Leaders plan future of 100 communities committed to STEM learning for all

New York, NY – The STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECoP), launched as an initiative supported by philanthropy, is moving to sustainability with the appointment of 16 leaders from across the globe to serve as members of the newly formed Leadership Coordinating Council (LC2.)

Supported by the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES,) the backbone organization of the SLECoP, LC2 members will lead all aspects of the work of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice as it enters its seventh year.

The SLECoP, the first initiative of its kind, brings together leaders from business and industry, K-12 and higher education, out-of-school-time providers, museums, non-profits, philanthropy and government to work together for meaningful STEM opportunities for all.

Forming STEM Learning Ecosystems has been cited as the top priority for driving meaningful STEM gains for communities by the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy and others and is credited with driving meaningful change in cities across the U.S. and in several other countries.

From programs to policy, the STEM Learning Ecosystems have been at the forefront of positive STEM gains in cities in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Israel and Kenya.

The LC2 will move the SLECoP to new heights of leadership, recommending and implementing efforts to best support 100 global communities working to connect the diverse partners who recognize the power of STEM to improve the lives of individuals, families and entire communities.

“The STEM LEARNING ECOSYSTEMS has been an agent of change for reimagining STEM experiences, in large urban communities like New Orleans, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Tulsa or more rural communities like upstate New York and Idaho. Leaders in STEM Learning Ecosystems across the globe are organizing cross-sector partners to expand opportunities for and increase the inclusion of marginalized scholars in STEM, shining the spotlight on the diverse talent within each and every community across an Ecosystem’s footprint,” said Judd Pittman, former special consultant to the Secretary of Education for Pennsylvania.

“This work is transforming communities around the world and I am honored to be chairing the Leadership Coordinating Council (LC2),” said Pittman, explaining that collective action and network approaches to supporting scholars in STEM aligns with his new role as the director of K–16 Initiatives at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Pennsylvania.

Reginald McGregor, Global Defense Diversity and Inclusion Manager Rolls-Royce North America, will serve as the vice chair of the LC2 and liaison to the Strategic Advisory Council. McGregor, who has been active with the Indiana STEM Ecosystem, said, “The LC2 will shape the future of this country by defining STEM as a skillset and diversifying the participants leading and those they are serving.”

Other members of the LC2 are: