Greenwich Academy Girls Return to GAINS (Girls Advancing in STEM) Conference

The GAINS (Girls Advancing in STEM) Network, founded by Greenwich Academy, is a consortium of leading girls schools at the forefront of educating female STEM leaders of the future.

The second annual GAINS Conference is set for April 3-5 on the campuses of Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill.

“It is our goal to cultivate a national network of peer and mentoring support for female STEM professionals of the future,” said Greenwich Academy Head of School Molly King.

“These relationships enhance self-confidence, increase awareness of career options, and empower girls as they pursue educational and professional pursuits in these fields.”

Dr. Carol Folt, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr. Valerie Ashby, dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University will serve as keynote speakers for the event.

The GAINS Conference will bring high school girls together with women working in STEM-related fields for three days packed with technical talks, small group discussions, and STEM facility tours. The students attending the conference will represent 25 public and independent schools from Connecticut, New Mexico, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

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Greenwich Academy girls at the first annual GAINS Network conference, Cambridge, MA, 2015.

During the conference, student participants will have ample opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired. A distinguished slate of speakers has signed on to participate in the conference including Duke Associate Professor of Surgery Dr. Leila Mureebe, UNC Bernard Gray Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Dr. Laurie McNeil, and TransEntrix Marketing Director Robin Grandl. Students will also have the opportunity to tour world-class STEM facilities including the Duke Center of Hyperbaric Medicine, the Duke Lemur Center, UNC’s Morehead Planetarium & Science Center, and UNC’s Genome Science Building. Finally, the career mixer, which will include a “selfie-with-a-scientist” photo booth, will offer the chance for more informal one-on-one discussions.

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Greenwich Academy girls at the first annual GAINS Network conference, Cambridge, MA, 2015.

Dr. Ann Decker, director of GA’s STEM initiatives and architect of the GAINS Network said, “Our conference attendees will be immersed in a highly engaging and intellectual environment. They will learn about a breadth of STEM professions, meet women who are leaders in their fields, and feel a sense of community that they will carry with them well beyond the close of the conference.”

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Nancy Armstrong at the GAINS Network conference, Cambridge, MA, 2015.

This year’s conference was made possible by the generosity of sponsors Greenwich Academy, Tim and Nancy Armstrong, and the Edward E. Ford Foundation; and with the support of program partners Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Morehead Planetarium & Science Center, the Pratt School of Engineering, AOL, MAKERS, and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools.

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