Our Team

                                                             Deb Bowen

Region Network - The STEM Foundation (Deb Bowen)

Since 2008, the Washington State STEM Education Foundation (The STEM Foundation) has engaged the Mid-Columbia region’s top leaders from business, labor, K-12, higher education, and the community at large in initiatives to advance STEM education and career connected learning opportunities. In addition, we design and scale innovative STEM programing across the state and nation. Our impact is leveraged by working as both the Southeastern Washington Network for Career Connect Washington, one of nine regional hubs, and the Mid-Columbia STEM Network, one of 11 Washington STEM-led regional networks.

We focus on helping build a local STEM education infrastructure that enables more of our local youth to meet the ongoing and future demand for STEM-proficient workers. To learn more about the value of STEM education in our region, click here.

The STEM Foundation began with a successful effort to design, fund, and build a STEM high school, Delta High School, in the Tri-Cities. A cornerstone of that work was to create and staff a career connected learning (CCL) system, first within Delta High, the only such high school in eastern Washington, and then eventually to share those best practices across the region. For more on The STEM Foundation’s accomplishments, click here.

Jim Kindle
Regional Career Connected Learning Coordinator - Jim Kindle

Jim is one of nine Career Connected Learning Coordinator's in the State of Washington that represents Career Connect Washington. Click HERE for more informatDeveloping and implementing programs and initiatives that help students explore and prepare for career opportunities are a crucial duties for the region. The CCL Coordinator plays a critical role in building partnerships between education, business/industry, and community organizations to provide students with opportunities to gain real-world experience and develop the skills they need to succeed in the workforce. Examples of key responsibilities include:

  • Developing and implementing programs: Supporting K-12 districts, Higher Education and Business/Industry in developing and implementing programs that promote career readiness and help students explore different career paths. This may involve working with communities and leaders to develop curriculum, coordinating with businesses to provide internships and job-shadowing opportunities, and organizing events such as career fairs and industry tours.
  • Building partnerships: Partnerships between schools, businesses, and community organizations are paramount in the Career Connect Washington framework. This may involve reaching out to local businesses to identify opportunities for students, working with community organizations to develop mentoring programs, and collaborating with educators to integrate career readiness into the curriculum.
  • Supporting educators: Provide support and technical assistance with educational leadership for K-12 and Post-Secondary to provide them with the tools and resources they need to help students prepare for their future careers. This may involve providing training on how to integrate career readiness into the curriculum, sharing best practices for engaging students in career exploration, CTE support, and providing access to career-related resources and materials.
  • Tracking and evaluating programs: Tracking and evaluating the effectiveness of career readiness programs and initiatives throughout the region is critical. This may involve collecting data on student outcomes, surveying students and educators to gather feedback, and analyzing program metrics to identify areas for improvement.

Our Career Connected Learning Coordinator plays a critical role in helping students prepare for their future careers by building partnerships, developing programs, and supporting educators. The coordinator's work is essential in ensuring that students have access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed in the workforce.

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