The monthly TxGCP eNewsletter is designed for advocates and educators to learn about STEM resources, educational opportunities and more across Texas!  View eNewsletter as Webpage

December 2024

Hello Kathy,

Join the Texas Girls Collaborative Project (TxGCP) for our 8th Annual Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit, designed to share effective practices, connect organizations and individuals, and showcase outstanding efforts to increase the number of girls in STEM and support the retention of women in STEM careers. STEM professionals and all who are engaged in education, outreach, recruitment, and/or retention of women and girls in STEM are invited to join in.

We're excited to announce the Summit Opening (Empowered to Persevere: Resilience and Financial Wellness for Women in STEM) and Closing (The Girls' Index™: Girls & STEM Report) Featured Sessions! See below for details.

VIRTUAL 2024 Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit 

Friday, December 6, 2024

8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. CT Summit Sessions (Virtual in Zoom)

Registration is open through 6 p.m. Wednesday 12/4.

Full/partial scholarships may be requested at stem@txgcp.org.

BREAKOUT Sessions with presenters across Texas and beyond:

• Digital Ambassadors & Youth Participatory Research, Stephanie Garcia, IDRA
• STEM Power-Up: Department of Defense Resources for Teachers and Students, Selene Verhofstad, Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship
• #WeldingISStem: Incorporating Hands-On Trades w/Existing STEAM Programs, Demi Clark, Spark Building Group/Reimagined Rosies/Pop Up Weld Shop, and Thomas Gray, Make48
• Why Sense of Belonging Matters (And How to Increase It), Summer Robinson and Allison Master, University of Houston
• Strategies to Create STEMinists, Cindy Moss, Cindy Moss STEMboss LLC
• Equitable Learning in STEM for BIPOC Girls, Nashira Williams, Techbridge Girls
• Bridging the Digital Divide: Innovative Strategies for Teaching Coding to Underserved Youth, Mary Adegbesan, CTRL Code
• Future Innovators: Teaching Girls to Harness Emerging Technologies for Real-World Impact, Saki Milton, The GEMS Camp (Girls interested in Engineering, Math, and Science)
• Free Culturally Responsive STEM Lessons, Stephanie Garcia, IDRA
• GeoInquires: Using GIS to Increase Girls' Sense of Belonging, Mary Curtis and Carol Waters, University of Houston-Clear Lake
• STEM Resources: Resourceful, Self-aware & Commitment, Nadia Mankins, University of North Texas
• Empowering Future Generations: The Role of Health Equity in Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders, Simona Jude, Young Women In Medicine
• Recognizing Latinas in STEM Programming, Lupe Palacios, Pasadena ISD and University of Houston-Clear Lake
• Strategies and Practices for Creating Inclusive CS Classrooms and Increasing Young Women Participation in CS, Madeline Haynes and Trae Madrigal, The University of Texas at Austin
• STEM Sisters: Trailblazing Tech Innovations Between IWA St. Louis & IWHS San Antonio, Jennifer Martin and Anee Salinas and Students, Incarnate Word Academy STL & Incarnate Word HS SAX

Announcing the Texas Women & Girls in STEM Summit Opening Featured Session:

Join Marin Laukka, an expert in positive psychology and financial wellness, for a transformative session designed specifically for women navigating the challenges of STEM. In a year marked by funding cuts and mounting pressures on women in STEM programs, corporate employee resource groups, and all kinds of educators and advocates, Marin will create a supportive space to acknowledge the very real frustrations of working in an unpredictable and sometimes unfair environment. She will guide you to explore how internal dialogues and societal narratives around the “M” in STEM (math, or money?!) undermine confidence and amplify stress. Drawing from her extensive coaching background, Marin will then share empowering mindset strategies rooted in positive psychology, equipping you with practical tools to effectively manage financial strain and cultivate resilience. Together, we'll ground ourselves in reality while reframing what's possible, providing actionable steps to maintain balance, well-being, and your meaningful impact.

Key Takeaways:

1. Acknowledge the real impact of external challenges and internal dialogues on financial stress and career resilience.
2. Learn actionable tools to stay connected to your mission and centered amid workplace and financial challenges.
3. Gain self-care practices and mindset techniques from positive psychology to reclaim control and resilience.
4. Leave with strategies to reduce financial anxiety, nurture work-life balance, and sustain impact through challenging seasons.

Bio: Marin Laukka is a joyful budgeting coach and positive psychology speaker who empowers women to stand strong, thrive in alignment with their values, and sustain the impact they’re driven to create. With a track record of supporting over 3,000 audience members at events like the Virginia Women in Sales Conference and Florida SHRM Leadership Conference, Marin combines the psychology of money, joyful budgeting, and the research of wellness to provide tangible support for women personally and professionally around the United States. Known for her practical, energetic approach, Marin has helped hundreds of clients and attendees find confidence, reduce financial stress, and turn obstacles into opportunities for growth. She is honored to support the Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit this year, and looks forward to sharing her expertise on December 6th.

Join Dr. Lisa Hinkelman and dive into the data and insights from The Girls’ Index™ — the first-ever, large-scale national survey designed to develop a deeper understanding of teen girls' thoughts, experiences, behaviors, and attitudes throughout the U.S. The ROX Institute for Research & Training explores what girls want us to know about what it’s like being a girl today. What do they want and need from the adults in their lives? What challenges do girls face in school and relationships, and how can adults support girls’ dreams and aspirations more effectively?

The Girls' Index™: Girls & STEM Report is based on data from over 17,500 girls in grades 5-12 across the U.S. and highlights both the growing interest in STEM careers among girls and the persistent challenges they face, particularly around confidence and self-efficacy in math and science. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted efforts to help girls realize their full potential in STEM fields.

Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX) began in 2006 as a research study at The Ohio State University where Founder and CEO Dr. Lisa Hinkelman spent her career training graduate students in counselor education. As a licensed counselor working with adults and students in school settings, Dr. Hinkelman recognized that the issues facing female students mirrored the experiences of the adult women she was working with in counseling. This connection sparked a research agenda that sought to understand the challenges facing girls and what interventions existed to help them navigate these challenges.

Bio: Dr. Lisa Hinkelman is a nationally recognized researcher, speaker and author who has spent nearly 20 years researching girls and educating adults — first, as a professor at The Ohio State University and currently, as the Founder and CEO of Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX), a national non-profit organization focused on creating generations of confident girls. Lisa is the author of the groundbreaking research report, The Girls’ Index™, a national study with more than 17,000 girls and her bestselling book, ’Girls Without Limits: Helping Girls Succeed in Relationships, Academics, Careers and Life ’, was published by Corwin Press. Dr. Hinkelman earned her bachelor’s degree in Education and Psychology from Chatham College and her master’s and doctorate degrees

in Counselor Education from The Ohio State University.

2024 Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit 

Friday, December 6, 2024

8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. CT Summit Sessions (Virtual in Zoom)

Find the agenda and session descriptions on the Summit website.

This event is hosted around Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer and #WomeninSTEM role model Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).

Registration fee: $50. Provides full access to all virtual sessions, recordings, resources, and references.

• High school and college students may register at a discounted $25 registration fee.
• Contact STEM@TxGCP.org to inquire about a registration full or partial scholarship.
• Contact STEM@TxGCP.org to inquire about group registration discounts.
• Register by Wednesday, December 4, 6 p.m. CT!

2/22/25 Alamo STEM Ecosystem Educator Conference

All the event information and links can be found on our website: www.AlamoSTEMecosystem.org/Conference 

Our Alamo STEM Ecosystem is excited to announce that our Annual Educator Conference will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at UTSA Main Campus! This year's conference chair is UTSA COEHD (Dr. Crystal Kalinec-Craig) and the theme is The Joy of STEM: Collaboration, Innovation & Celebration.

• Would you like to lead a hands-on workshop with local K-12 educators? If so, please complete our Session Proposal Form by January 13th. 
• Are you interested in participating, collaborating, and networking at our local FREE STEM conference? Registration will be live in mid-December, so we will remind you to register then. 
• Are you interested in hosting a table at our STEM Expo? If so, email me and let me know so we can reserve one for free!
• Do you have any students who would like to volunteer at our event? If so, email me and let me know so we can share the volunteer registration link. 
• We are looking for sponsors for breakfast tacos, coffee and boxed lunches. Please let me know if you are interested in giving back to local educators leading incredible, joyous work in our great city!

9th Annual Greater Houston Area STEM Conference: YOU Belong in STEM

Saturday, March 1, 2025

8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

University of Houston-Clear Lake Bayou Building

You are invited to attend the Greater Houston STEM Conference at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, in the Bayou Building. Expected conference attendees from Gulf Coast and Greater Houston areas include K-16 teachers, teacher educators, pre-service teachers, administrators, informal educators, and STEM industry education liaisons.

Session choices include engaging hands-on workshops, round-table talks, lectures, and panel discussions. Expected presentations about K–16 STEM education topics will range from examining 21st century skills in STEM industries to classroom implementation strategies in preparation for NEW State of Texas Assessment for Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam question types. Participants may earn up to 7 CPEs for all-day attendance.

Toward Transformative Practices: STEM Pathways Beyond Borders - Global Perspectives for the Future

RGV 8th Annual STEM ED Conference

February 13 - 15, 2025

The Multi-site & Multilingual Synchronous conference will bring together educators to discuss STEM education research and how they are applied in P-20 learning environments. Presenters will share current research within disciplinary and interdisciplinary STEM contexts and promote collaborations and partnerships from local to international. Facilitating discussions between researchers, educators, and students. The conference will occur in person at the Hilton Garden Inn, South Padre Island, TX. Learn more at https://www.utrgv.edu/cep/research/rgv-stem/.

Science Near Me is a free resource to help you quickly find opportunities to engage in all types of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) events, projects, and programs near you, in person and online. 

Search for STEM programs and add your programs into the database at https://www.txgcp.org/science-near-me.

Science Near Me Featured Opportunity: Public Star Party at Ink's Lake State Park hosted by Austin Astronomy Society. The public is invited to observe the sky in our telescopes. We’ll show such objects as Saturn, Venus, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and more. Festivities will take place near the dump station across the street from Inks Lake’s Central Park just southwest of the park store. Learn more and join in at https://sciencenearme.org/public-star-party-at-ink-s-lake-state-park-1.

TxGCP Regional STEM Google Groups are open to anyone interested in STEM resources, opportunities, grants, sharing and more. The purpose of the regional Google Groups is to provide connections, resources and a sense of community across all engaged in K-12 STEM outreach in the region. Subscribe now!

Don't miss out on getting connected to all kinds of great STEM opportunities in your area of Texas and beyond! Check out some of the STEM Google Group posts from April below.

IF/THEN® Collection: Learn about women in STEM working to understand and protect the earth through curated Climate Science resources with activities, videos, and photos showcasing female scientists researching and protecting the natural world through geology, ecology, and geography, including Adriana Baile, Atmospheric Scientist, and Rae Wynn-Grant, Large Carnivore Ecologist. Visit the STEMINIST Updates page for resources featuring women in Earth Science. 

Interested in supporting TxGCP, collaborating on programs or disseminations, or advertising in the TxGCP newsletter or other programming? Visit our Sponsorship webpage. Contact stem@txgcp.org.

The Texas Girls Collaborative Project (TxGCP) is a statewide network of advocates and educators from non-profits, K-12 schools, universities and colleges, and companies across Texas and beyond who are committed to motivating and supporting women and girls to pursue and thrive in careers in STEM. TxGCP leads the annual Texas Women & Girls in STEM Summit, disseminates curriculum and effective practices, and supports a network of collaborators, resource sharing and STEM communications throughout the state. TxGCP is a state collaborative of the National Girls Collaborative Project powered by STEMwise Connections.

The vision of the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) is to bring together organizations throughout the US and Puerto Rico that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).