STEMsmart Celebration

Educators, philanthropists, and business leaders from Sarasota and Charlotte counties gathered this morning for Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s STEMsmart Collaboration Celebration. The celebration marked five years of STEMsmart, Gulf Coast’s initiative to transform science and math education in our region.

Three leaders were recognized with the STEMsmart Champion award for their outsized contributions to the initiative’s success. In presenting the awards, Gulf Coast CEO Teri Hansen and Board Chair Ben Hanan specifically noted their efforts to pair classroom instruction with interactive technology and connect learning experiences to real-world job opportunities. The STEMsmart Champions are:

•   Robert Sambursky, MD, CEO of Rapid Pathogen Screening
•   Kristian Kielhofner, entrepreneur and co-CTO of Star2Star Communications
•   Page Dettmann, PhD, executive director of Sarasota County Middle Schools

Last school-year, 12,584 students were impacted by the STEMsmart initiative. Engagement ranges from high-tech interactive science and math classrooms to STEMsmart summer camps and school clubs, STEMsmart competitions, and guest lectures from local STEM professionals.