STEM Advisory Council Welcomes New Members

The STEM Advisory Council works together to advise and guide the state’s edu-nomic quest of inspiring Iowa’s youth to be innovative and enterprising contributors to our future workforce.
The STEM Advisory Council works together to advise and guide the state’s edu-nomic quest of inspiring Iowa’s youth to be innovative and enterprising contributors to our future workforce.

Governor Kim Reynolds recently appointed four new members to join the STEM Advisory Council, including Thomas Dodds, Site Manager at BASF; Michelle Hill, Director of Work-Based Learning at Waukee APEX; Sara Lang, Senior Director of Engineering at Collins Aerospace; and Leah Rodenberg, Senior Program Manager at Alliant Energy.

The 58-member Council represents Iowa leaders in PreK-12 educators, higher education, business, nonprofits, state and local government officials, among others. The Council has collaborated to boost STEM education and innovation across the state, with the goal of invigorating the talent pipeline toward STEM careers.

“I was interested in joining the STEM Advisory Council to bring my perspective as both a mom of three school-age children and a STEM leader in industry. I am excited to help shape opportunities which will hopefully encourage the youth of Iowa to grow a lifelong love of STEM,” said Sara Lang, Collins Aerospace Senior Director of Engineering.

“For me, the exposure to the power of education (and also STEM) came as a child when Iowa was first-in-the-nation in education. As a chemical engineer today and having benefitted from an Iowa education, I also value the long-term STEM-benefits delivered to businesses in Iowa and to the power of early STEM education. The roots that are grown at an early age in the STEM-arena are an important asset to the State of Iowa, our residents and our businesses. It is exciting to be a part of the STEM-movement in Iowa and help expand the reach of our programs,” said Thomas Dodds, BASF Site Manager. 

To learn more about the STEM Advisory Council, visit www.iowastem.org/council.

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