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TheSFNAnnouncesTheGreaterAustinSTEMEcosystemAsOneOf27Inaugural
CommunitiesToLaunchTheSTEMLearningEcosystemsInitiative

TheGreaterAustinSTEMEcosystemSelectedFromAnInvitedPoolOf70+Applicants

(September1,2015Washington,DC)TheSTEMFundersNetwork(SFN)announced
todaythatTheGreaterAustinSTEMEcosystemisoneofthe27communitiesselectedto
pilotthenationalSTEMEcosystemsInitiative.Thisproject,builtonoveradecadeof
researchintosuccessfulSTEMcollaborationsseekstonurtureandscaleeffective
science,technology,engineeringandmath(STEM)learningopportunitiesforallyoung
people.TheGreaterAustinSTEMEcosystemsselectionisademonstrationofthe
regionsexistingprogressindevelopingastrongSTEMcommunityandrecognitionof
thecommitmenttocontinuethiswork.

TheseinnovativecommunitiesareprovidingSTEMlearningopportunitiesformillions
ofyoungpeoplebothinandoutofschool,saidSFNcochairsGeraldSolomon,
executivedirector,SamueliFoundation,andRonOttinger,executivedirector,Noyce
Foundation.Itisaninitiativetodesignthekindofinfrastructurethatensuresthat
STEMlearningistrulyeverywhereandisatoppriorityforcommunitiessupporting
youthtodeveloptheskillsandknowledgetheyneedforsuccessinaglobalworkforce.

WearethrilledthatwevebeenselectedtojointhisinitiativeandtheCommunityof
Practice,saidMelanieMoore,executivedirectoroftheKDKHarmanFoundation,an
AustinbasedfamilyfoundationwithdeepcommitmentstoSTEMlearninginCentral
Texas.WiththesupportoftheSTEMFundersNetworkandourcolleaguesbuilding
STEMlearningecosystemsacrosstheUnitedStates,wewillbeabletoleveragethe
impactofSTEMlearningopportunitieswithinourcommunityevenfurther.Thisisa
muchneededsteptowardcreatinganefficientsystemofopportunitiesforthechildren,
familiesandeducatorsofTexas.

The27communitiescomprisingtheinitialcohortofanationalCommunityofPractice
havedemonstratedcrosssectorcollaborationstodeliverrigorous,effectivePre
KindergartenthroughBaccalaureate(PreK16)instructioninSTEMlearninginschools
andbeyondtheclassroominafterschoolandsummerprograms,athome,inscience
centers,librariesandotherplacesbothvirtualandphysicalthatsparksyoungpeople's
engagement,developstheirknowledge,strengthenstheirpersistenceandnurtures
theirsenseofidentityandbelongingintheSTEMdisciplines.AstheseSTEMEcosystems

evolve,astudentwillbeabletoconnectwhattheylearninandoutofschoolwithreal
worldlearningopportunities,leadingtoSTEMrelatedcareersandopportunities.

LaunchedinDenverattheClintonGlobalInitiative,theSTEMFundersNetworkSTEM
LearningEcosystemsInitiativewillformanationalCommunityofPracticewithexpert
coachingandsupportfromleaderssuchassuperintendents,scientists,industryand
others.ThefirstgatheringofthisCommunityofPracticewillbehostedattheWhite
HouseinNovember.

Thefollowingisthecompletelistofsitesselectedfromaninvitedpoolof70+applicants
tojointheSTEMEcosystemsInitiativesfirstcohortcreatingaSTEMCommunityof
Practice:

ArizonaSciTechEcosystem(Phoenix,AZ)
BayAreaSTEMEcosystem(SanJose,CA)
BoSTEM(Boston,MA)
ChicagoSTEMPathwaysCooperative(Chicago,IL)
ColoradoSTEM(Denver,CO)
EastSyracuseMinoaCentralSchoolDistrictSTEMLearningEcosystem(East
Syracuse,NY)
ecosySTEMKC(KansasCity,MO)
GreatLakesBayRegionalSTEMInitiative(Freeland,MI)
GreaterAustinSTEMEcosystem(Austin,TX)
GreaterCincinnatiSTEMCollaborative(Cincinnati,OH)
IndianaSTEMEcosystemInitiative(Indianapolis,IN)
InterdisciplinaryScienceandEngineeringPartnershipinWesternNewYork(Buffalo,
NY)
LearningEcologyNetworkofSTEMinEvanston(Evanston,IL)
LosAngelesRegionalSTEMHub(LosAngeles,CA)
NCSTEMEcosystem:DrivingtheFuture(ResearchTrianglePark,NC)
NortheastOhioSTEMLearningEcosystem(Cleveland,OH)
NYCSTEMEducationNetwork(NewYork,NY)
OrangeCountySTEMInitiative(CoronaDelMar,CA)
OregonsStatewideRegionalSTEMHubNetwork(Salem,OR)
PittsburghRegionalSTEMEcosystem(Pittsburgh,PA)
ProvidenceAfterSchoolAlliance(PASA)AfterZoneSTEMFUSEInitiative
(Providence,RI)
Queens2020(Corona,NY)
SanDiegoEcosySTEM(SanDiego,CA)
STEMcityPHLRegionalNetwork(Conshohocken,PA)
TampaBaySTEMNetwork(Tampa,FL)
TulsaRegionalSTEMAlliance(Tulsa,OK)
VenturaCountySTEMRegionalNetwork(LearningEcosystem,Camarillo,CA)


Learnmoreabouttheinitiativeatstemecosystems.org.

TheGreaterAustinSTEMEcosystemwillbedesignedtomaximizeSTEMopportunities
forPreK16studentsbyconnectingthemanynodesofSTEMeducationintheGreater
AustinArea.

Whatdifferentiatesthissystembuildingworkisourpartnershipsabilitytousedatato
identifyregionalneedandleveragetheincredibleassetsalreadyinplaceforSTEM
learningopportunitiesinschooloutofschool,throughhighereducationandacross
STEMindustriesintheregiontobuildaneffectiveecosystemsothatallstudentswillbe
abletoaccesspathwaysofhighqualitySTEMlearningexperiences.

Wewillconveneparticipantstocreateadynamicnetworkofhighqualityresourcesthat
engagelearnersinopportunitiesleadingtoaSTEMcapable21stcenturyworkforce.We
willputsystemsinplacetosupporteducationprogramsthatareengaging,responsive,
andcreateapathwayofopportunities.FormalandinformalSTEMeducators,cityand
countyleaders,business,andindustrywillplayvitalroles.Wewillutilizetheunique
contributionsofalltheseparticipantswithafocusonlongtermimpacttoactively
broadenparticipationbyyoungpeopleinSTEMlearning.Welookforwardtothe
expansivenationalCommunityofPracticefocusedonstrengtheningresearch,
evaluationandprovidingtechnicalassistancetosupportandinformourwork.

Thefollowingorganizationshavecontributedtothiseffortwithmanymoreexpected.
TheCentralTexasSummerSTEMFundersCollaborative
AustinCommunityCollege
AustinCommunityFoundation
KDKHarmanFoundation
WebberFamilyFoundation
KLEFoundation
AndyRoddickFoundation
AustinIndependentSchoolDistrict
TheAustinScienceandNatureCenter
CityofAustinandMayorSteveAdler
GreaterAustinChamberofCommerce
E3Alliance
EducateTexas
Girlstart
HillCountryScienceMill
IBM
IntelCorporationTexas
ManorIndependentSchoolDistrict
MichaelandSusanDellFoundation

Samsung
SkillpointAlliance
TheThinkery
TheUniversityofTexasatAustinK12STEMCollaborative(includingUTeachOutreach,
TheDanaCenter,WomeninEngineeringProgram,TexasAdvancedComputingCenter)
TXPOST
UTeach

AbouttheSTEMFundersNetworkTheSFNwasformedin2011byasmallgroupof
fundersfromtheGrantMakersforEducationcommunitytofocusattentionandbetter
coordinatefundinginsupportofrobustSTEMprogramsacrossthecountry.TheSFN
membersfundindividuallyaswellascollectivelyandtheirworkhassupportedthe
adoptionandimplementationofNGSSinall50statesaswellasdozensofSTEM
programsofpromise.

EcosystemfundingmembersoftheSTEMFundersNetworkinclude:Samueli
Foundation,NoyceFoundation,OverdeckFoundation,CharlesandLynnSchusterman
Foundation,andSimonsFoundationwithsupportbyAmgenFoundation,Broadcom
Foundation,KDKHarmanFoundation,PinkertonFoundation,andTigerWoods
Foundation.

Formoreinformationaboutthenationaleffort,pleasecontact
info@stemecosystems.org.

FormoreinformationabouttheGreaterAustinSTEMEcosystempleasecontact:

MelanieMoore,ExecutiveDirector,KDKHarmanFoundation:melanie@kdkharman.org,
5123289400.

MaryMiller,UTeachOutreachDirector,UTeach,CollegeofNaturalSciences,TheUniversityof
TexasatAustin:mmiller@austin.utexas.edu.

RichardTagle,ChiefExecutiveOfficer,AndyRoddickFoundation:richard@arfoundation.org.