By: Marcus Aarsvold | Published March 19, 2022 at 6:26 CDT STEM leaders say women of color are underrepresented in the field. MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Non-profit Maydm recently received a $300,000 equitable recovery grant from the Wisconsin Department of Administration to inspire young women of color to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Maydm stands for “made by them” and it is an organization that means to break down barriers that prevent young Black women and men from following their STEM dreams. Fourth grader Gloria McKinney De Royston participated in the “Bl ..read more

Written by Angelica Euseary | Photography by Ruthie Hauge Christina Outlay was born and raised on the west side of Chicago. She grew up in the North Lawndale neighborhood, an area that was central for community organizing during the civil rights and Black Power movements.  Outlay has extensive experience in the STEM fields. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in information technology from DePaul University in Chicago, and completed her doctorate degree in management information systems from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2011, she moved to Wiscon ..read more

Written by Annie Rosemurgy | Photography by Hillary Schave In 2015 Winnie Karanja founded Maydm, a Madison-based nonprofit aimed at bringing girls and students of color into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. “The local tech market was booming, and we were being approached by schools who served disadvantaged, vulnerable populations who said that they couldn’t afford to teach STEM,” says Calley Mannion, a grant writer for the organization. Maydm offers a number of ways for girls to get comfortable flexing their STEM muscles, including after-school programs, internsh ..read more

We are excited to announce that the registration for our summer 2022 programs is officially open! Starting today, you can sign up for our immersive summer programs using our new registration platform, Amilia. We appreciate your patience as we work through this new platform. To help make this transition easier, we have created some in depth instructions on how to create an account and navigate the platform. An adult needs to sign up as the account owner, from there additional accounts for students can be made to register for programs. Because of this, we highly recommend using the instruct ..read more

“We have a wealth of local, untapped talent, particularly among our girls and youth of color, that aren’t are of or equipped for technology careers.” – Dr. Christina Outlay, Executive Director Earlier this year, we announced the search for our next Executive Director, with the hope of having the new leader start in early 2022. The Board of Directors and staff of Maydm are honored to announce the selection of our new Executive Director, Dr. Christina Outlay, who will be joining our team in January 2022. Dr. Outlay is currently an Associate Professor of Information Technology at UW-Whitewat ..read more

DearMaydm Community, Six years ago, I started Maydm because I knew it was necessary to develop an equitable approach to introduce girls and BIPoC students to the STEM fields. I envisioned a reality where they could have an environment to explore, cultivate and confidently pursue their interests in these fields. Over the past six years, we have seen many of these incredible moments in our programs. From students writing their first lines of code, to program alumni gaining the confidence to pursue STEM majors in universities across the country, to others who are now in the STEM workforce. You&n ..read more

Elfin Wiriyan is one of four high schoolers working at Exact Sciences this summer through a new internship program organized by Madison nonprofit Maydm. Photo by Ruthie Hauge Written by Natalie Yahr Four days a week, Elfin Wiriyan walks into the Exact Sciences campus on Madison’s west side around 8 a.m., eager to start the work day. The youngest member of the company’s data science team, she likes having some time in her cubicle before the “stand-up” meeting where she and her colleagues check in each morning.  The team’s job is to analyze data to help the company make decisions. On a typi ..read more

Written by Exact Sciences If you’re in the Madison area, keep an eye on the bike lane!  Exact Sciences is proud to take part in Madison Bcycle’s first-ever “Art Bike” program. This special fleet of e-bikes raises awareness of community organizations doing diverse and important work throughout the Madison area. Each bike’s design is the result of a collaboration between a local business, artist, and nonprofit.   The Exact Sciences bike highlights the importance of inclusion in the STEM field by celebrating the next generation of innovators. The bike’s featured organizat ..read more

Written by Shelley K. Mesch Winnie Karanja wants to help break down barriers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for girls and students of color. She wants to help kids imagine themselves in these fields, just as they imagine themselves as firefighters or actors. To help youths in Madison and Dane County learn about these fields, Karanja, 29, founded Maydm. The nonprofit, a sort of portmanteau for “made by them,” teaches summer programs and workshops on computer coding and other STEM subjects. The programs focus on girls and students of color, as women and people ..read more

Delve Talks is a podcast that digs into the challenges around design, product development, leadership and innovation. Our third season continues to explore how leaders help create a culture that supports innovation, especially with the stressors and new opportunities that businesses face during the pandemic. Written by Stefanie Norvaisas, Vice President of Strategy & Digital Show notes Dave Franchino and I had the opportunity to talk with Winnie Karanja, Founder and Executive Director of Maydm, a Madison-based organization which provides girls and youth of color in grades si ..read more