Advisory Board 2006-2009, Volunteer Recruitment Liaison 2006-2012
CompuGirls was a culturally relevant technology program for adolescent (grades 8-12) girls from under-resourced school districts in the Greater Phoenix area. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, CompuGirls provides fun summer and after-school classes where participants learn the latest technologies in digital media, games, and virtual worlds and become a voice for social justice and change in the world. I became involved with the program in 2006, when I sought out the director of Education at Intel Arizona, looking for an opportunity to volunteer with an organization whose specific goal was exposing adolescents to math, science and technology. After an Initial meeting, I was asked to sit on the Advisory Board to provide technical guidance and programmatic support. During my tenure as a board member, I procured a donation of over 40 laptops for the program, assisted with applicant review and selection and provided quarterly feedback on initiatives and funding. I recruited, trained and supported technical volunteers to serve as career speakers and mentors for the program participants. Each year, I co-organize an on-site field trip during which the young women are able to interact with engineers, have hands on experiences in a lab environment and learn about the work that goes into computing on a daily basis. In the summer of 2010, I designed and supervised a 6-week internship for 2 of the CompuGirls participants. I had to propose the value proposition to management, advocate for funding and handle all logistics, including hiring, contingent worker training, and crafting the internship project and training materials. This internship required that the young women complete project work and present their results at its close. I was recognized as a top volunteer by Intel Arizona for my work with CompuGirls, having solicited over 80 volunteer hours in a single quarter. In 2011, the partnership between Intel and CompuGirls was featured on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams. I was honored to appear alongside the young women of CompuGirls.
