Press Release
Conference Points the Way for Girls in Science and Technology
REDMOND, WA – The Northwest Girls Collaborative Project (NWGCP) Culminating Conference was held Saturday, February 28, 2004 at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Washington. Over 200 educators, administrators, community organizations, businesses, government representatives, teenage girls, and parents were in attendance, sharing information, resources, and learning about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs (STEM programs) for girls in Washington and Oregon.
The conference featured keynote speaker Trish Millines Dziko, Executive Director of the Technology Access Foundation, as well as a poster session displaying successful STEM programs for girls, presentations of NWGCP projects, and information sessions. The sessions included "Recruiting and Retaining Girls in STEM Programs," "Effective Teaching Strategies to Reach Girls," "Dynamic Parent Involvement," "Funding Strategies," "Evaluating Your Program," and others. Teenage girls participated in two of their own fun, hands-on sessions: "Graphic Design" and "Science Made Fun."
The conference showcased work done through the Northwest Girls Collaborative Project to assist Washington and Oregon organizations to encourage middle and high school girls to explore STEM fields. The conference also focused on the future of the NWGCP, which includes producing a replication guide so other regions can reproduce the NWGCP model to further the advancement of girls in STEM.
NWGCP is a grant-funded program directed by Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology, in cooperation with the Northwest Girls Coalition, an affiliation of organizations encouraging collaboration between existing STEM activities and support services for girls in Washington and Oregon. Puget Sound Center is a Bothell-based private, non-profit information and communications technology training collaboration between Edmonds and Shoreline Community Colleges and is funded by corporate contributions, private endowment and government grants.