As we enter the Digital Age, the need to fill the millions of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) jobs will be vital. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that this will be an important feat for the entire nation, the need for more racial diversity in the STEM fields is an even greater problem to solve for communities of color.
During the highly acclaimed Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 2012 Legislative Conference, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), a longtime proponent of STEM education and the ranking member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, chaired her four-hour long signature Science & Technology Brain Trust to encourage and increase minority youth awareness, interest, and participation in STEM-related education and careers.
“All during my career, the message has been ‘we need more women and minorities involved,’ and you know at some point in my life, that might have been to make it look diverse, but now it is essential because there is a growing population,” the Congresswoman said. “If we’re going to remain on the stage of the world, we got to produce the talent.”
At the event moderated by Harvard University graduate and renowned actress Tatyana Ali, the audience, filled with students from Washington, D.C.’s McFarland Middle School and Luke C. Moore Academy High School, among others, listened to three panels of STEM role models who shared their personal journeys, inspirations, initiatives, and passions for STEM.
Some of the panelists included WRC-TV Meteorologist and Atmospheric Scientist Veronica Johnson; NASA Astronaut Stephanie Wilson; educators Birdette Hughey and Joe Isaac; former Howard University Hospital Director of Literacy for Children and daughter of Dr. Charles Drew, Bebe Price; Shell Oil Company’s Workforce Development Initiative Lead Mike Alvarez; and Google’s Jordan Lloyd Bookey.
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