ABOUT US
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Did you know that less than 6.7% of women in the US and 16% globally graduate with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) degrees? Does this statistic surprise you? Unfortunately, the lack of females in STEM careers is not a new phenomenon. Women occupy less than 24% of STEM jobs worldwide, with less than 9% in engineering or physics, the most male-dominated science fields. Removing a female perspective from STEM eliminates 50% of our world’s greatest minds and innovators in the process. It is imperative that women are not just allowed, but encouraged, to contribute to scientific discovery.
Our goal is to combat the gender gap in STEM fields by cultivating a passion for science starting in the middle school years.
We believe that starting STEM outreach for middle school girls will help to prepare them for science opportunities in high school and encourage a passion for STEM that they will carry through to higher education. Our focus is centered around collaborating with Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) to organize monthly science workshops for local middle school girls in Santa Cruz County. During these workshops, students will take part in: hands-on lab activities, lab tours of UC Santa Cruz facilities, and panel sessions with local women scientists and professionals.If you are interested in learning more about SIS, feel free to contact us!
TEAM
Riley (she/her) is a fourth year PhD student in John MacMillan’s lab in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at UCSC. The MacMillan lab is a traditional natural products lab, focusing on biologically relevant molecules produced in the environment. Riley’s work focuses on developing methods to screen for and isolate boron-containing natural products and gain insight into the role of boron in biological systems.
Riley runs the SIS program (since fall 2021) and has been a member of WISE since 2020. She enjoys sharing her love of science with her peers and people of all ages and loves showing young people that science can be fun and fulfilling. Riley hopes her work with SIS will help to inspire young people from underrepresented groups in STEM and show them a future in science is achievable.
Riley Blue
SIS PRESIDENT
Anica (she/her) is a fourth year Chemistry PhD student in Yat Li’s lab at UCSC. The Li lab focuses on designing and fabricating nanomaterials as well as understanding their chemical and physical properties for potential applications in catalysis, energy storage, and energy conversion. Anica is currently developing a high-performance, reliable, safe, low cost, and environmentally benign energy storage device that will support explorations and scientific advancement at the ultralow temperature environments. She’s also enhancing the conductivity of doped hematite for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
Anica has been involved with WiSE and SIS since 2021. She enjoys participating in outreach programs. She aspires to supplement and enhance the traditional classroom curricula and set the young generation on an academic track towards STEM.
Anica Pinoncgos
SIS OFFICER
Renee (she/her) is a fifth year PhD candidate in the Biological Anthropology, advised by Dr. Paul Koch and Dr. Vicky Oelze. She is a member of the PEMA and Koch Labs, where she uses transition metal (Fe, Cu, Zn) stable isotope analysis to examine age, sex, and diet in a wild population of chimpanzees, thereby establishing a reference dataset with the potential for applications in biomedical and evolutionary research addressing interspecific variation in ontogeny, reproductive biology and diet.
Renee is a member of WiSE since 2019, and has been involved with SIS since 2022. She loves engaging in outreach events, because it shows inquisitive young minds that becoming a researcher is within their reach. By bridging the gap between academia and the community, we can expand local interest in all the remarkably diverse research being done at UCSC. Her goal is to encourage girls from all backgrounds that science can impact the world and that they can be a big part of this!
Renee Boucher
SIS OFFICER
FORMER TEAM
Megan Gurer
FOUNDER
Vanessa Mariscal
SIS OFFICER
Caroline Park
SIS OFFICER
Anna Johnston
OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Shanna Howard
SIS OFFICER
