The Game Changers

Efforts to close the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields have never been more critical – not only for technological literacy and the problem-solving skills essential for negotiating our increasingly complex world but for opportunities and parity in the job market.

According to the UNESCO report Cracking the code: girls' and women's education in STEM, careers in STEM fields are the jobs of the future.

Women make up 50 percent of the college-educated workforce but only 29 percent of the science and engineering workforce, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project, an organization seeking to increase diversity and equality in STEM fields. Access and early emphasis on science education as well as guidance from mentors and internships can empower girls to pursue STEM professions.

The following successful women in STEM show that there's no reason to be sidelined by STEM anxiety. Their achievements are fueled by ingenuity, perseverance and sustained encouragement.

Down To A Science 

Dawn DeWitt

Palm Beach County science teacher Dawn DeWitt's students were the ones to beat at national science competitions for many years.

"I pushed them to wrap their minds around the ideas of engineering and design, mostly around mousetrap cars, but other projects as well," says DeWitt, 57, who has been teaching for 28 years. "They were wildly successful."

DeWitt, the 2015 Palm Beach County STEM Teacher of the Year, oversaw SECME Olympiads for a dozen years before stepping down as advisor to the school club. SECME is a national program seeking to create a diverse workforce by reaching out to students who are historically underrepresented in STEM fields.

"Now, I'm trying to broaden my practice and bring it to the general public," says the eighth grade teacher at Wellington Landings Middle School.

DeWitt, a Lake Worth resident, teaches workshops on mousetrap cars at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium for kids 9 and up and adults. Building a mousetrap car is a great educational exercise because it incorporates the principles of physics, using the energy of the mousetrap to power the car.

She also presents mousetrap car workshops in STEM sessions with 150 middle- and high-school girls for the Women's Foundation of Florida, an experience DeWitt calls "totally rewarding, completely awesome."

DeWitt's interest in teaching science came through the back door, she says. As a child growing up mostly in Florida, DeWitt liked to tinker, taking objects apart and putting them back together.

"I was always curious about how things work," she says.

Her father, a master handyman by trade, showed her how to use tools. Outings with her parents and sister encouraged her interest in the natural sciences.

DeWitt earned a bachelor's degree in geology from Florida Atlantic University and a master's degree in science education from the University of Florida. But, when she was young, she says, "there wasn't a push to get girls interested in STEM. Had I been funneled into higher-level math and science classes in high school, I could have been an engineer."

Opportunities now exist in schools, she says. STEM subjects require "stick-with-it-ness," DeWitt explains, and parents have to support their kids' efforts. "Learning is not instant," she says, "and failures are to be expected, but anyone can develop the ability to understand anything."

Making Waves

Hannah Herbst

Most 17-year-olds aren't thinking about energy probes and solving problems in the developing world. But Boca Raton teen Hannah Herbst, one of the youngest on the 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 list in the energy sector, is doing just that and more.

Herbst invented a device that captures energy from ocean waves to produce electricity. BEACON (Bringing Electricity Access to Countries Through Ocean Energy) uses a water turbine connected to an AC generator to convert the energy from ocean currents. It could be used to power a water desalinization pump, medical equipment or a 12-volt battery. Herbst's innovation came from her wish to help her Ethiopian pen pal and others like her who have limited access to electricity.

"I got the idea for BEACON in 2013 but began building and testing in 2014," she says. "I am still working on this project and am in the fourth year of development."

Winning the title of America's Top Young Scientist in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2015, she was invited to the White House Science Fair in 2016 to discuss her prototype with President Barack Obama. Herbst also received a Congressional Award for her work in 2016. She has delivered speeches at many prestigious scientific gatherings, including the United Nations STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) Forum. Herbst has been featured as one of Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, an organization that helps girls cultivate their authentic selves.

The daughter of Julie and Joel Herbst, she is dually enrolled as a junior at FAU High School and as a sophomore at FAU, pursuing an undergraduate degree in computer engineering.

Herbst is passionate about theater and was very involved in sports when she was younger, she says. But, in the summer before seventh grade, her mother decided she should check out the engineering and technology camp at FAU. Herbst was the only girl enrolled and wasn't sure she wanted to go, but her mother encouraged her to try it for a day, Herbst recalls.

"That was a turning point for me," she says.

Learning to build robots, she was hooked, discovering a new passion for robotics and programming.

Herbst enjoys helping children with their competition projects at A.D. Henderson elementary-middle school at FAU and believes early exposure is key to developing STEM muscles. She credits her STEM camp and network of mentors with helping her achieve her goals.

"Reaching out to other people is important," Herbst says.

Her ultimate goal is to improve the lives of others through her research, she says. Her newest project explores medical applications for shark skin.

Crunching Numbers

Dani Pascarella and Korrie Martinez

Dani Pascarella and Korrie Martinez are from different sides of the career spectrum, but the longtime besties from Boca Raton joined forces to found the financial technology startup Invibed.com. The company provides financial literacy and wealth coaching to the millennial generation.

The entrepreneurial duo was accepted last fall into the competitive, three-month startup accelerator program at New York University, pitching Invibed.com to investors and industry leaders at NY Edtech Week. Edtech technology products used in and for education is a segment of the technology sector. The intensive program included mentoring, networking and Shark Tank-like sessions.

"It was such a great learning experience," Martinez says.

Martinez, 31, and Pascarella, 30, met as sophomores at Spanish River High School. They both graduated from UF in 2009. Pascarella earned a degree in business administration and Spanish, and Martinez got a degree in advertising.

Pascarella, who lives in New York City, is a certified financial planner and holds a master's degree in business journalism from Columbia University. Martinez lives in Boca Raton and is a marketing professional and writer with experience across digital platforms.

While working on Wall Street, Pascarella found herself offering advice to friends who were struggling with student loans, credit card debt and other financial pressures in a tough job market after the recession.

"Invibed.com was built out of frustration," Pascarella says.

There was no good solution out there to help them achieve their financial goals.

That's when Pascarella asked Martinez to partner up to create a brand millennials could trust, Pascarella says. Martinez is Invibed.com's chief content officer, content writer, editor and manager.

The site has evolved from hosting financial articles to offering wealth coaching. Through mobile videos, technology and one-on-one sessions, the fee-based wealth-coaching platform delivers the knowledge and tools you need to take control of your money and make it grow, Pascarella says.

She learned how to code and how to make compelling videos to build the website.

"If I don't know how to solve a problem, it's because I don't have the skills to do it," she says. "Education is a way of overcoming that fear that you can't do it. You learn that you can do it."

Adds Martinez: "When you're starting a new company, you step out of your comfort zone a lot faster than you would normally. You'll learn whatever it is that's holding you back. The success of the business is relying on that." O