The Louisiana STEM Collaborative, shaped by community and designed to build stronger connections across the regional LA STEM centers, has officially launched its new newsletter.
The newsletter began with the Louisiana Girls Collaborative Project, a statewide initiative formed in partnership with the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP). Initially focused on providing resources and opportunities to support girls in STEM, the effort grew into a platform that highlighted women leaders, hosted the STEM Her Way webinar series, and launched its first Youth Leadership Board. When policy shifts required a pivot, the team didn’t walk away. Instead, they rebranded as the Louisiana STEM Collaborative, broadening the mission to support all underrepresented populations across Louisiana while still maintaining strong roots in girls’ STEM education.
“Coming from the most rural part of the state, I knew there were many more groups that needed support,” shared LA STEM's region 8 Director, Cathi Cox-Boniol. “While we are working on different ways to connect and share information and resources, the newsletter is a logical place to start. And so far, it has gotten a great response.”
The Collaborative is now working to rebuild its Champions Board, starting the STEM Her Way webinar series, and developing a youth leadership group. “I definitely want to bring back features like our ‘Get to Know’ segment highlighting Champions Board members,” Cathi said. “It gave our girls a chance to see women in STEM who looked like them, and perhaps even came from the same area.” With new team members like Aimee Turner helping to expand social media presence and outreach, the Collaborative is poised to grow its impact.
Welcoming New Voices: Meet Emily Dare, PhD
One of the first new Champions Board members, Emily Dare, joined out of both passion and purpose. A researcher and teacher educator, she has long been focused on how educational experiences shape students’ STEM identities and career interests.
“I’m especially interested in supporting girls as my own experiences in physics led me to question why so few women were in the field,” Emily shared. "I left physics in pursuit of exploring this through an educational research lens, realizing that I was more concerned about young people and their future than I was about far away galaxies. I take that interest into everything I do, so in thinking about the pivot to a more inclusive Collaborative for all students, I know I'm in the right place. Louisiana is primarily a rural state, whose students are underserved, so providing STEM experiences for students across the state is important."
Emily’s work emphasizes integrated STEM education, an approach that connects science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to real-world problems through critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning skills. She believes that when students see how what they’re learning applies outside the classroom, whether it’s solving local challenges or connecting to a career, it changes their relationship with STEM. “If we can help students develop more positive attitudes and interests in STEM, it is possible that their career interests will be more STEM-oriented. This could have major impacts on the Louisiana STEM workforce as more students who never thought they were STEM people may end up choosing a STEM career."
Emily brings a strong collaborative effort to the board. Having experience outside of Louisiana, she provides varying perspectives and ideas. Much of what she does in research comes from the idea that there is a problem she wants to solve. From this perspective, she can consider how to support STEM efforts that lead to positive changes.
Share your ideas, stories, or resources with the Louisiana STEM Collaborative team. Every voice makes a difference in shaping Louisiana’s STEM future.
