About

A launch team assembled in August of 2020 worked in tandem with TIES over a two year period to execute a landscape analysis, facilitated a share-out session and a design studio. The goal of this work was to understand the existing landscape in our ecosystem and next steps required to move from multiple points of light to a unified, goal and data driven effort to ensure all students have the opportunity to understand what a future in STEM could look like.

After evaluating stakeholder outcomes in the design studio, it became apparent that in order to embark upon the work to move towards this goal, an organization ideally already existing in the Milwaukee area should take on all of the following convening responsibilities for GM-STEM:

1. Act as a liaison between TIES at the national level and the STEM organizations in southeastern Wisconsin who wish to remain active in this work. 
   
2. Convene leaders from each interested STEM organization quarterly to provide an update on their collective efforts in an effort to report back out to the community at large.  Identify shared metrics that matter at an ecosystem level. 
   
3. Convene a workgroup to co-create a summary of ‘collective impact’ across the STEM ecosystem on an annual basis so that all stakeholders can see a demonstrated effort to work together to make sure those with an interest in engaging know how and where to connect.  This effort will need additional funding to advance.

A survey was issued for any and all groups to raise their hand if they had an interest in acting in this capacity. In June of 2022, this call to action concluded and while few groups expressed an interest, the unifying barrier to the group that raised their hands was funding to add human capital to manage and oversee this work.

As of August 2022, the launch teams charter ended, and this page is being updated to maintain as a record for when a new group has the funding and capacity to take on this important work.

Resources from 2020 – 2022 Ecosystem Development

•       May 18th, 2021 Landscape Analysis Share-out This session was held for all individuals who partook in the landscape analysis survey issued in January of 2021. View the slide deck here and a recording is here from the session. To view the full landscape analysis dashboard, click here, or access the summary report here.
  
•   January 2022 Design Studio Outcomes Report You can find detailed final report linked here.

Launch Team

These individuals assisted over some or all of the two year launch window. While none are official contacts for GM-STEM, please reach out if you are looking for information on the work undertaken during this time window.

• Beyond STEM – Tanzania Sewell
• Connect Business Consulting – Kenge Adams
• Milwaukee School of Engineering  – Elizabeth Taylor
• Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition  – Laura Schmidt
• Northwestern Mutual – Stacy Zaja
• STEM Forward – Rich Merkel

About 

Last Updated August 2022

Our Purpose

• Ensure equitable opportunities are sustained, shared and implemented for all students to access high quality STEM opportunities.
• Track, monitor and report on progress in ensuring all students have the opportunity to understand what a future in STEM could look like.
• Create a unified effort ecosystem wide that enables STEM partners to share best practices and align resources to ensure efforts in K-12 STEM pipeline development are effective and reflect the community as a whole.

About Our Community 

The Greater Milwaukee region represents a community deep in experiences and supports to advance STEM opportunities. GM-STEM unifies STEM outreach efforts across industry, K-12, higher education, and community partners throughout the seven county Greater Milwaukee region. Some highlights from our community include:

• Opening of the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE as an ecosystem wide resource and community funded initiative
• Regular convenings of regional STEM champions such as: MKE K-12 Computing Alliance, MKE CSforALL SCRIPT Cohort, Annual sySTEMnow Conference, Learn Deep Collab Labs
• A plethora of programs representing cross sectional partnerships such as the Greater MKE Hour of Code, STEAM and Dream, Northwestern Mutual’s hi,Tech program, high level local FIRST supports from Rockwell Automation, Discovery World, Microsoft TEALS, and more!
• A dense network of higher education institutions unified through the Higher Education Regional Alliance (HERA) and the MKE Area College Internship Consortium (MACIC) with a plethora of higher-ed lead outreach programs such as MSOE’s K-12 STEM outreach, UW Milwaukee’s College4Kids and WiscAMP programs, Medical College of Wisconsin 500 STARS, and PUMP-CS at Marquette University to name a few.

A community focus on equity in education, especially STEM pathways, in partnership with non-profit organizations such as Greater Milwaukee Committee, Milwaukee Succeeds, All-In Milwaukee. Hispanic Professionals of Greater MKE, MMAC Hispanic Collaborative, Milwaukee Urban League, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, City Forward Collective, NCWIT-WI, and WIT-MKE.