Alsie Dunbar

The STEM GEMS Mentoring Project

Founder

Gonzales, LA

http://thestemgems.org/

Here are the reasons why Alsie Dunbar is a finalist for the 2020 Ada Lovelace Awards, STEM Educator.

💥Impact- Formed The STEM GEMS Mentoring Project: Girls Excelling in Math and Science and has mentored over 850 girls since its inception in 2013 with 10 participants receiving Student of the Year distinctions. This program has spread to multiple parishes in the state of Louisiana and has formed a number of community partnerships with entities such as Shell, BASF, and Google.

💡Innovation- Working on formulating a STEM initiative to follow STEM GEMS from kindergarten to high school graduation and beyond, providing internships and career readiness to graduates once they are ready to enter the workforce.

👑Leadership- She is trying to change the face of STEM by highlighting women and minorities, who have excelled in their careers and pairing them with younger women to shepherd them into STEM fields.

🌇Community- Alsie is very involved in the community and sits on the Board of a number of organizations in Baton Rouge, and she won the Torchbearer’s Award Honoring African American Women in STEM from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women: Greater New Orleans Chapter.

With 19 years heavily vested in the chemical industry, Alsie Dunbar used her personal experience from her professional career as a senior scientist and process engineer as the precept for the blueprint in forming The STEMS GEMS Mentoring Project which highlights Girls Excelling in Math and Science. Dunbar formed STEM GEMS in 2013 and has mentored over 650 girls in conjunction with the Ascension Parish School Board successfully with six participants receiving Student of the Year distinctions. Through the STEM GEMS Mentoring Project, Dunbar promotes the interest of Girls Excelling in Math and Science through mentoring and encouraging them to pursue careers and advanced degrees in STEM majors where women and minorities are underrepresented.