From the Bridge
Hi! My name is Tamika Tretu, and I’m the new Chief Program Officer at Techbridge Girls. I couldn’t be more excited to join this incredible team and community.
A little about me — I’m originally from the Bronx, New York, and I started my career as an elementary school teacher before becoming a school principal, adjunct professor, and national STEM programs leader. Most recently, I served as Vice President of Programs at Black Girls Code, where I helped lead national initiatives focused on expanding access, belonging, and opportunity for girls in STEM.
My first week was just a blast – it included our first ever Techbridge STEM Summit, which you can read more about below! To see the excitement – the brilliance – bubbling all day was a wonderful welcome to what’s in store for our future. I can’t wait to share more in the coming months about how you can be a part of our continued commitment to help everyone feel like they belong in STEM.
-Tamika Tretu, Chief Program Officer
Intersections: Techbridge in Conversation
The Inaugural Techbridge Girls STEM Summit for the Bay Area took place on May 2nd, 2026!
At the first-ever Techbridge Girls STEM Summit in Oakland, girls explored STEM through identity, belonging, and community-centered problem solving. Speaking both Spanish and English, they shared projects during an Innovation Exchange, collaborated with peers and mentors in AI, engineering, and data science, and tackled earthquake-response challenges using the engineering design process and artificial intelligence. Lunch provided a space for relationship-building and mentorship as girls gathered alongside role models and near peers representing engineering, AI, data science, and technology fields. Gallery Walks celebrated every solution and every voice. By day’s end — after mentorship, teamwork, and even the Cha-Cha Slide — girls left with stronger confidence, new friendships, and the knowledge that they can use technology to strengthen their communities. This is what it feels like to belong.
“I thought it would be harder, but once we started building and testing, it actually made sense.” – Participant
Some early results from our 3rd party evaluation:
- Engagement & Confidence: 93% said the event was fun and they would recommend it to a friend, and 80% felt proud sharing or presenting their projects. Furthermore, two-thirds reported feeling more confident in their STEM knowledge and skills in just a few hours with TBG.
- Belonging & STEM Future Pathways: Three-quarters of the girls felt valued by adults and felt like they belonged as well as learned about STEM careers for future exploration.
Thank you to our sponsors, Okta, SEAONC, and PG&E for making this debut a success!
Bridge Building: Upcoming Programs
Lead a Techbridge Girls STEM Club
Bring Free, Future-Ready STEM Learning to Your Students This Fall
Techbridge Girls is now accepting applications from schools, afterschool programs, and community-based organizations to facilitate free STEM programming for girls and gender-expansive youth in grades 3–8.
Programs include hands-on learning in AI, data science, engineering, and real-world problem solving, along with free curriculum, educator training, STEM materials, ongoing implementation support, and a $750 educator implementation stipend.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis through July 31, 2026. Learn more and apply.
Pathways: Role Models and More
Meet the Black Forager, Alexis Nikole Nelson —a science influencer @BlackForager on TikTok.
A vegan and pet-owner of Cape Verdean descent, she’s not just a great scientist, but also knows how to cook. She started foraging with her mom at just five years old. How do we know? She won a James Beard Award! Check out more from Alexis in her TED Talk. Nelson leads viewers through forests, ocean waters and urban spaces in search of edible plants to enrich both their palates and their sense of connection to the natural world. Here’s a great interview on Going Wild, with another of our fav scientists, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant (who we featured in our April newsletter)!
Want to find more LGBTQ+ scientists of color? Check out our friends at Project Scientist and the cool women they are highlighting.
The View: Out & About Edition!
What we’re reading, using, and finding inspirational here at Techbridge Girls.
Summer STEM opportunities
- Do your students or kids want to learn more about AI, coding, and technology in general? Code.org is an incredible free resource that features courses on web development and artificial intelligence explicitly designed for middle schoolers.
- Join a cool citizen science project at SciStarter! Wherever you are and whatever you’re interested in – decoding the sounds of hunchback whales, maybe, or monitoring your neighborhood’s air quality – you can use your unique knowledge and experience to advance important research, learn new skills, and connect with other curious people.
- Parents, check out this cool database from the National Summer Learning Association. From Nat Geo to Kahn Academy and an awesome electrical engineering experience from General Motors, learning can be at your fingertips at home or at the library. Remember that out-of-school time experiences help propel kids to their highest potential.
- ScienceNearMe is another great resource for finding science-related projects near you – and for connecting you to projects around the world.
- Go to Curiosity Camp! Our friends at Goldiblox have created this wonderful playlist of 24 videos, from Fossils to Fortnight, Stars to Snakes, you’ll be blown away by what women scientists do in the real world.
Tools & Resources
- We all want to feel safe and seen, and we all want to feel like we’re valued and capable of growth. Here are some best practices for making queer-inclusive learning spaces and building empathy, understanding, and respect.
Podcast
- StoryCorps “OutLoud” Collection: “No matter where you grew up, it wasn’t easy being out in the 1950s or ‘60s. Back then, being gay was still classified as a mental illness, and that wouldn’t change until 1973. Kids who identified as LGBTQ were often isolated and afraid to come out — and many still are. But in this episode of the StoryCorps podcast, we’ll hear about role models who helped two kids feel comfortable in their own skin.”