National 4-H Council COO Addresses Importance of STEM Education

CHEVY CHASE, Md., June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National 4-H Council Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Jennifer Sirangelo, will speak to the importance of hands-on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education in the out-of-school hours at the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions Conference. The conference will take place June 17-19 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

Sirangelo will serve as a panelist for Beyond the Classroom Walls: Afterschool and Extracurricular Programs where she'll discuss the state of science in the United States. The panel, moderated by Patrick D'Amelio, chief executive officer, Washington STEM, will discuss STEM afterschool programs with proven track records of motivating and inspiring youth interest in STEM, explain possible connections that instructors can make with in-class lessons, and address ways to fund such efforts.

"The year-round, hands-on STEM programs that 4-H provides are a vital complement to the more formal education that young people receive during the school day," said Sirangelo. "4-H STEM programs, delivered by the nation's Cooperative Extension system, deepen a youth's connection to the sciences, better reach the underserved and foster more of the professional and technical skills that are attractive to future employers. I'm very pleased to be able to speak to a topic for which I have so much personal passion."

Other panelists will include Joe Astroth, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board, Robotics Education & Competition Foundation; Matthew Blakely, director, Motorola Solutions Foundation; Ronald J. Gidwitz, co-founder, GCG Partners and chairman, Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Board of Governors; and Tamara Hudgins, Ph.D., executive director, Girlstart. Following the panel presentations, attendees including senior business executives, government officials, K-12 and university educators, association and nonprofit members, industry specialists, and the media will have the opportunity to take part in the discussion followed by Q&A.

During the conference, 4-H will also provide an exhibit to showcase the depth of STEM programming. The exhibit space, sponsored in partnership with Philips, will also feature the organization's premier national STEM rallying event, 4-H National Youth Science Day, which seeks to spark any early interest in science education and careers. The exhibit can be found at booth #328 in the Exhibit Hall.

As Chief Operating Officer, Sirangelo has focused on supporting the growth of 4-H programs around the world, as well as leadership development for 4-H youth through innovative programs in STEM, health and food security. Sirangelo is credited with building the strong coalition of corporate partners that made it possible to develop and launch the organization's largest 4-H science initiative, One Million New Scientists, One Million New Ideas. The initiative, led by state 4-H programs that reside within each of the nation's 109 land-grant universities, was a great success, achieving a planned goal of reaching one million additional young people with engaging STEM out-of-school programs by 2014.

As the largest youth development organization in the nation, 4-H reaches more than 7 million young people around the world. 4-H out-of-school programming, in-school enrichment programs and camps offer a wide variety of STEM educational opportunities—from Ag science, animal science and GIS/GPS technology to robotics, renewable energy, environmental science and computer science.

About U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions
U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions is a national forum for business executives, educators, government officials, the media, and many others to come together around the topic of improving science, technology, engineering, and math education and workforce development in the United States. The National Conference was created to foster collaboration among those working to advance the agenda for national change in STEM education, policy, and workforce development. For more information about the conference, visit www.usnewsstemsolutions.com.

About 4-H
4-H, the largest youth development organization, is a community of seven million young people around the world learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within USDA. In the U.S., 4-H programs are implemented by the 109 land grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices across the country. Overseas, 4-H programs operate throughout more than 50 countries.

Learn more about 4-H at www.4-H.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H and Twitter at https://twitter.com/4H.

SOURCE National 4-H Council