NEW ORLEANS - Dr. Calvin Mackie, host of the Let’s Talk STEM podcast, talks with Kate Ayers, director of STEMM education and outreach at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, about the challenges advancing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for Black and Hispanic students in Memphis. “We take a variety of approaches to addressing issues of equity and access to STEM learning experiences,” Ayres says. “A lot of our work focuses on developing school partnerships to offer af...
Mar 21, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 6
– On the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, guest Louie Lopez, director of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education and Outreach office at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD STEM), outlines their cradle-to-career approach that engages nearly a million students a year in STEM learning. Noting that DoDSTEM partners with STEM NOLA, the leading affiliate in Dr. Mackie’s STEM Global Action movement, Lopez says the DoD collaborates and funds organizat...
Feb 28, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 5
LET’S TALK STEM WITH DR. CALVIN MACKIE EXTOLS THE EXTRAORDINARY SEVETRI WILSON, A BLACK WOMAN WITH A FLOURISHING TECH COMPANY AND DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE NEW ORLEANS – The new episode of Let’s Talk STEM With Dr. Calvin Mackie spotlights the amazing journey of Sevetri Wilson, a Louisiana native who pursued her dreams. Wilson turned a desire to help non-profits succeed into a tech company that raised an astounding $50 million in venture capital, including $35 million in a Series B venture funding ro...
Jan 18, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 4
The COVID-19 pandemic caused “tragic” damage to the education of America’s children on par with the devastating impact of World War II, declares Ron Ottinger, a national leader and expert in STEM learning. Ottinger, Executive Director of the STEM Next Opportunity Fund , is a special guest on the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast. Ottinger maintains that organizations on the ground, such as Boys and Girls Clubs and others that provide afterschool progr...
Dec 15, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 3
ACCOMPLISHED STEM LEADER SHAWNA YOUNG declares that the nation must improve STEM access for Black & Brown children during her appearance on the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie Podcast. Young, former executive director of the Scratch Foundation, says it’s critical for Black & Brown students to have access to STEM education. In a lively conversation with Dr. Mackie, she talked about the importance of Black and Brown children having role models in STEM, the scienti...
Nov 01, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 2
On the fall 2022 debut of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, Dr. Mackie discusses the importance of greater equity in STEM education with Frank L. Gettridge, president, and CEO of the National Public Education Support Fund (NPESF). In the wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Mackie states that there is still much to be learned and work to be done across all sectors to achieve racial equity in STEM education. Meanwhile, Dr. Gettridge says he is working on improving the unders...
Sep 13, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 1
On the new episode of Let’s talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie, James Burroughs, a top executive at the Children’s Minnesota healthcare system, asserts that Black & Brown children must have role models in STEM professions to build the confidence that they can also succeed in those careers. But, too often, they don’t exist. Burroughs, a senior vice president at one of the nation’s largest freestanding pediatric health systems, cites the major STEM professions at their facilities - doctor, nurse...
May 18, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 13
On the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast , Special Guest Jackie Smalls, Chief Programs Officer at Code.org , talks about the racial divide in STEM education and technology. She says the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the gap between STEM learning in White communities versus more limited opportunities in many predominantly Black & Brown schools across the country. “In terms of the gaps, we knew gaps existed, but I think the pandemic just really exposed how big those...
Apr 27, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Gerald Solomon, founder and executive director of the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) , calls esports a “job machine" for STEM orientated youth on the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast. Rapidly expanding electronic sports gaming platforms are preparing young people with the skills they need for the workforce of tomorrow. “It's a multibillion-dollar industry and there are all facets within it,” Solomon says, adding ...
Apr 12, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, the host talks about the importance of astronomy and exploring space with his special guest Michael Paolucci, founder and CEO of Slooh . The company’s gamified education platform teaches students to explore space via a network of 12 online telescopes located on mountaintops in the Canary Islands and Chile. Paolucci created The Online Telescope, the world’s only scalable solution for astronomy education. Slooh makes real-wo...
Mar 17, 2022•24 min
David and Christine Vernier , co-presidents of Vernier Science Education, one of America’s leading producers of STEM-related teaching technology from devices to instruments and software, said the nation’s schools in under-resourced communities need more role models (teachers) and resources to better engage students of color in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning. Appearing on the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, Mr. Vernier says, “I think w...
Feb 28, 2022•26 min
With two special guests from the Society of Actuaries (SOA), the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast highlights the important role that actuaries and mathematics play in American society and the dire need to increase the number of Blacks in a profession that is a mystery to many people. Joe Wurzburger, SOA Managing Director in Strategy and Innovation, and Jamala Arland, a former Chair of the SOA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, explain how to become actu...
Feb 14, 2022•35 min
This week's guest on the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast is Jan Morrison, Founder and CEO of the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM. A global leader in STEM education, Jan established STEM Learning Ecosystems after it was clear to her that educational programs teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) needed to be more effective. STEM Ecosystems is a Global Community of Practice with extensive sharing of resources and expertise among leaders from educat...
Jan 31, 2022•26 min
Appearing on the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, George Mason University President Gregory Washington provides insight on the challenges faced by America’s system of higher education. He proclaims that colleges and universities must transform to educate a higher volume of students and prepare workers for careers in the new knowledge based, digital economy. Dr. Washington believes traditional higher education institutions aren’t currently structured to meet the ...
Nov 29, 2021•38 min
- Monica Lee Foley , Chief of Staff for the NASA Johnson Space Center, joined the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast and shared her incredible story: an African American woman from Baton Rouge, LA who became a rocket scientist, flight controller for the international space station, overseer of its electrical power systems and manager of U.S. and Russia negotiations on behalf of the space program. As a senior leader in the space program, she is a technical integrator for human spacefl...
Nov 03, 2021•28 min
On the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, the host and his guest, Dr. Carlotta Berry , an Electrical and Computer Engineering professor, provide a peek behind the curtain at the challenges faced by African American engineering professors working at predominantly white higher education institutions. The engaging conversation between the two highly acclaimed engineering professors provides a fresh and earnest perspective of being Black in academia in the age of Blac...
Oct 14, 2021•33 min
On the new episode of the Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie podcast, the founder of STEM Global Action (SGA) and Dr. Joyce Baynes, a lifelong educator, discuss actionable options for helping children of color overcome barriers that impede their learning of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills and becoming STEM professionals. In an engaging conversation, they noted that parents must be more engaged in their children’s education, teachers need improved professional developm...
Sep 14, 2021•32 min
Special Guest: Dr. Brian Williams, who is a Clinical Professor and Director of the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence at Georgia State University. Dr. Mackie and Dr. Williams warn that all students aren’t being adequately taught science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills and are in danger of being left out of future jobs. In an engaging conversation, Dr. Mackie and Dr. Williams raise concerns that while a 4th Industrial Revolution is spurring STEM jobs tod...
Aug 09, 2021•22 min
Let’s Talk STEM with Dr. Calvin Mackie, a podcast series that features interviews with guests from all aspects of STEM – entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, students – who will talk about the importance of STEM in their lives today.They are the mentors for the next generation of STEM leaders, models of success for others to follow.
Jul 20, 2021•33 min
