We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Lou, Eesha Gundam, Phoena Lin, Aditi Nukala, and Belinda Dong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi GIS Board of Directors, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Girls in STEM was founded in 2015 by Alice Hou when she experienced the STEM gender gap first-hand. While attending a STEM-oriented summer camp, she realized that there were no bathrooms for women in her engineering building. Additionally, similar to many of our own members, she was alone in a sea of men. Determined to give herself and other girls a voice, she founded a Girls in STEM club at her high school to recreate the STEM demographic. Since then, Girls in STEM has expanded into chapters at high schools and middle schools all across America and even internationally, who are guided by a central board of directors. They have recently transitioned to their second wave of board members, continuing their legacy through a new wave of high school students.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all, but we’ve been able to grow through all the challenges we’ve encountered so far. COVID-19 was our biggest setback, as we lost contact with many chapters and members when everything went remote. We had difficulty building membership and maintaining interest during the pandemic school year since virtual meetings greatly limited the types of activities we could host. However, we were able to organize guest speaker panels with women professionals from around the world, including activists in Morocco and Silicon Valley start-ups. These speaker panels were wildly successful, and we’ve continued organizing them regularly. Now, we’re still in the process of reconnecting with old chapters while onboarding new ones. We’ve welcomed over 10+ new chapters since the start of this summer, including several in India. Eventually, we hope to establish clusters of chapters all around the world and support multiple Expos, banquets, and other community outreach events.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would start off the morning with Lubellas patisserie, a warm and aesthetic brunch spot. I would then go enjoy nature and take pictures at the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The DFW Alliance of Technology and Women has been a great partner to Girls in STEM for many years now. They have supported and helped fund many of our events, and has generously offered guidance along the way.

Website: https://www.girlsinstemdfw.org/

Instagram: @girlsinstem_

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/girlsinstem/mycompany/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.