Annual Conference
MGCP’s Annual Conference
The Maine Girls Collaborative Project held its annual conference to showcase the overall success of our collaborative and mini-grantees on Friday, November 5th, 2010, with over 60 individuals participating.
Preceding the keynote speaker, Anja Whitting, MGCP’s AAUW Liaison, provided an icebreaker activity to gauge participant’s knowledge of issues faced by women in STEM. Amyl Ghanem, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia served as the keynote speaker to kick off the conference. Amyl received a B.Sc. from University of New Brunswick and a Ph.D. from Cornell University, both in Chemical Engineering. She worked in the oil industry as a Process Design Engineer for several years before pursuing life in academia. Her research interests are in the areas of tissue engineering, biomaterials, and drug delivery. In addition to her research activities, Amyl has particular interest in engineering pedagogy and development of outreach activities. In her presentation, “Why So Few: A Personal Perspective,” Amyl discussed what working in a STEM field is like for females from her own experience as well as the personal experiences that others have shared with her.
Following lunch, a panel discussion, titled “Pathways to Success: Maine Girls in STEM,” included the following panelists:
- Allison Fauver, Policy Analyst and Media Specialist, The Institute for Broadening Participation
- Mary Madden, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor, College of Education and Human Development, University of Maine
- Vinitha Nair, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Platform Shoes Forum and Zoey’s Room
- Tara Treichel, Director of Education, Coastal Studies for Girls
Attendees also participated in a scavenger hunt to learn about the individuals associated with the MGCP, and were also provided with several networking and small group discussion opportunities. Many whom attended gave rave reviews regarding how much they learned and took away from this event.
Kick-Off Conference Report
The Maine Girls Collaborative Project held its Kick-Off Conference on October 10, 2008, at the University of Maine. With more than 80 people in attendance, a wide variety of sectors and all geographic parts of the state were represented. The conference was well-received, and several individuals from Maine have registered in the Program Directory since the event.
Local news station WLBZ2 interviewed several collaborative leads and aired the footage that evening.
Dr. Amy Arnett, environmental scientist at Unity College and Fulbright Scholar, delivered the keynote address. A panel presentation provided context for discussions among participants.
Most of the day was devoted to describing the various resources and tools of the National Girls Collaborative Project, and providing opportunities for the participants to network and strategize plans to develop collaborative partnerships.
Pictures from the Kick-Off conference may be viewed at http://www.mainestem.org/MGCP2008.asp?pic=slides
how¢er=1&max=5. This is part of the new Maine Girls Collaborative Project site, http://www.mainestem.org/MGCP.asp.
Conference Documents
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