News

For immediate release

Boston, Massachusetts, November 6, 2009

DOME Foundation Fall Symposium was held on Friday, November 6, 2009 at Raytheon Corporation in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The Symposium was sponsored by Raytheon Corporation and co-sponsored by Metro North Regional Employment Board and Metro South/West Regional Employment Board.

Over 100 people participated in the recent DOME Fall Symposium. Participants included K-12 administrators; K-12 teachers; engineering and technology industry professionals; representatives from STEM professional organizations; workforce development professionals, representatives from government agencies and non-profit organizations in the Boston metropolitan area; faculty and students from MIT, Simmons College, UMass Amherst, Franklin Olin College of Engineering, Bunker Hill Community College and Mass Bay Community College.

A welcome address was delivered by Lisa Aucoin, the Director of Mobile Maritime Sensor WIN Initiative for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). She was introduced by Larisa Schelkin, CEO, President and Co-Founding Director, DOME Foundation.

A keynote speech was given by Dean Hastings, Undergraduate Education, MIT. Dean Hastings was introduced by Lisa Aucoin.

The Symposium included a panel discussion with the following panelists (see panelist’s brief bio below):

Alex Sanchez, Senior Principal Systems Engineer, Raytheon
JD Chesloff, Deputy Director, Mass Business Roundtable
Jim Stanton, Executive Director, Metro West Regional Employment Board – LIFT² Program (externships for teachers)
Margery Waldron, Newton South High School teacher (completed externship at MIT Lincoln Lab)
Andrew Hollins, Natick High School teacher (completed externship at Raytheon)
Mary O’Sullivan, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems

Panelists have discussed/provided:

more information on STEM Education Model (developed & recently released by Raytheon), some interesting results and how this model can help educators and all who involved in STEM education and STEM partnerships –with a strong emphasis on diversity in STEM programming activities (women and underrepresented groups in STEM)
updates on Massachusetts STEM Education Business Coalition – (see more below)
information on the Mass STEM Pipeline Paradox, the role of teacher externships (LIFT² Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology) in addressing the paradox and a teacher’s account of the value of an externship and its classroom application

All participants were also provided with:

a brand-new resource guide "Serving Science and Engineering – to girls especially" by Dr. Ruta Sevo and Dr. Barbara Bogue
more information on the unique opportunities for STEM educators spending a school year in a Congressional Office in Washington, DC, the Department of Energy (DOE), or a federal agency such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), or the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and etc. (through the Einstein Fellowship program) & other exciting opportunities for STEM teachers at the Department of Energy, Office of Science & National Labs.

The Symposium program included 4 moderated break-out groups. The reporting out session was moderated by Norean R. Sharpe, Dean, Undergraduate Program, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; DOME Foundation, Co-Founding Director & Treasurer, and reported by Isa Zimmerman (IKZ Advisors), Lisa Zagura (SWE), Sharon Caulfield (Bunker Hill Community College & DOME Foundation Board), Dr. Haughton (Bentley University & DOME Foundation Board). Please, find reports from a break-out sessions below.

The closing remarks were given by Larisa Schelkin, Co-founder, CEO & President, DOME Foundation.

DOME is most interested in:

increasing the visibility of local needs in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math;
building bridges between K-12, academia, corporations/businesses, workforce development professionals, government agencies, non-profits and professional associations and all who are interested in increasing participation in STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math);
emphasizing the importance of diversity in STEM
connecting/diffusing research findings on recruiting & retaining women and students from underrepresented groups in STEM with practice.

The Diversity and Outreach in Math and Engineering (DOME) Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was founded and incorporated in Massachusetts in 2007. The DOME Foundation mission is: To broaden awareness of and to increase participation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines by underrepresented populations to meet the needs of a globally competitive workforce.

For more information, contact Larisa Schelkin.

Additional information:

Summary of the break out sessions (doc)
Speakers/Panelists Bio (doc)
DOME Foundation BOD Bio (doc)
Key note Speaker Dean Hastings Bio (doc)
Tapping Massachusetts Potential (TMP) (pdf)
STEM Business Leaders Meeting Survey (pdf)
LIFT² (Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology)
Raytheon Corporate Campus Academic Mentroship Model (ppt)
Einstein Fellowship Info (pdf)
More Einstein Fellowship Info (pdf)
Dean Hastings (ppt)
Alex Sanchez (ppt)
JD Chesloff presentation (doc)
Jim Stanton (ppt)
Mary O’Sullivan presentation (ppt)
Teacher’s presentation I (ppt)
Teacher’s presentation II (ppt)