Business and civic leaders are leaning on the leadership of two African-American women to create a network of community and corporate partners dedicated to making science and technology-based learning accessible to all students in the metro area.
Former Monsanto Fund President Deborah Patterson and business executive Sherita Haigler have joined the leadership of STEMSTL, a local initiative with a long-term goal to make science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education available to students in kindergarten through 12th grade throughout the region.
The initiative is part of a major push by business leaders to create a STEM ecosystem – a network of public and private interests that includes legislators, corporate science companies, research hospitals and universities, community-based programs, and educators – committed to making STEM-based learning a part of the regional culture.
That level of collaboration requires a “civic champion with relationships and experience in the STEM ecosystem and St. Louis,” said Ben Johnson, vice president of programs with BioSTL, an industry group that promotes the region’s bioscience sector. STEMSTL is housed under the group’s umbrella of programs.
“This is a generational-long effort to build equitable career paths, and Deborah fit that mold perfectly,” Johnson said. “She’s someone with the experience and the relationships who can lean into this and put some work into it.”
Recruited out of retirement with a new job title of “Champion,” Patterson’s role includes building relationships with major stakeholders, from corporate executives to community-based mentors, in support of STEM-based programs.
“I’m not a ceremonial champion, I’m in there, rolling up my sleeves, to bring people to the table and figure out strategies to keep them at the table,” she said.
Patterson retired as president of Monsanto Fund in March 2016, after 16 years at the helm. Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Co.
Haigler’s role as the group’s “Catalyst” includes working side-by-side with Patterson to manage partnerships and the day-to-day operations of the effort. Her experience includes senior positions in account and relationship management and sales for several area companies, including GE Healthcare, Centene Corp. and SBC.
“Haigler brings a significant amount of experience to the table in a role that is about building relationships and a structure for collaboration and managing that process and a direct delivery of services,” said Christian Greer, a STEMSTL board member and chief officer of science, education and experience at St. Louis Science Center.
“Her passion for the work and style of open communication are really essential for the building work needed for STEMSTL.”
The long-term goal of STEMSTL is part of an overarching vision for the future of St. Louis, where students of all races and incomes are trained in STEM-based careers and eligible for a pipeline of jobs in the region’s growing bioscience and technology industries.
“Growth in the region is dependent on promoting accessible and equitable opportunities for everyone,” said Johnson of BioSTL. “We need to have really comprehensive, connected and cohesive pipelines for career pathways for everyone in St. Louis.”
The region is already poised for a thriving STEM ecosystem, said the Science Center’s Greer, referring to the city’s growing hub of bioscience companies and research-based hospitals and universities, a major source of innovation and jobs for the region.
“We need to find a more effective and efficient way of working together to pool resources and shared assets and link our missions to effect change in raising the STEM IQ of the city,” Greer said.
Part of the work includes studying the current web of STEM programs and finding gaps that prevent some students from participating. For example, “the Boy Scouts have a STEM badge and nationally the Boys and Girls Clubs have a STEM platform, but these groups might not be close to the people who need it,” Patterson said. “Our job is to understand where the gaps in service are and how do we leverage what we have to do more with STEM learning.”
Over the next two years, Patterson and Haigler will follow a national roadmap created by the STEM Learning Ecosystems Initiative to cultivate a local STEM network. That process includes a series of events to introduce the ecosystem to students, teachers, school science organizations and employers.
In the future, Haigler foresees collaborations with school districts to establish a clear STEM-based learning pathway that extends from Pre-K through college. In-class STEM-learning experiences will be extended into after-school programs, connecting students to a network of museums, libraries and science-based institutions.
And as the ecosystem flourishes, Patterson envisions a STEM-trained workforce beyond the teen years, equipped with critical thinking skills and real world opportunities.
“Ultimately,” she said, “we want our young people to be STEM-literate members of our community with access to good paying jobs.”
