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ANGELA JONES & WASHINGTON STEM

by Natasha Ashenhurst | Photos courtesy of Washington STEM

It was one, short line in a job description that caused Angela Jones to change her career trajectory and become the new CEO of Washington STEM — “We try to help students access family-sustaining wages.”

“That did it. I knew I had to work for this organization because the mission of my entire career is creating equitable access to quality education and opportunity,” she said.

Jones grew up in the Mountlake Terrace/Lynnwood area, but left the rainy side of the State 30 years ago and did not look back. She has a law degree from Gonzaga University and has spent much of the last 26 years serving in leadership positions in higher education, most recently serving as Vice President at Eastern Washington University. She was not looking to return to our side of the mountains, but when someone asked her to look at the job description for CEO of Washington STEM, she knew she had to apply. Jones took the helm of what would be her new home August 1, 2019.

Washington STEM is a statewide, independent nonprofit headquartered in Seattle. Launched in 2011 and founded on the principles of equity, partnership and sustainability, they

Angela Jones, Washington STEM CEO, shares how STEM education went into developing the 'Cosmic Crisp apple' as part of her keynote speech at the STEM Summit.

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Staff photo at Washington STEM's annual STEM Summit. Photo courtesy of Washington STEM

seek solutions that lead to opportunities for underserved and underrepresented students in STEM fields. They believe that through high-quality STEM education, Washington students will become, “the leaders, critical thinkers and creators that will tackle the biggest challenges facing our State, nation and the world.”

Located in the McKinstry Innovation Center in Seattle, they support ten regional networks, including the Capital Region, which has an office in Tumwater.

“A large part of our work involves taking deep dives into data for each region in our State. We show communities how to interpret the data, and then we convene partners to improve key indicators and make connections with the private sector. For instance, hi-tech serves as one of the cornerstones of Washington State’s economy. We want Washington State students to have access to those hi-tech jobs, yet we rank 46th in the country for students earning post-secondary credentials in order to access those jobs,” she said.

The other role of Washington STEM is to increase STEM access for girls, students of color, students living in poverty and students in rural areas of the State. Jones and her team also work with companies to help them make their work culture one that encourages these populations to stay. “We encourage more girls, for example, to consider STEM careers while at the same time we are working with companies to reduce women leaving those fields because of unfriendly workplace environments,” she said.

Jones and her team also work with job sectors to make sure there are students in the pipeline to fill anticipated growth areas. For example, Computer Science is a well-known and publicized STEM field with jobs often left unfilled. Still, there are lesser well-known fields with incredible demand such as Surveyors and Transit Planners; both STEM careers with plenty of potential in a region with anticipated population growth. “A lot of people don’t grow up saying, ‘I want to be a Surveyor,’ but there is a lot of science, math and technology increasingly used in this field. When we want to encourage students to consider these fields that they typically don’t think about, we’ll bring groups of teachers to the industry so they can learn about what skills these jobs need and then go back and speak first-hand to their students. A great example is the Tacoma STEAM Group recently brought folks to Sound Transit to consider careers in transportation, helping move populations efficiently and reduce gridlock. This is a significant focus of our regional networks as they expose educators to what is going on in the industry,” she said.

Finally, Jones and her team work directly with students to bring their voice to community leaders. “We try and understand why kids are deciding not to attend college or a certification program. Rather than conjecture, we ask the students directly,” she said. “In many rural communities, we want students to compete in robotics competitions, yet they still do not have access to broadband. We have to bring the entire community along with us, and this includes bringing heart to the science. Ultimately, I see this as my role.”

Angela Jones will keynote the Thurston Chamber’s February Education Summit on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at Saint Martin’s University at 11:30 a.m. The community is invited to attend and can purchase tickets at thurstonchamber. com. Prior to the luncheon and keynote address, attendees are encouraged to attend the Education EXPO, which begins at 11:00 a.m.

Editor’s Note: STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Others refer to STEAM, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.

ZacharyAbboo, M.D. Clyde T. Carpenter, M.D.

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