EmpowHer Institute

EmpowHer Institute will sustain our groundbreaking Social Justice STEAM Initiative, the first and only program nationwide that combines marine biology, scuba diving, and sailing certifications with coding, 3D printing, robotics, and game development to empower girls from marginalized communities. This comprehensive model serves over 1,000 girls annually, creating pathways from classroom coding to college STEAM majors while breaking generational cycles of poverty through culturally responsive, trauma-informed programming.

EmpowHer’s Social Justice STEAM Initiative serves as a catalyst for girls from marginalized communities to gain the skills and resources necessary to access higher education and high-paying employment opportunities, along with financial literacy and other life skills education, while simultaneously challenging our youth to connect STEAM modalities with the social justice issues they care about most.

EmpowHer Institute will examine the use of STEAM as a catalyst to address social justice issues impacting marginalized communities of color through weekly in- and out-of-school classes and Social Justice STEAM Summer Camp for BIPOC girls in grades 7-12 grades. Students will lead and design projects that explore social justice issues such as climate change, the war on drugs, racism, sexism, and homophobia have on marginalized communities, and offer STEAM-based solutions to address these issues and create systemic change.