BOSTON, MA – Makers + Mentors Network, a Citizen Schools STEM initiative, is partnering with community colleges and historically black colleges and universities to launch an innovative new program called Maker Fellows this fall.  This program will connect over 25,000 K-12 students to maker-centered learning opportunities that help students build the academic and social emotional skills key to their success in school, postsecondary enrollment and workforce placement. Through service in their local communities and participation in targeted professional development, Maker Fellows will launch a career as leaders and champions of maker-centered learning and mentorship for underserved students. 

Fellows will work in capacity building roles, such as developing and implementing new maker-centered learning programming, partnering with school districts to redesign high school CTE pathways and standing up local communities of practice for faculty and educators. Fellows will receive robust training in maker-centered learning and STEM education, as well as the opportunity to build a robust network of educational institutions and companies that can be leveraged for future jobs. Maker Fellows serve for a one year term of service.

Eileen Yang, Senior Manager, Corporate & Employee Giving at Genentech, notes, "We believe Maker Fellows will be uniquely positioned to scale programming that is critical to growing and diversifying the country's STEM talent pipeline." 

Maker Fellows will participate in the Learning Pathway, a professional and leadership development experience which will provide them with the skills, knowledge and resources to excel during their year of service and position them for success in future career endeavors. Citizen Schools is partnering with national non-profit, Maker Ed, to design the Learning Pathway. Throughout the course of the year, Fellows will acquire foundations in pedagogy, research, capacity building techniques and tools, deepen their expertise in areas most needed by their Host Sites and share this knowledge with colleagues and community partners.

Arconic Foundation, Vice President and Treasurer, Ryan Kish, said, "Arconic Foundation recognizes the potential for this effort to bring engaging, locally-relevant STEM and maker-learning opportunities to underserved youth and to design new program delivery models for a post-COVID learning environment." 

The 20 selected communities will host 25 Maker Fellows this upcoming academic year. The partner organizations were selected through a competitive application process that saw interest from across the country. The Dayton, OH Dayton Regional STEM Center and Baltimore, MD Morgan State University host sites are supported through funding and a new partnership with the Department of Defense’s Defense Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Consortium (DSEC). Please visit the DoD STEM website to learn more about DSEC.

“By placing Maker Fellows with these select organizations, we are reaching their respective community’s most underrepresented youth, ensuring that all students have the access and the education needed to have a hand in building their future,” said Emily McCann, CEO of Citizen Schools.

The winning organizations are:

• Baltimore, MD - Morgan State University

• Boise, ID - Idaho STEM Action Center

• Boston, MA - BoSTEM

• Camarillo, CA - Ventura County Office of Education 

• Chattanooga, TN - Hamilton County School’s Office of Innovation and the Global Center for Digital Innovation 

• Cincinnati, OH - Cincinnati State Technical & Community College and Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative

• Coeur D’Alene, ID - North Idaho College

• Dayton, OH - Dayton Regional STEM Center

• Downey, CA - Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center Foundation 

• Durham/Raleigh, NC - North Carolina Central University Fab Lab and National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship 

• Erlanger, KY - Northern Kentucky Makerspace

• Folsom, CA - Folsom Lake College

• Houston, TX - BakerRipley Fab Lab

• Idaho Falls, ID - Museum of Idaho

• Lawrenceburg, IN - Ivy Tech and Southeast Indiana STEM+ Alliance

• Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Science Center 

• Redwood City, CA - STEMentor Silicon Valley 

• Rocklin, CA - Sierra College

• Sacramento, CA - Sacramento City College

• San Diego, CA - San Diego Community College District (San Diego Continuing Education)

The Maker Fellows Program is made possible through support from Arconic Foundation, Schmidt Futures, Genentech, Dell, Chevron, the Corporation for National and Community Service and partnership with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. To learn more about the Maker Fellows program and how to participate visit www.makersandmentors.org/makerfellows 

Media Contacts

Megan Salgado
Program Manager, Makers + Mentors Network 
megansalgado@citizenschools.org | 804.504.6385

About Makers + Mentors Network 

Makers + Mentors Network, a STEM initiative of Citizen Schools, partners with communities and organizations to uplift STEM mentoring and maker-centered learning as essential tools to build a stronger, more diverse workforce. Recognizing that opportunity is not equally distributed, we focus on underserved and underrepresented students, including girls, students of color and youth from low-income communities. Makers + Mentors Network advances its mission through three primary models: National Community of Practice, Make For All, and Maker Fellows. For more information, please visit www.makersandmentors.org 

About Citizen Schools

For 25 years, Citizen Schools has been a pioneer in educational equity. Citizen Schools provides hands-on learning experiences that ignite curiosity, build confidence and expand horizons for over 50,000 underrepresented middle school students. Together with partners, including 25,000 career mentors, Citizen Schools exposes students to ideas and connections, helping them access even better opportunities than previous generations. For more information, please visit www.citizenschools.org