For Immediate Release

CINCINNATI, OH – With continued support from founding sponsor, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), US2020 announced the 4th annual STEM Mentoring + Making Awards. The awards are a national platform to celebrate and encourage exceptional work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) mentoring. This year, US2020 has incorporated making into the title to reflect the growing interest and excitement around the maker-centered learning across the country. Learn more about this year’s awards and how to apply here.

Since 2015, US2020 and Tata Consultancy Services, have celebrated organizations for their achievements and innovations serving underrepresented youth in STEM mentoring. Winners have included some of the top STEM companies in the country including, Amgen, Genentech, and IBM as well as leaders in STEM education like, TechBridge Girls, Women Who Code, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In the US, TCS' latest STEM education program, Ignite My Future in School, has engaged 5,050 educators and 300,000 students across 55 school districts to adopt a transdisciplinary approach and incorporate computational thinking into school curricula. Additionally, their flagship STEM initiative, goIT, has impacted nearly 19,000 students in 70 cities across North America through design thinking and app development modules.

The STEM Mentoring + Making Awards will be announced in Cincinnati, Ohio at the University of Cincinnati’s newly built 1819 Innovation Hub on August 7, 2019. The award ceremony will be held in conjunction with US2020’s bi-annual network convening along with local co-host Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative. In addition to the award ceremony, the event will bring together leaders from US2020’s twenty-two partner communities from across the country.

The 2019 award categories include:

Maker Centered Learning Program of the Year —There are a number of different ways to expand access to maker centered learning, including supporting educator professional development, hosting events that engage and celebrate student maker projects and the creation of spaces that foster these experiences. This award will be presented to the organization which has a taken a unique, creative and effective approach to expanding maker centered learning within their community.

Diversity and Inclusion Program of the Year — This award was created to address the most important factor in this work — the diversity of youth being served through STEM mentoring and making programs. Diversity is essential to achieving educational and academic excellence, and studies show that students’ learning experiences are enriched by diversity of curriculum, faculty, and student body. Ideal applicants should be utilizing strategies such as, developing relevant curricula that incorporates diverse perspectives and addresses biases, implementing strategic recruitment efforts to source diverse mentors and educators, targeting a specific underrepresented community through their STEM and making education efforts, etc.

Excellence in Public-Private Partnership — Leadership from public agencies and officials is critical to the growth of STEM mentoring efforts, from raising awareness about STEM mentoring, to convening key stakeholders to tap the mentoring talents of experienced government employees. This award showcases effective and innovative cross-sector collaborations. Applicants are groups that are utilizing the combined resources of corporations, nonprofits, civic leaders, school districts, etc. to rapidly scale STEM efforts in their communities.

Excellence in Corporate Culture — US2020 STEM mentors’ most cited entry point to their current volunteer engagement is through their employer. The private sector has a big role to play in addressing the STEM education challenge. We believe it starts with an intentional focus on building a corporate culture that is conducive to service. The Excellence in Corporate Culture award will recognize companies that are promoting and supporting a culture of STEM volunteerism across all levels of their business operations

About US2020
US2020, a division of Citizen Schools, partners with communities to dramatically scale the number of STEM professionals mentoring and teaching students through hands-on projects with a focus on serving underrepresented youth, especially girls, underrepresented minorities, and low-income children. US2020 is supported by national partners: Amgen, Arconic Foundation, Genentech, Schmidt Futures and Tata Consultancy Services. TCS has supported US2020 as a founding sponsor since 2013. Through partnerships at the national level and coalitions at the city level, US2020 has built a network of more than 1,000 organizations in 22 cities actively working to scale the STEM mentoring field, to align the field on common metrics, and to advance a focus on quality. US2020’s partner coalitions are projected to serve over 150,000 youth in 2018-19. To learn more, visit www.us2020.org.

About Citizen Schools
Citizen Schools is a national nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for children in low-income communities. Citizen Schools mobilizes a team of AmeriCorps educators and volunteer “Citizen Teachers” to teach real-world learning projects and provide academic support, in order to help all students discover and achieve their dreams. For more information, please visit www.citizenschools.org

About Greater Cincinnati Stem Collaborative (GCSC)
Launched by P&G and StrivePartnership in 2011, GCSC is the backbone STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education/workforce development organization for the three-state Greater Cincinnati region. GCSC ecosystem partners are collaboratively creating a robust pipeline of talent to meet the accelerating demand for a STEM-expert workforce. GCSC improves STEM access for all students and prioritizes direct support to students underrepresented in STEM. www.greatercincystem.org

About University Of Cincinnati
Founded in 1819, the University of Cincinnati is an urban, research-intensive institution serving a diverse community of almost 46,000 students across 14 colleges. Having invented cooperative education in 1906, UC remains a world-class leader in experience-based learning. UC is home to faculty members who are internationally recognized for innovative teaching and research. The National Science Foundation places UC in the top 30 among America's public research universities, while U.S. News ranks the university among the top tier of America's best colleges, and The Chronicle of Higher Education has called UC a "research heavyweight." www.uc.edu

Media Contact
Megan Salgado
Phone: 804.504.6385
megansalgado@citizenschools.org