Initiative

Hello everyone! STEMinate is a non-profit that aims to include people from various backgrounds to engage in and hopefully pursue STEM! Feel free to read through some of the various activities included on our STEMinate website, involving coding tutorials, app development tutorials, information about scientific competitions, and updates about current scientific research. Another main objective of STEMinate is to reach out to minority groups, who are often overlooked in many STEM outreach programs. 

For a comprehensive report on the lack of diversity in today's STEM representation, take a look at these eye-opening statistics compiled by the National Girls Collaborative Project:

NGCP Report

Gender

As of 2015, women filled 47% of all U.S. jobs but held only 24% of STEM jobs. While women hold almost the same number of undergraduate degrees as men overall, they make up only about 30% of all STEM degree holders.
(US Department of Commerce) 

​Race

In February 2015, the amount of interest in STEM from African American and Latino groups dramatically declined below interest levels in 2000. African-American and Latino students are much less likely to have access to Advanced Placement courses in STEMfields. African-American and Latino workers  represent 29% of the general workforce population, but just 15% of the computing workforce and 12% of the engineering workforce. 
​(US News) ​

THE TEAM

Perisa Ashar
Co-Founder
​Executive Director

Perisa is a Biomedical Engineer Major at Duke University. She has always been an enthusiastic STEM leader, researcher, and advocate! She has been a Broadcom MASTERS semi-finalists, Discovery/3M Young Scientist Challenge State Merit Winner, and a two time award winner at the international Intel ISEF competition.

Nishka Patel
​Co-Executive Director of High School Operations 

Nishka is a junior at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies. Her main interests include things such as community service, painting, and writing. She is also very interested in the STEM field, hoping to partake in many STEM related activities over her high school journey, along with spreading learning opportunities to others.

Netra Shah
​Co-Executive Director of College Operations 

Netra is a senior at Godwin High School who has always been interested in STEM. She loves research and is particularly interested in helping her community. She has developed a website and app to help people access community resources for healthcare: www. netraslist.com

Avani Kaur
​Co-Executive Director of High School Operations 
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Osmosis STEM
​
Avani is a junior in the Center for Medical Sciences at Godwin High School. She is a passionate advocate for STEM education and dedicates her time to conducting research, mentoring younger students, and volunteering in her community. With a strong desire to pursue a career in medicine, Avani aspires to combine her love of STEM and research to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. Through her involvement in STEMinate and Osmosis STEM, she is excited to  contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge, support diversity in STEM, and help create opportunities for others to explore research.

Bhoomika  Kaur
​Co-Executive Director of High School Operations
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Osmosis STEM
​
Bhoomika is a junior in the Center for Medical Sciences at Godwin High School with a strong passion for STEM and its potential to drive positive change. She is actively involved in scientific research projects, volunteers her time to support the community, and helps inspire younger students to explore the possibilities within STEM and research fields. Through her work with STEMinate and Osmosis STEM, Bhoomika is excited to contribute to scientific discovery, promote inclusivity in STEM, inspire others to pursue STEM careers, and ensure that everyone has access to opportunities in the world of research and innovation.

David Kang
Co-Founder
​Volunteer

David is currently a pre-med student at Harvard University. He has always been a leader in offering STEM to his community, and he runs the STEM and CS club at his school. An award-winning researcher, David presented his findings at the international Intel ISEF 2019 fair. His robotics team were also the 2017 FIRST Robotics World Championship Subdivision Winners.
​

Cody Brogan
​​Educational Head

From a young age, Cody has realized and acknowledged his passion and interest in STEM related subjects. As an avid member in his science community, Cody constantly strives to expand the current assets and resources in regards to STEM subjects. He craves to dive into the depths of STEM and will stop at nothing to aid disadvantaged individuals in STEM, regardless of outside factors.