding $50 million in venture capital, including $35 million in a Series B venture funding round. One of the single highest amounts ever raised by a Black female-operated technology company. What’s more, as Wilson, 35, explains in this exhilarating conversation with Dr. Mackie, she began as a non-techie, someone without any coding experience.  On the podcast, she details the major steps that lead to her success. And the grit and determination it required. Her company, Resilia, was launched in 2016 to revolutionize how socially conscious leaders develop, sustain, and grow nonprofits, corporations, cities, and other enterprises.  It's extraordinary listening as Wilson explains the magic carpet ride from idea, to building a team, to gaining the confidence of investors. She provides a blueprint for young entrepreneurs wanting to follow a path to success.