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2023 Girls in STEM Impact Report

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Girls in STEM 2023

Breaking Barriers and Empowering Girls to Be Confident Leaders

Keystone Science School’s Girls in STEM Program strives to break through gender barriers in STEM fields, inspires girls to be their authentic selves and empowers girls to be confident leaders in their classrooms and beyond. 2023 was another successful year with four Girls in STEM programs and over 90 participating girls.

Our program fosters an amazing community of females, students, and adults alike—all who want to see a shift within STEM careers in the future. We launched our Girls in STEM Program in 2015 to be part of this change. Each session highlights at least one STEM career and provides a female guest STEM professional and mentor who acts as a role model for the participants. Our female STEM mentors worked side-by-side with the girls to help facilitate discussions on the design of their prototypes and/or solutions. The girls then presented their final products to their peers and parents!

Snow & Avalanche Science

February 2023

This program focuses on careers related to snow and avalanche mitigation. Participants visited Arapahoe Basin ski area to meet with female ski patrollers and learned how to dig snow pits, use avalanche beacons, and watched a demo of avalanche dogs, along with an afternoon cross country skiing!

Medical Research Exploration

April 2023

Participants got first hand experience in bioengineering and healthcare in partnership with The Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI).

Film Fest

September 2023

In partnership with Breck Film Fest, girls learned about careers within the film industry as they produced their own short films. All students will created their own film with support from a variety of females currently working in the film industry.

Water in the West

October 2023

Girls in STEM: Water in West focuses on why water related careers are so prevalent in the western United States. Throughout the weekend, participants explored how water is a limited resource, participated in hands-on projects in our local community, and used a creative way to communicate what they learned about watersheds.

93

participating girls in 2023

2,912

total contact hours

Program Goals
  1. Inspire young females to build their confidence to pursue or continue studies in
    STEM subjects.
  2. Encourage teamwork and leadership skills through group challenges related to STEM.
  3. Incorporate the Engineering Design Process into interactive, engaging activities with real-life applications.
  4. Expose participants to STEM-related careers and professional females in those roles.
  5. Promote reflection through journaling and meaningful conversations.

Mentors

STEM Mentors are a key component of each Girls in STEM Program. In 2023, each program had an influential STEM professional speak about their career, what inspired them to choose that career, challenges they faced and other factors of STEM that relate to their professional and career experience.

Our SPRI lab mentor teaching a Girls in STEM student in the laboratory
View the mentors from this year’s STEM programs
  • SNOW & AVALANCHE SCIENCE
    • Lindsay Wiebold
      • Ski Patrol Supervisor at A Basin
    • Helen Rowe
      • Team Lead for Summit County Rescue Group
    • Amy Smallwood
      • Program Director of Avalanche Science
    • Korinne Krieger
      • Assistant Director of Programs at Desert Mountain Medicine
    • Sharon Birchfield
      • Alpine Guide for Mountain Madness
    • Jess Knowles
      • Ski Patrol at Beaver Creek, Program Manager Desert Mountain Medicine
  • FILM FEST
    • Ginger Perez
      • Freelance Videographer
    • Rebecca Knowles
      • Producer, Creator, Actor
    • Darcy Miller
      • Writer, Director, Producer, Actor
    • Celia Tewey
      • Producer, Composer, Animator
    • Nicolette Percle
      • Freelance Editor
    • Angela Cohen
      • Director, Writer, Producer Actor, VR Filmmaker
    • Nuria Menchaca
      • Director, Animator
    • Charlotte Percle
      • Freelance editor
    • Marny Eng
      • Producer
  • MEDICAL RESEARCH
    • Amelia Drumm
      • Research Fellow
    • Leslie B. Vidal
      • Orthopedic Surgeon
    • Suzanne Page
      • Vice President of Operations
    • Chloe Barton
      • Clinical Trials Coordinator
    • Kristen Grunerud
      • Nurse Practitioner
    • Lauren Watkins
      • Principal Scientist for Imaging Research
    • Heather Gillman
      • Physician Assistant and Practice Manager
    • Justin Hollenbeck
      • Biomechanical Research Engineer
    • Patricia Macnamara
      • Administrative Coordinator
  • WATER IN THE WEST
    • Teal Lehto
      • Water Rights Activist, Content Creator
    • Mary Dawson
      • Aurora Water – Sr. Environmental Education & Outreach Specialist
    • Sarah Schliemann
      • PhD. Earth & Atmospheric Science Professor
    • Laura Lynch
      • CWP. Water Division Manager
In the words of students and parents

“Celia inspired me with how she became a filmmaker! I now think I want to have a career in film!”

“My daughter loves STEM. She learned so much and really appreciated learning from all the female identifying leaders. She wants to come back next year!”

“Marla inspired me by showing me that girls can do anything and should fight for what they want to do.”

Girls in STEM Film Fest students present their film on stage at the Breck Film Fest

View Full Impact Report PDF

For further details on the impact of this program at Keystone Science School, please refer to the 2023 Girls in STEM Impact Report linked below.

View Report

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the participants, experts, and mentors who contributed to the success of our Girls in STEM programs in 2023.

Keystone Science School extends heartfelt gratitude to its donors and partners whose generous funding makes Girls in STEM possible.

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