[Mark McLeod]

Greetings Teams:

FIRST in conjunction with Girls Incorporated is convening a panel of leading and future women scientists, engineers, and academicians to engage in a dialogue with an audience at the FIRST Championship. The panel will examine the social and economic costs of gender expectations, and explore effective ways to prepare young women and men to challenge these expectations.

The ongoing debate on the role of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been renewed and receiving nationwide attention. FIRST is keenly aware of this debate and is starting our own discussions and initiatives to address the issues surrounding women in STEM fields. In the past year, FIRST has formed the Girls FIRST Advisory Committee and a strategic partnership with Girls Inc., the nation's premier advocate for girls, to find innovative ways we can recruit, retain and promote the advancement of girls and women in FIRST.

Join us on Friday, April 22 from 12:30pm to 2pm in the to join our lively discussion. This event is free and open to the public.

Place: Georgia World Congress Center, Room C101

Moderated by Marcia Brumit Kropf, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer
Girls Incorporated

Panelists include:

Yvonne Clearwater, Ph.D.
NASA Project Manager/Producer
NASA Robotics Curriculum Clearinghouse (RCC)
NASA GIRL (Girls in Robotics Learning)

Maryann Combs, MS, MBA
General Director - Engineering & Product Planning
General Motors of Canada, Ltd.

Donn Griffith
Doctoral Student, Career and Technical Education
Clemson University

Merredith Portsmore
Tufts' CEEO Program Manager
Ph.D. Student Engineering Education, Tufts University

Alia Sabur
NDSEG (Dept of Defense) Fellow, Youngest ever
Ph.D. Student, Materials Science and Engineering
Drexel University

Ellen Zegura, D. Sc.
Professor and Associate Dean
College of Computing
Georgia Tech

Go Teams!