THRIVING ELEMENTS

Mission

Our mission is to create access and opportunities for underprivileged girls in STEM through mentoring. Our vision is to develop and empower women leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) to make a sustainable impact in their communities and inspire the next generation of women leaders

Description

Thriving Elements in a non-profit organization that aims to create access and opportunities for underprivileged girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) through our mentorship program. While our primary focus is on quality STEM mentoring, we also provide opportunities for networking, job shadowing, and site visits so that our students can experience the day-to-day life of a professional working in a STEM-related career field. Through these different activities, Thriving Elements aspire to achieve our vision - develop and empower women leaders in STEM to make a sustainable impact in their communities and inspire the next generation of women leaders.

A note from our founder, Janet Phan:

"My first job after graduating from UW was at The Boeing Company. During my five years at Boeing, I had six key mentors who afforded me with great guidance which led to countless opportunities and visibility. While at Boeing, I returned to UW to pursue my Master of Science degree in Information Systems. Upon graduation, in 2013, Joseph Peck, my IT internship mentor from Weyerhaeuser, reached out to me about a new job opportunity with the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in technology consulting.

Without my mentor and the opportunity that he has paved for me, I would not be here today working as a Global Technology Program and Product Manager. This position has been and continues to be rewarding. It has helped me grow in so many ways allowing me to travel the world, collaborate, and build relationships with people in various countries such as India, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, China, France, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and South Africa.

From my experience of being in this industry, the one thing that has really stuck out to me is that often times I am the only female at the table. This led me to research overall female representation within the STEM field and what I've discovered is that women are grossly underrepresented in key leadership and managerial positions within the industry. While I continue pursuing my career development, one of the things that has remained steadfast in my life are the amazing mentors I've had along the way and through this, Thriving Elements was born. My dream is to create a program that replicates the quality mentoring I received in my life and scale it to as many underprivileged young women as possible. Sometimes it takes just that one moment or that one person to help someone see what they are capable of and go beyond their potential."

Our first mentorship program cycle was launched in 2016 with Foster High School, a locally based school in Tukwila, WA. Ranked as one of the most diverse schools in the country and with 71% of students living in poverty, Thriving Elements' mentorship curriculum helps to bridge Foster's gap with leadership programs available. Additional information about our organization can be found here: https://www.thrivingelements.org/

Recognition

Previous contributors include Alaska Airlines, TUNE, PwC, REI, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Seattle Sorbets, Fremont Breweries, Top Pot Donuts, Bobotay, 3 Howls Distillery, O Wines, HighBrow Seattle, The Rock Wood Fired Pizza, Triple Horn Brewing Co, Julie Averill, and Gary Rubens

We thank our board members Myxie Thomas, Ezunial Burts, Joseph Peck, Luke Bailey, Sung Ji Lee, and Kelly Hoeft for their work and continued support to ensure our success.

The backbone of our organization are our volunteers as our operations are 100% based on volunteers until we have enough funding to bring on a full time resource.