Year: 2015

Girlstart Executive Director Tamara Hudgins Named SXSW’s 2015 Interactive Hall of Fame Inductee

(AUSTIN) – Today,SXSW has announced that Girlstart Executive Director Tamara Hudgins has been named its Interactive Hall of Fame Inductee for 2015.

Hudgins, who has been with Girlstart since 2009, is being honored for work in helping to expand and develop the Austin-based non-profit organization. Girlstart, founded in 1997, is the only community-based informal STEM education nonprofit in the nation specifically dedicated to empowering and equipping girls in STEM, through year-round programming that promotes girls’ early engagement and academic success in STEM, encourages girls’ aspirations and persistence in STEM education and careers, and incubates a talented and diverse STEM workforce.

Specifically, since 2009, Girlstart’s impact has grown from reaching 1,500 girls, teachers, and family members each year to over 15,000. Additionally, the Girlstart After School has grown from 4 to 45 programs, has been recognized as the most robust program of its kind in the nation, and is now replicating regionally. Girlstart Summer Camp, the second core program, has expanded from 8 to 22 week-long programs each summer, with replication outside Austin as well as in six states nationwide. Both Girlstart After School and Girlstart Summer Camp have been recognized by Change the Equation in the STEMWorks database, with Girlstart Summer Camp further recognized as one of four “exemplary” and “highly scalable” STEM education programs in America.

More recently, the organization has expanded beyond its Central Texas roots to offer programming in the Bay Area, Seattle, Chicago, and other urban centers with sizable STEM professional communities, and has partnered with the likes of Dell, AMD, Freescale, Google, Motorola Solutions, National Instruments, and 3M to develop STEM education programs that are helping to address the gender inequity still prevalent in the nation’s STEM professional community.

“This is an honor that reflects the work of the entire Girlstart team, and shows the importance of programming that inspires girls to pursue STEM fields of study and STEM careers,” Hudgins said. “While we’ve come a long way as an organization in our first 18 years, we’re setting our sights on making even more of a difference in the years to come.”

The award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, March 17 as part of this year’s SXSW Interactive Conference, and will include an announcement regarding Girlstart’s plans for 2015 and beyond. Since the Hall of Fame was established in 2012, honorees include web design master and entrepreneur Jeffery Zeldman, social media expert and researcher danah boyd, and MIT Media Lab Director Joi Ito.

SXSW’s official announcement is viewable on the official SXSW website, at sxsw.com/interactive/news/2015/2015-interactive-hall-fame-inductee-tamara-hudgins-girlstart.

Raising $50,000 for STEM Education Programs

Girlstart Seeks Volunteers, Invites Runners to Participate in 3M Half Marathon on Jan. 25, Raising $50,000 for STEM Education Programs

Girlstart, named the beneficiary of the upcoming 2015 3M Half Marathon taking place on Jan. 25, is inviting runners to participate in what has become one of Austin’s most popular distance races, and is also seeking volunteers to help manage the Gear Check area that day.

The 3M Half Marathon, involving up to 6500 participants in this year’s edition of the race, will contribute $50,000 to Girlstart in support of the non-profit organization’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education programs for girls. Founded in 1997, Girlstart is committed to fostering STEM skills development, inspiring girls to pursue STEM education, and encouraging young women to pursue STEM careers after college. Though Girlstart has been growing steadily in recent years, Girlstart will initiate a new phase of significant expansion beginning in 2015.

“As studies released this year have shown, our afterschool STEM programs are making a positive impact on students’ math and science test scores,” said Tamara Hudgins, executive director of Girlstart. “3M’s support will allow us to continue helping students achieve academic success in the short-term, and address the ongoing gender gap in STEM careers over the long-term.”

Currently, only 24 percent of STEM professionals in the United States are women. Girlstart’s curriculum, which integrates cutting-edge technologies including video game design, 3D printing, and mobile app programming, is designed to engage girls in using STEM skills to solve problems and make discoveries.

Signups for volunteers will begin in early January on the Girlstart website at http://www.girlstart.org/volunteer/volunteer-opportunities, and race registrations are open at www.3mhalfmarathon.com/registration/.

ABOUT GIRLSTART
Girlstart, founded in Austin in 1997, is the only community-based informal STEM education nonprofit in the nation specifically dedicated to empowering and equipping girls in STEM, through year-round programming that promotes girls’ early engagement and academic success in STEM, encourages girls’ aspirations and persistence in STEM education and careers, and incubates a talented and diverse STEM workforce. Its innovative, nationally-recognized programs include after-school and summer camps for students, professional development for teachers, and community and online STEM education outreach programs. Girlstart cultivates a culture where risk is rewarded, curiosity is encouraged, and creativity is expected. As a result, Girlstart girls are connected, brave, and resilient. Girlstart makes girls more successful, and inspires them to take on the world’s greatest challenges.