Thank you for 25 years of taking girls to new heights

From the Bridge

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and we’re grateful for you. We’re grateful for you seeing the brilliance in children and for helping them to see it, too.  We’re grateful for the educators and students who come to learn with and in their community. We’re grateful for the years of hard work it can take to make good change happen. And most of all, we’re grateful for that good change.

This month, we’re releasing our annual report, and we’re happy to share some good change with you. Over the past 25 years, our educators have dedicated 344,245 hours to their professional development through TBG programs. This year alone, our teachers have boosted their knowledge and confidence with almost 40,000 professional development hours. And these prepared, confident teachers make a real impact in their out-of-school-time STEM programs. Our data from the 2024-25 school year shows these changes in the girls and gender-expansive youth we serve:

• 92% learned that STEM can drive change in their communities
• 91% now see BIPOC individuals as part of STEM careers and history
• 90% feel more confident in their STEM knowledge
• 80% are more interested in STEM in college
• 88% want to continue exploring STEM
• 88% reported increased persistence with difficult STEM problems

Now that’s something to be grateful for!

Warmly,
The Techbridge Girls team

New location!

We’re excited to announce that Techbridge Girls has a new office in Raleigh/Durham inside Research Triangle Park at the 800 building at the Frontier!  We are so grateful to the Research Triangle Foundation for generously providing space to expand our work in North Carolina.  Please forward this newsletter to friends, families, and colleagues in North Carolina so they can connect with us here in person!

Bridge Building: Upcoming Programs

Ready to spend the spring with a community of committed, curious, collaborative educators like yourself? We’re pleased to announce that you can apply now to join our STEM Equity Learning Community (SELC) for the Spring!  This virtual course – made free to you by our generous donors – explores best practices in out-of-school time. You do not need to be hosting a Techbridge Girls Program to join us!

Techbridge Girls recruits educators, out-of-school-time (OST) administrators and leaders who center Black, Latina, and Indigenous girls and gender-expansive youth in their programs nationwide. Join us to:

• Explore how to use asset-based frameworks and practices to combat inequities in OST STEM
• Authentically deconstruct identity and bias, equipping participants to engage staff in the reflection and action required to facilitate equitable STEM programming
• Develop STEM equity action steps for your OST program
• And so much more!

Find our upcoming schedule and topics, along with a “What to Expect” video, here: STEM Equity Learning Community. The application deadline is January 30, 2026.

“I have truly enjoyed Techbridge Girls. I think that it’s important to be able to have something that is for the girls that creates a safe space, maybe even a counter space, if you will, for girls to be able to be authentically themselves, unapologetically. So that we can hear all the squeals and the joy, and all of that that goes along with learning something new and being an expert in it. So that you can share it with other people, and then say, you know, I enjoy doing this.”
– Eika, Spring 2025 SELC Participant, CEO of STEAM Street, Texas

Pathways: Role Models and More

Celebrating Indigenous Excellence – Dr. Karletta Chief (Diné)

Meet Dr. Karletta Chief, a Navajo hydrologist dedicated to protecting water resources and addressing the impact of climate change on Indigenous lands. Through her work, Dr. Chief combines Indigenous knowledge and Western science to create sustainable solutions for future generations.

We’re proud to call Dr. Chief a 25th Anniversary Techbridge Trailblazer! Learn more about how growing up in the Navajo Nation inspired her to become an environmental scientist, and how you can be an ally for Indigenous people by learning more.

Techbridge in Conversation

On November 18th and 19th, join us for a workshop in North Carolina  at the Synergy conference presented by the NC Center for Afterschool Programs. Techbridge Girls’ Tracy Staley, Senior Program Manager of Curriculum & Certification, will be presenting to this North Carolina conference for Out-of-School Time Professionals.  We can’t wait to tell you moire about the unique parts of Techbridge Girls.

On December 16th, in Indianapolis, our CDO, scientist and educator Jen Stancil, will deliver a keynote speech for educators and leaders in gifted education at the Indiana Association for the Gifted. Jen is passionate about the kids who are often overlooked for gifted education because of their zip code, the economic status, and the color of their skin. In addition, Jen will conduct a workshop, Creativity in Six Chapters, that focuses on helping educators think differently about creativity, AI, and the personalization of the classroom.

Find us at the Beyond 100K conference as well!  We’d love to meet and talk with you about joining our TBG community.

And don’t miss our latest publications:

• This national toolkit, Advancing Reciprocal Community Engagement, was advised by Tracy Staley, Senior Program Manager of Curriculum and Certification at TBG, and Dr. Taunya Nesin, TBG Board of Directors.
• TBG Case Studies are a great way to learn about what it’s like to be immersed in a TBG program site.  Check out our latest ones here!
• Our latest blog post! Over the next few months, we’ll be interviewing women in AI and Data Science about their work, their career journeys, and what questions they have about AI. Have questions for our experts about AI and Data Science? Send them our way at info@techbridgegirls.org.

The View: Gratitude edition

What we’re reading, using, and finding inspirational here at Techbridge Girls.

November 8th is National STEAM day!

• A Family STEAM party can be a great way to build interest in and support for STEAM learning. Interested? Here’s a comprehensive checklist to get you started.
• The Ready, Set, STEM Handbook from the National Inventors Hall of Fame is filled with free and accessible STEAM activities for elementary and middle school classrooms. You also can share it with parents for fun and learning at home. Best of all, these activities allow children to tap into their natural curiosity through the act of play, including art.
• What’s the secret sauce in STEM? It just might be creativity.

AI in Aerospace

• AI in Aerospace + and more lesson plans + $500 grants for classrooms here: Teacher Resources | The Aerospace Corporation

Getting Grateful

• A toolkit for your classroom about how (and why) to practice gratitude
• A 5-minute gratitude practice for boosting happiness
• Not feeling it? We get you. You could try taking 20 minutes to listen to this Science of Happiness podcast: How to Practice Gratitude When You’re Not Feeling Thankful

Reminders

We are beyond grateful to the gifts you give to support leaders, educators, and girls. And…giving season is right around the corner! This is an early reminder for Giving Tuesday (December 2nd) and Matching Wednesday (December 3rd). You can double the impact of your gift through your organization. Mark your calendars or give now!

We are thankful for you!