Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Nehemiah Mabry and the STEM Success Summit Team; aka “STEM Avengers”.
The STEM Success Summit is an annual event hosted by STEMedia for college students and professionals to provide insight and opportunities necessary to build a successful STEM career. It solves the problems of isolation and lack of guidance, particularly faced by black and brown individuals in the STEM fields. It began as a collaborative idea, co-founded by Dr. Nehemiah Mabry, engineer and founder of STEMedia, and Justin Shaifer (aka “Mr. Fascinate”), science communicator and Executive Director of Fascinate Inc.
It was initially imagined in early 2018 as a natively virtual conference during the pre-COVID era before such events were the norm for most organizations. Having cultivated an engaged online audience, predominantly consisting of STEM students and recent graduates of color, the team saw this as an opportunity to provide value within their grassroots network. The planning team (i.e “STEM Avengers”) was then assembled of other black and latinx STEM influencers, such as Naomi Thomas, Dr. Donovan Colquitt, Ricky Venters, Dr. Stephanie Castillo, Crachad Laing, and Brianne Martin, to launch the first-ever virtual STEM Success Summit in November of 2019. This inaugural 3-day event boasted over 1000 registered attendees, 15+ time zones and 20+ speakers.
After the success of the first event, the need for a follow-up became undeniable with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic that sparked an increased demand in quality online programming for STEM students and professionals; now facing even more isolation and lack of guidance in the new normal. The core team grew in 2020 with the addition of Dr. Korie Grayson and Maynard Okereke (aka the “Hip Hop M.D.”), as things were taken to new heights. The 2nd annual event saw over 2000 registration attendees, 50+ countries represented, and high-profile speakers such as architectural technologist and entrepreneur Iddris Sandu and actress and education advocate Tatyana Ali.
In 2022, the 4th annual summit was a hybrid event that included its first in-person VIP experience in Downtown Atlanta, GA. Adding Kantis Simmons to the team, a unique event was planned with attendees receiving exclusive networking, business and entrepreneurship workshops to elevate their careers. “Our Theme this year is Secure the Bag. Secure Your Future,” says Dr. Nehemiah Mabry, STEM Success Summit co-founder. “We are specifically curating virtual and in-person presentations that not only help build successful STEM careers but financial empowerment as well.” This year’s keynote speakers included: Jhanel Wilson (Engineer, Real Estate Investor, Coach, Mentor & Speaker) Armando Juan Pantoja (Tech Futurist, Blockchain & Crypto Expert, Wealth Building Investor, and Speaker) Erica Douglas aka Sister Scientist (Engineer, Cosmetic Chemist, and Entrepreneur) Donald Boone (Founder of Boxed Up, Entrepreneur) The STEM Success Summit is sponsored by CVS Health, Regeneron, Kapor Foundation, NCSU College of Engineering, MITRE, SAVVY Real Estate Investor, and partners; Fascinate Inc. Support from our sponsors has been so critical to our team providing vast opportunities for learning, access to information and professional experts especially for monitories interested in, and studying STEM, noted Dr. Nehemiah Mabry. “We are thrilled to continually engage in this effort to provide a road map for careers and contributions in STEM,” says Dr. Mabry.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The idea for this annual summit was conceived without any funding or support. A group of like-minded social media “STEM Influencers” joined forces to make this event happen. With success evident from attendee responses, it became necessary to raise money if the movement was to continue. That wasa challenge. With STEMedia functioning as the core organization for this initiative, the continuation has often come with strain on limited resources, however with each successful year, the motivation and recognized traction of the event itself continues to grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about STEMedia?
STEMedia® is a media company that provides educational creative content for the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) community. We also have a passionate core community of approximately 20,000 students and young professionals predominantly made up of Black and Brown students and young professionals in STEM.
We serve as a producer and platform for academic institutions, businesses, and organizations who are making efforts to broaden participation from traditionally underrepresented groups and diverse institutions across the United States. We help to attract, engage, educate and empower through on-demand video, workshops, podcasts and live events that improve graduation rates and reduce attrition in technical careers paths.
Our content is 100% authentically presented by a diverse group of brilliant & inspiring subject matter experts in STEM.
What makes you happy?
Dr. Nehemiah Mabry started STEMedia® because he was passionate about sharing a unique perspective of his field of study that was often overlooked. Many people shy away from careers in STEM because they are considered dull and boring. Not true!
Mabry recognized that people were unaware and just not knowledgeable enough about the numerous fun and exciting careers that could be found in the amazing field of STEM. As such, STEMedia® was created to showcase how creative and equally prestigious various STEM careers are when compared to many of the other careers highly admired by today’s youth.
“Elevating and empowering people is my purpose. Doing this makes me happy and brings me ultimate fulfillment.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stemedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stemedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STEM.Media
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stemedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/stemedia
- Other: https://www.stemsuccesssummit.stemedia.com/
Image Credits
Jay B. Image Lab (all images)
