Ladies, let me let you in on a little secret.

According to a recent report released by The White House Council on Women and Girls: “Women make up only 25 percent of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) workforce, which is expected to grow by nearly 20 percent over the rest of the decade. “

Well, I didn’t say it was a GOOD secret.

But listen – there’s more:

Jason Koebler of US News and World Report writes: “Women who do work in STEM fields make up to ONE-THIRD more money than women who work in NON-STEM fields.” That means a woman making $50,000 per year could increase that to just over $66,000. That’s kind of a big difference.

You’re probably thinking the same thing I am: If STEM jobs pay more money, why aren’t more women working in those fields?

While the answer to that may never be known, there are folks out there who are committed to closing the STEM gap, one girl at a time.

Through afterschool programs like Techie Club: Girls and summer programs like Techie Camp, TECH CORPS, a national nonprofit organization, is working to elevate girls' confidence with STEM-related concepts and skills in safe and supportive environments and by exposing them to tech-savvy women.

“TECH CORPS believes that in order to ensure a technologically literate, diverse workforce tomorrow, we must take a holistic approach to growing, nurturing, and supporting our students today,” said Lisa M. Chambers, TECH CORPS National Director. “While we work with all K-12 students, we also know that it is important for our organization to develop programs and strategies to engage students who are drastically underrepresented in STEM, including girls.”

Time Warner Cable partners with TECH CORPS to provide scholarship support to their Techie Camps - a full-day, week-long technology experience designed specifically for elementary and middle school students. This year Time Warner Cable is helping to send 75 kids to Techie Camp in Central and Northeast Ohio!The goal of Techie Camp is to engage students in activities that can stimulate a deeper interest in technology like robotics, programming and web development; as well as provide opportunities for them to express their imaginations.

TECH CORPS and Time Warner Cable are working together to make sure all kids, especially young women, are not just introduced to STEM based opportunities, but encouraged to explore them.

Want to find STEM education programs in for your child in your community? Check out The Connectory atTime Warner Cable’s Connect A Million Minds site for more information and STEM opportunities near you! For additional details about the Techie Camp scholarships visit techiecamp.org

Chances are, you haven’t heard of a “Pain-Away Pod” or a “Roller Ramp” – but I can assure you that you will someday soon. 

Time Warner Cable’s “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If…” Contest is challenging young brainiacs to identify a problem and come up with an invention to solve that problem.  Four Central Ohio young women (all under the age of 15) are well on their way to becoming the leading minds of their generation.

Seriously.

Fiona and Olivia’s “Pain Away Pod“ is “a foam pod in which a person will lie down, and infrared lights will turn on when the lid is closed. The infrared lights are placed at strategic points so that when the person lies down, the infrared will shine on major joints. It has been proven that infrared lights can soothe swollen or aching joints. It is also helpful to make healthy skin.”

Impressed yet?  Wait, here’s the best part:  Fiona and Olivia came up with the idea after noticing a teammate’s grandmother experience difficulty performing basic tasks because of her arthritis.  Knowing that infrared lights are proven to reduce pain and swelling, Fiona and Olivia figured that the best way to efficiently alleviate the pain would be to create a pod to hold the entire body.

I’m standing in line for mine as I type this.

Then there’s Amber and Lauren’s “Roller Ramp,” which is “a steel ramp that, with the press of a button, goes from being dormant on the floor to rolling on the stairs of a bus which allows people in wheelchairs and other disabilities to travel on public transportation without the use of a bulky wheel chair lift.”  According to the inventors, the “Roller Ramp” would weigh less than the current wheelchair lift.  Lighter bus means less fuel.

These girls have thought of everything – but more importantly – they have thought of others.  And that’s the beauty of invention. 

Click here to learn more about Time Warner Cable’s “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If…” Contest and be sure to vote for our home grown inventors:  Fiona and Olivia’s “Pain Away Pod” and Amber and Lauren’s “Roller Ramp.” 

Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) is a five-year, $100 million cash and in-kind philanthropic initiative to address America’s declining proficiency in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), which puts our children at risk of not competing successfully in a global economy. Learn more. 

Today I try to live my life with passion by staying on purpose and pursuing those things that allow me to make a difference in the lives of women and girls.  I have a passion for supporting and developing women and girls.  I believe that to whom much is given, much more is expected and therefore required.  Indeed, I have been blessed with many awesome experiences and opportunities in my life, and not a day goes by that I don’t feel this insatiable need to give back.  With this in mind, I am excited about my next journey.  I have carried this dream with me for the last 20 years and no matter where my career has taken me, I find myself in the midst of mentoring moment with a girl, young lady or professional woman. 

My career started in social services, and I have spent the last 10 years of my career in corporate America with a focus on organizational and leadership development. In 2011, I established The Columbus Women & Girls Mentoring Society, where it is our mission to  prepare our next generation of influential leaders.  We are committed to educating, supporting and advocating on behalf of our women and girls to ensure that we have a pipeline of strong leaders to be considered for opportunities as they arise.

Our signature development program is the Girls ROCK Leadership Academy.  The Academy is an empowerment and leadership program for secondary and post secondary girls in central Ohio.  The interactive learning experience is structured to engage participants in dialogue and activity focusing on life skills, education, career readiness, financial literacy and community engagement.  The Academy also seeks to provide equitable opportunity for participants to attain the academic, business and social skills necessary to become an influential leader.

Through multigenerational mentoring and experiential learning, the Academy partners with women in our community to serve as mentors for  students to promote total leadership development and life-long learning.  The bonds we have seen formed as a result of this partnership is simply amazing and life changing for our participants.

Today, we live in a time of vast changes that include accelerating globalization, mounting quantities of information, the growing hegemony of science and technology, and the clash of civilization.  Those changes call for new ways of learning and thinking in school and business, and the profession as spoken by noted Author, Howard Garner.  His book FIVE MIND FOR THE FUTURE is what drives our Academy curriculum.  He defines 5 cognitive abilities that will command a premium in the years ahead.  The Disciplinary Mind - Mastery of science, mathematics and history.  The Synthesizing Mind - Ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines into a coherent whole.  The Creating Mind - Capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions, and phenomena.  The Respectful Mind - Awareness for differences among human beings.  The Ethical Mind - Fulfillment of one’s responsibilities as a worker and citizen.  So as you can see, we certainly do have much work to do with our women and girls and we are committed to the call.

 As we think about 21^stCentury education.  I love the words of Scott McLeod as he describes it, he says…  It is bold.  It breaks the mold.  It is flexible, creative, challenging and complex.  It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new problems as well as exciting new possibilities. I am confident that The Columbus Women & Girls Mentoring Society can be a catalyst for developing generations of influential leaders that will strengthen the fabric of our community.

 Mentoring Matters and it is our responsibility as women to reach back and pull a girl, a woman along in our journey of life.  I agree with Oprah Winfrey…  “It is the rent we pay for living on this earth.”

 Question is?  Who are you mentoring today?

.

“I pray that I am living a life of significance by motivating others to push forward regardless of the challenges that may arise.”

Empowering and uplifting girls isn’t an easy task, but a budding mentoring program is attempting to do just that with the help of Kaydian Lyn.

“We strongly believe that our program and mentoring model should be representative of the diverse communities we serve,” said Lyn, senior program coordinator for BLOOM at the Expanding Visions Foundation.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, BLOOM (Blossoming Ladies on Our Mission) is aimed at middle and high school girls. Its mission is to uplift and empower young ladies through lifelong mentorship and education. Its three core components for our curriculum are Health Education, Personal Development, and Educational Development. The goal is for program participants to become resilient leaders who know that great accomplishments are attainable and that mediocrity is not acceptable.

Lyn believes the nurturing approach allows BLOOM to incorporate parents into its’ operating model. It also requires parents to participate in monthly sessions and make suggestions on ways to better serve the girls.

“We meet bi-monthly, [the] first and third Saturday of every month from 9-11 a.m.” said Lyn. “In these sessions, we introduce different topics from our curriculum or plan outings to museums or sporting events through our team building initiatives.”

BLOOM, a sister affiliate of Expanding Visions Foundation (EVF), was launched on July 16, 2011. With a solid foundation, seeds of wisdom, and consistent nurturing, BLOOM attempts to make a lasting impact on young ladies that will be with them for a lifetime.

Lyn, 25, a project manager at JPMorgan Chase, recalled how beneficial mentoring has been for her.

“Mentorship has made the most profound impact in my life through empowerment,” Lyn said. “My mentors provide frequent reminders that propel me forward, especially when I feel exhausted on the battlefield.”

There are other programs that offer mentoring for girls, but Lyn said there is a difference between them and what BLOOM is doing.

“One of the things that I think differentiates this program from other programs is that with this program, not only do we have regular program sessions, but we have the ability to actually interact with the mentees outside of the sessions,” she said.

Lyn said this is important when trying to forge lasting bonds between mentors and mentees, which is why recruitment of talented, passionate women is crucial.

“We usually recruit either through word-of-mouth, people that we work with or while networking within the community where we meet people who are like-minded and are passionate about giving back and making a difference in other’s lives,” she said.

Lyn stops short of taking the credit for the mentoring program that she hopes changes the lives of many girls.

“I can’t take all the credit,” she said. “I actually have a really good team of  young professionals, with diverse backgrounds, from JPMorgan Chase who came aboard and helped develop the curriculum to present to the Expanding Visions Foundation Board of Directors. Each one of my teammates have served in this capacity in other volunteer efforts, and had the same vision to build up a mentoring program for young impressionable women.

Mentoring has become a strong force and foundation in Lyn’s life, “I pray that I am living a life of significance by motivating others to push forward regardless of the challenges that may arise,” she said.

For more information about BLOOM at EVF, send email to kaydian.expandingvisions@gmail.com or visit the Web site at www.expandingvisions.net/bloom

Debbie Penzone knows that it takes more than a fabulous new hairstyle, makeup or clothes to feel and do your best.  Fueled by her passion for empowering girls and bringing out the beauty that exists in everyone, Penzone has created a journal-style book, Debbie’s Club: Discovering MyTrueBeauty for Girls.  Penzone launched her book on August 2 through a series of fun book signing events. (See pics below)

The book recaps Penzone’s first “Debbie’s Club” Boot Camp where she spent three days with 14 girls who gathered to discover and share what makes each of them unique and beautiful.  Each day focused on a different theme, MyTrueStory, MyTrueSelf and MyTrueBeauty.  Penzone uses these three themes to guide readers on a path to self-discovery while sharing her own struggles with self-confidence, life lessons and advice. 

The book concludes with the “Debbie Club’s Oath”:

“As a member of Debbie’s Club, I promise to celebrate MyTrueBeauty from the inside out. I promise to never make fun of or bully others. I promise to extend kindness to others to help make the world a better place.”

Penzone has over 20 years of experience and leadership in the beauty and salon industry.  As president of Charles Penzone, Inc., an industry leading family of salons serving the Central Ohio area, she balances strong business skills with a firm commitment to giving back to the community through various organizations. She has also founded Debra Penzone, Inc., a speaking and consulting firm, and Earth Angels – the Debra Penzone Foundation to benefit and empower girls.  

Learn more at www.debbiesclub.com