Month: October 2023

By Pasadena Community Foundation

The focus in the classroom is evident as elementary-age students at Washington Elementary STEM Magnet control images on a video screen using coding. These kids are lucky participants of STEAM:CODERS, a Pasadena nonprofit that inspires underrepresented students and their families through Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) – all in preparation for academic and career opportunities.

STEAM:CODERS was one of PCF’s Racial Equity Grantees in 2021 in support of its important work bridging the digital divide for local students. PCF visited a summer-session STEAM:CODERS classroom in late June and were lucky to meet Iria Taylor and McKenzie Street, two college-age program instructors who were once STEAM:CODERS participants themselves. The young women shared with us the difference STEAM:CODERS and STEAM-based education has made in their educational journeys.

Iria Taylor graduated from Pasadena High School and is now a nursing major at Howard University. Urged by her dad, who is a security tech manager, Iria joined STEAM:CODERS as a 5th grader just as the organization was starting in 2015. “My dad wanted to give us that experience and to learn more about computers and technology. Even though my sister and I were really the only girls in the classroom, we had so much fun playing games and putting in the coding blocks to see the little character move on the screen based on what I told it to do.”

In high school, Iria was an Honors and AP student in the Creative Arts, Media, and Design (CAMAD) pathway and used her computer skills to become adept in Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, and other creative programs. She sees STEAM:CODERS as her first important introduction to computers and now relishes serving as female role model in the classroom, showing younger students – especially the girls – that “women can thrive in this field and to take that step forward and try it.”

McKenzie Street – a recent graduate of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and bound for NYU in the fall – was a STEAM:CODERS participant from 6th to 9th grade, an experience that she recognizes as kindling her lasting love of computer science. “The program definitely had an impact on my education because it taught me to try new things that are out of my comfort zone, and it also encouraged me to take the computer track in high school. I loved learning the science behind computers.”

McKenzie went on to volunteer with STEAM:CODERS as a high school student, and this summer, like Iria, she is a paid classroom instructor. She is happy to be helping the next generation of computer-minded students, noting that “technology is part of everything we do now, and it’s so integrated into education. Computer science classes are also a great way to learn logic, computational, and math skills and can help kids excel in other subjects in school.” McKenzie plans to major in media/communications at NYU and hopes she can leverage her degree with a tech-related company.

By Outlook Newspapers, May 17, 2022

Each May since 1985, the Science Olympiad National Tournament has brought students, parents, teachers and volunteers to a college campus to compete in one of the largest and most prestigious Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competitions in the United States.

While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is preventing qualifying teams from traveling to Caltech for the big event this year, Science Olympiad is honoring the city that would have hosted more than 5,000 of the best and brightest in the nation.

“When the global pandemic began, our Science Olympiad teams stepped up to exhibit character and citizenship in the community, which we call the 3C’s,” said Jenny Kopach, CEO of Science Olympiad. “From organizing food drives to 3D printing face shields for medical workers to tutoring underserved kids, this overwhelming display of thoughtfulness reinforced one of our values: It’s Good to Be Smart, and Smart to be Good.”

To shine a light on the power of charitable giving and service, Science Olympiad is partnering with its 38th annual National Tournament host, Caltech, to address STEM opportunity gaps in the region. Students, parents, teachers and volunteers will be invited to donate to STEAM:CODERS, a nonprofit that teaches logic, critical thinking and problem solving. It also includes Arts in its name.

“STEAM:CODERS is excited about collaborating with Science Olympiad and Caltech, in support of the 2022 Science Olympiad National Tournament,” said STEAM:CODERS Executive Director and Founder Raymond Ealy. “We share the same mission, creating access and opportunity for young people. Together, we are going to make a difference in the lives of students who reside in the greater Los Angeles community. Our motto is: Opportunity + Imagination = Innovation.”

For every $10 received, STEAM:CODERS will be able to provide one hour of math tutoring; $25 covers field trip transportation; $50 pays for a five-week computer science class. Higher donations provide access to science and robotics summer camps.
Many coding volunteers come from the Caltech Y service program, such as Albert Kyi, a Caltech student and co-director of the National Tournament, who said, “We are so proud to have STEAM:CODERS as our Smart to be Good partner and are united in our goal of bringing STEM to students from all walks of life. We hope this partnership allows us to take steps toward making STEM education more equitable and accessible.”

National Tournament co-director and Caltech alum Peter Hung added, “Inspiring underrepresented and underserved students through STEM continues to be a need in our society today. We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Caltech to support STEAM:CODERS in this effort so that our society can be more diverse, robust and resilient.”

By Outlook Newspapers

STEAM:Coders founder Raymond Ealy was recognized by Assemblymember Chris Holden and the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) as a 41st Assembly District Unsung Hero for his positive impact in the community.

“An ‘Unsung Hero’ is defined as a person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution — a person whose bravery is unknown or unacknowledged,” according to a press release from Holden’s office. The California Legislative Black Caucus established the Black History Month Unsung Hero Award to recognize individuals who have contributed selflessly to their respective districts.

“Ray is an example of leadership by putting the work in today, for generations to come,” Holden said. “Through his dedication to empowering youth, he has worked with over 50,000 students — giving them toolkits for success and self-confidence to enter and excel in their careers. I commend him and STEAM:Coders.”

Ealy is the executive director and founder of STEAM:Coders, a nonprofit that inspires underserved and underrepresented students and their families through science, technology, engineering, art and math, in preparation for academic and career opportunities. He has more than 28 years of management experience in the nonprofit, financial services and retail sectors with Bank of America, Countrywide Financial Services, Security Pacific Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.

“At STEAM:Coders, our goal is to provide underserved and underrepresented K-12 students with the resources that they need to be competitive,” Ealy said. “We tell students that their competition is not the student next to them in class, but students from across the country and around the world. This is why we want to equip them with the essential tools for future academic and career success — logic, critical thinking and problem-solving.”

By S.C. Stuart,  PC Magazine

Warner Bros. Studios recently hosted 30 middle school girls from STEAM:CODERS, a nonprofit that works with schools and communities in low-income areas. We tagged along for a day of workshops on machine learning, robotics, game engines, and one big surprise.

At Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, technicians and staff volunteers did last-minute checks on VR demo stations and the snack situation before buses carrying 30 middle school girls from three, Pasadena-area schools rolled onto the lot.

Some teens instantly pounced on the technology setups, grabbing an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, eager to try new stuff. Others gazed out from the large picture windows overlooking the vast studio backlot. They knew Warner Bros. was famous for the eight Harry Potter movies, Wonder Woman and—as they could see from the giant black-clad statue in the lobby—The Dark Knight. But despite living less than 15 miles away, very few of them had ever been to this part of town, let alone inside a Hollywood studio.

The all-day event was organized by STEAM:CODERS, a nonprofit that works with schools and communities at or below the poverty line. All events are free to attend and include hot lunch/snacks, transportation, and a STEAM:CODERS T-shirt. Warner Bros. is a corporate sponsor, and opens its doors a few times a year to different STEAM:CODERS groups; some are co-ed while others are just for girls.

Warner Bros. CTO Vicky Colf sits on the STEAM:CODERS board. “When I was 7, my father—who was in the US Air Force—brought home a huge computer from Texas Instruments, and taught me how to program in a proprietary form of BASIC,” she told me. “It took me a long time to realize that the experience I had growing up was unique; that it made me unafraid of technology, and so I felt both empowered, and completely comfortable, to choose tech as a career.”

Warner Bros. CTO Vicky ColfColf has been with the studio for 13 years and her team won an Emmy for their development of the entertainment industry’s first digital supply chain product, known as Digital End-to-End (DETE). Promoted to CTO in 2017, she’s now responsible for technology strategy, R&D, and providing critical business and technology intelligence and services to all business units.

The STEAM:CODERS girls got a studio tour—lounging on the famous Central Perk sofa on the Friends set, viewing storyboards from The Matrix, and riding Harry Potter broomsticks in front of green screens for the camera. But they also participated in tech workshops on machine learning, robotics, game engines, data science, and more.

“Warner Bros. has the largest content library in the world,” explained Colf. “And through this lens, we can inspire these girls into getting excited about a very wide mix of possible futures in technology.

“If she’s an introvert who prefers to sit and work quietly alone, we can tell her about careers here in cybersecurity, keeping our entertainment assets and networks safe,” Colf continued. “If she’s a real extrovert, we can show her scrum teams that work together on apps. We have a very wide range of people working on technology solutions, most of which they’ve probably never heard, or dreamed of, before coming here today.”

As the girls split off into three different workshop groups, I sat down with Raymond Ealy, Executive Director and Founder STEAM:CODERS. He started the group in 2014 to give those from underserved communities “a bigger horizon on life,” he told me. They’ve now had over 5,000 kids come through the program.

“Many of these kids don’t have a computer at home, and many don’t even have cable or internet access. Yet they need to have digital literacy and access just to survive in the future,” said Ealy.

“Plus, these kids don’t know any scientists, mathematicians, or software engineers within their communities. By bringing them here, they get to meet people—who might look like them—doing these jobs. It all creates an opportunity in their fertile minds. They need to know what’s behind the ‘magic.’ We focus on teaching students logic, critical thinking, and problem solving.”

Ealy has 25 years of management experience in the nonprofit, financial services, and retail sectors, from Bank of America to Countrywide Financial Services. He knows how to manage and motivate a team (it was impressive watching him corral a room full of excited teenagers) and bring in heavy-hitter corporate sponsors like Warner Bros., as well as City National Bank, Union Bank, US Bank, Jacobs Engineering, and Idealab, among many others.

For Ealy, STEAM:CODERS is about fundamentally re-engineering society.

“Young people have been groomed to be perpetual consumers,” Ealy pointed out. “But we want to show them how things are created and how they can become part of that story by meeting and learning from people, as they’ll do today, here at Warner Bros., who actually make technology and entertainment.”

In a nearby conference room, girls were learning how to parse incoming box office data feeds to ascertain the real-time value of a Warner Bros. entertainment property. In another space, Warner Bros. staffers walked them through how to program AR holograms with MERGE Cube.

By manipulating Cozmo bots, the teens grasped the principles of human-robot interaction, before engaging in machine-learning tasks on laptops running Google’s Teachable Machine platform. Then they all met with game designers and project management staff, who let them loose on pre-released console titles.

I can’t say whether they got to see a sneak preview of the forthcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, but let’s just say there were a few wands on the table.

At each workshop, it was noticeable that Warner Bros. staffers were asking the STEAM:CODERS questions and vice versa. It wasn’t just a one-way tutelage. This is deliberate, according to Colf; she wants her team to listen for new perspectives and learn from a generation that has never known a world with the internet.

“We’re fascinated to see what they’re most engaged with, how quickly they pick stuff up, what they want to see, and what is considered entertainment to them,” said Colf. “The questions they ask are incredibly telling to us, because they illustrate how they see the world.”

It’s also likely that many of these STEAM:CODERS will not necessarily want corporate jobs in the future, but may well become entrepreneurs within the technology and entertainment fields. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is a roll-up of several indie game publishers and, as AR becomes a new standard, studio chiefs know that good ideas often emerge from outside incubation.

After the workshops wrapped, the girls got into an orderly line and enjoyed Tex-Mex food in a boardroom with views of the surrounding Hollywood Hills.

Eventually, sugar levels started to plummet and, exhausted by the day’s events, the teens filed back into the WB Technology building for a debrief. There, they were all handed backpacks, which they discovered—amid many an excited gasp—each contained a laptop.