July 9, 2021
Hey there, 👋

Summer is here, so get ready to have some fun and stay busy learning with the STEM opportunities below! ⚛️ Get inspired by the news and events featured, and plan a summer full of fun. 🌞
The STEM Leadership Academy starts next week in Chicago from July 11-16! The Philadelphia Academy will take place from July 25-30, and the D.C./Maryland Academy will be August 1-6.

Follow Exelon social media below for updates on the Academy!
Join us and Smart Sister Finance to learn about investing!
Wednesday, July 21

To reach your goals you need to not just save, but invest your money too! We'll cover:
  • Savings goals and the magic of compound interest
  • Types of investment accounts and how to access them
  • The differences between stocks, bonds and mutual funds
Irina Volkova: the first woman at ComEd to become a principal engineer
Irina Volkova is helping to forge the path for women in STEM as the first woman at ComEd, an Exelon Company, to become a principal engineer.⚙️ Irina, who previously served as a senior engineer, was promoted to this position in April and will continue to design high-voltage equipment vaults and transformer rooms for high-rise buildings, medical facilities, network and data centers. ⚡
“It was my personal goal to get to this position because I felt that it aligns with my responsibilities and reflects my technical background and experience,” she said. For any young women wanting to pursue a career in STEM, Irina offers some advice: “Don’t be intimidated at all,” Irina said. “If you feel strongly about your knowledge and experience, others will too.” 🌟
Don't miss these upcoming events!
Empowering Girls for Life (EGFL) provides a space for girls and women to meet, interact with and learn from high profile, barrier-breaking women from a variety of industries. 👩‍🎓👩‍🔧👩‍💼👩‍🚀 EGFL aims to inspire and enable personal and professional success for girls and women everywhere. Starting on September 21, 2021, EGFL will be hosting a virtual event where they will feature several speakers from various industries and backgrounds to share their barrier-breaking stories. Speakers at EGFL this year include:
  • Ashleigh Johnson, Olympic Gold Medalist & Sportswoman of the Year
  • Gitanjali Rao, Forbes "30 Under 30" & TIMES "Kid of the Year"
  • Cheryl Maletich, SVP of Transmission and Substation at ComEd, an Exelon Company
  • and many more!
📷 Model of SUE, Tyrannosaurus rex.
Join the Field Museum of Natural History for a virtual tour on July 20th! This event is an interactive, one-of-kind look into the largest, most extensive, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens, SUE. 🦖 Using a 3D virtual model scanned straight from SUE’s fossilized bones, a Field Museum docent will take you on a journey into SUE's past. Join in on trivia breaks as you test your dinosaur knowledge and ask questions! Register for the event below. ⬇️
Grab the snacks and make it a movie night!
Not the Science Type

Not The Science Type gets to the heart of access and gender inequity in STEM education and STEM fields. This four-part docuseries features four female scientists who are challenging stereotypes and confronting gender, racial and age discrimination as they rise to prominence.

While each woman has taken a different path to pursue scientific excellence, they are bound by the common experience of feeling excluded, or “not the type” in traditionally homogenous fields.
Picture a Scientist

Picture A Scientist chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all. 
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet

Breaking Boundaries tells the story of the most important scientific discovery of our time - that humanity has pushed Earth beyond the boundaries that have kept Earth stable for 10,000 years, since the dawn of civilization. The 75-minute film takes the audience on a journey of discovery of planetary thresholds we must not exceed, not just for the stability of our planet, but for the future of humanity. It offers up the solutions we can and must put in place now if we are to protect Earth’s life support systems.
How a former neuroscientist and dancer is turning research into art 🎨⚛️
📷 Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya with the mural she completed in Washington, D.C. in early June K. DOLAN/SCIENCE
Born in Atlanta to Thai and Indonesian immigrants, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya knew she wanted both science and art to be integral to her life. After a life-changing accident derailed a blossoming dance career, she was driven to study neuroscience in college. But after 4 years as a research assistant in an Alzheimer’s disease lab, she became aware of how poorly scientists–herself included–communicate with the public. So she abandoned her Ph.D. ambitions to get a master’s degree in fine arts at the Pratt Institute. Her decision launched a career in science-focused art and design, leading to a TED residency, museum exhibits, and projects that focus on women in STEM. 👩‍🔬

One of these projects, pictured above, is inspired by the work of Duke University particle physicist Ayana Arce and imagines women building bridges to each other, just as quarks that are unpaired after intense proton-proton collisions find other quarks. ⚛️ Amanda finished this artwork in June; it is the second in a series planned for 10 U.S. cities highlighting the research of female scientists, in a project sponsored by the Heising-Simons Foundation. Read more about Amanda, her journey in to and out of STEM, and her interest in art below!
Even more amazing women in STEM to keep you inspired ✨
Meet Kellie Gerardi who will soon be one of the youngest mothers to ever go to space 🚀👩‍🚀
Kellie Gerardi makes videos about STEM and motherhood on TikTok and now she's set to go to space. 🌌 Kellie was announced as a research specialist on an upcoming Virgin Galactic flight to conduct various experiments ahead of the company's commercial flights coming into play. "Less than a thousand humans have ever been to space - fewer than 100 women, only a handful of moms, and my three-year-old is going to watch her mommy become one of them," Kellie said. Read more about Kellie and her mission to space here!
These 52 startups are taking the tech world by storm... and yes, they're all led by women! 👏
Pictured to the right is The Hero Arm, developed by Open Bionics, cofounded by Samantha Payne. This arm is the world's first clinically approved 3D-printed bionic arm, with muti-grip functionality and empowering aesthetics. This is one of many HealthTech startups that are led by women. 🙌 There is a rise in FemTech startups, which are focusing on women's healthcare, a sector that's historically been overlooked and undermined. Check out this list of 52 inspiring startups to follow- all of them are women-led and driving the future of healthcare and FemTech!
This scientist's research is saving children's lives all around the world 🌎
It was while working in a UK research lab that Francisca Mutapi first noticed the other scientists were approaching treatment to a disease she’d known since childhood from a totally different angle. Francisca, who grew up in Zimbabwe, was stunned that her fellow researchers weren’t attempting to develop a treatment for children who suffered from schistosomiasis, an infection caused by a parasitic worm that lives in freshwater in tropical and subtropical regions. So, Francisca conducted research on children affected and came to the conclusion that children under six should receive the treatment. She led her research group in taking the findings to the World Health Organization, who after reviewing the findings, agreed with the group's assessment to permit children under the age of six to receive treatment. Read more about Francisca's research and background here!
✨ STEM Leadership Academy Alumnae Spotlight ✨
Jordyn Dennis, alumna from the 2019 Philadelphia Academy, is conducting research at Penn State focusing on megacities and cyber threats!
Brooklynn Jones, alumna from the 2020 Philadelphia Academy, will be attending Pennsylvania State University in the fall on a full ride scholarship! She was also awarded the Governor's Civic Engagement Award this May.
Emily Johannan, alumna from the 2020 Philadelphia Academy, is a biomedical engineering major at Stevens Institute of Technology. She is passionate about raising issues such as women's health, and combining technology and medicine!
Terra Miley, alumna from the 2019 D.C./Maryland Academy, will be attending the University of Maryland Baltimore County for Chemical Engineering and affiliate in the Center of Women in Technology!
Marcia Morales, alumna from the 2019 D.C./Maryland Academy, has become a certified medical assistant and nursing assistant as a student of the Academy of Health Professions at Thomas Edison High School of Technology! She will be attending the University of Maryland, College Park, and major in biology on a pre-medical track.
Pamela Elubiaozor, alumna from the 2018 D.C./Maryland Academy, is interning with the NEED Project this summer to help with the STEM Leadership Academy!
Exelon and our operating companies are sharing fun updates on social media! Be sure to keep in touch and follow us:

Exelon Foundation STEM Innovation Leadership Academy www.exelonstemacademy.org