We have tried to make sure to cover all areas of STEM each school year to expose girls to all of them. We also tried to pick women in male dominated careers. For instance most everyone knows a female doctor, but when finding a biological science mentor we found a bear biologist- definitely a male dominated field of study and the girls are less likely to know much about the field before the meeting.
Here are a few topics your speaker may cover:

What were you like when you were our age?
Did you like school?
What was/were the most useful subject(s) you took in school? How did you feel about math and science?
What influence did your parents have on your decisions?
Did you think you would be working in a job like this when you were our age?
How did you get your job?
How did you decide upon this job?
What preparation, work experience, or training was especially important?
What is your job like?
Describe a typical day at your job.
What satisfactions or rewards do you get from your job?
What problems do you have in your job?
How do you use math in your job? Are computers important in your job?
Do you plan to “move up” in your field? What does it take?
What other jobs could you do with your experience or training?
The best advice for finding speaker/mentors is to spread the word and ask everyone you run into if they know anyone. Get in contact with them a gauge their interest. Ask them to speak on a particular date. Make sure and thank them with a card or a letter.
Local
These should be easiest to plan to attend the meetings. We found a local PTA mom that works as a geologist for an oil and gas company so we had her for “earth science”. A local Girl Scout leader told us about one of her former Girl Scouts just graduated with an engineering degree. We have a chemist who works for the City of Fort Smith water department. One of the moms of a GEMS member is a computer programmer. Another mom is a mathematician. It will not surprise you to know that most girls who are interested in STEM have a parent who works in a STEM area as well. One school district employee had been to a nearby conference called “Girls of Promise”, so she sent a list of 12 very impressive women, 7 of which were in STEM areas. As word spreads about the GEMS organization people seem to think of or remember women the know in STEM. •

Alison Litchy, UAFS Urban Forester
Autumn Minnick, A geologist for Davis Operating Company.
Autumn Minnick graduated with a Science Degree from Washington University in St.Louis. She loves Earth Science. During her undergraduate she was able to participate in researching volcanic activity on Venus. She makes decisions for her company about when and how to drill for oil and gas.
• Tiffany Mallard, City of Fort Smith Chemist
Tiffany N. Mallard is the Environmental Chemist for the Fort Smith Utility Department where she performs advanced analyses on drinking water and wastewater in the Environmental Quality Analytical Laboratory of the Environmental Quality Department. She has over 5 years of experience in the environmental field and received a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2007.

• Nicole McGinister, Rheem Engineer
“You might be an Engineer…”
Nicole McGinister is a 2003 graduate of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics.  She has worked as a Project Engineer at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, TN, and also as a Process Engineer at Exide Technologies in Fort Smith, AR.  Nicole is currently employed by Rheem Manufacturing as a Production Engineer. In this capacity she is responsible for both the Coil Fabrication Department and the Gas Furnace Assembly Line.  In addition to her professional life, Nicole is also very involved with ministry and community activities.  She serves of the Board of Directors for both St. James Missionary Baptist Church and the Community Services Clearinghouse.  Her true passion lies with working with the young people at her church, where she also serves as Director of the Youth Department.

•  Pam Riggs, Data-Tronics
Change the Equation
Pam Riggs is a Fort Smith native and a graduate of the Southside High School Class of 2000. While in high school, she was a member of the Band, Tennis Team, National Honor Society, French Club, and Key Club. She graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems and has worked as a computer programmer with Data-Tronics Corp for almost 9 years. She enjoys the field of IT because it has so many opportunities to learn new skills, evolve with the technology changes, and apply knowledge to the real world.  She is currently working toward my Masters of Business Administration degree and is president of the Western Arkansas Tennis Association.

• Lauren Kegley, Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc.
Lauren Kegley is a Research & Design Engineer for Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc. (APEI), working in Harsh Environment Wireless Telemetry Systems. She has been working for APEI, in Fayetteville, for nearly 2 years and graduated from the University of Arkansas in May 2012. While at the U of A, she was the only female Electrical Engineering student in her graduating class and the youngest graduate of the Electrical Engineering program. Her undergraduate research was conducted in the field of neuro-electrical sensor design for Alzheimer’s disease. Outside of her research, she was a Razorback student-athlete, competing in the pole vault on the Women’s Track and Field Team. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Microelectronics and Photonics from the U of A, with research in high temperature circuitry and packaging. Outside of work and school, she enjoys cooking and expanding her shoe collection!

National

We heard about a bear biologist from Oregon through one of our junior high teachers. We did need to set up technology to be able talk with her via the Internet. One uncle finished his PhD with a nationally renowned astronomer. You can reach out to NASA to video conference with an inspirational scientist. With video conferencing the possibilities are endless.

I have a backup speaker in case of a last minute cancellation in the form of “TED talks“. Check out their website. You will find 75 presentations by women in science and tech, in addition to a really ridiculous but entertaining video that is supposed to help recruit women into science in the European Union.