Mark your calendars for this year’s 22nd Annual sySTEMnow Conference on October 29, 2025!
Italian Community Center - Milwaukee
Call for Breakout Session topics & Speakers
Are you passionate about shaping the future of STEM? Do you have innovative ideas, research, or experiences to share that can inspire and ignite action? We are seeking dynamic voices to lead breakout sessions at this year’s sySTEMnow Conference!
Whether you're an educator, industry expert, student advocate, or STEM professional—this is your opportunity to lead the conversation and make an impact. These sessions spark dialogue, challenge thinking, and empower attendees to take meaningful steps after the event.
Submit your Request for Proposal (RFP) today and be part of building a stronger, more inclusive STEM future in our community!
Deadline to apply is June 2, 2025
Let’s bring bold ideas and powerful stories to the stage. We can't wait to hear from you!
A look back at our 2024 sySTEMnow Conference!
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Italian Community Center in Milwaukee
For the 21st Annual sySTEMnow, southeastern Wisconsin’s preeminent STEM education and talent development conference, we brought together business, education, and the community to share inspiration and best practices. Thank you for participating. To view presentations from the event, click below. Please contact Theresa Wolf at twolf@stemforward.org or 414-221-7720 with your questions.
Captain Barrington Irving Founder of Flying Classroom
afternoon keynote speaker
Empowering Tomorrow: Captain Barrington Irving's Journey from World-Record Aviation to Transformative STEM+ Education
Guinness world-record-setting and National Geographic Explorer Captain Barrington Irving elevated the conversation around STEM+ education and described how to take an innovative approach through technology and creativity. When the three-time TEDX speaker shared his journey of building his plane to become the youngest and first black man to fly around the world solo in 2007, everyone was motivated to ask themselves, “Am I becoming the best version of myself?”
Ted Wells President of STEMconnector
MORNING KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Ted Wells is the president of STEMconnector, an organization he helped co-found, and is committed to supporting industry engagement in STEM education and workforce development. Ted leads a team dedicated to sustainable and impactful employer support of education. STEMconnector’s work includes STEM K-12 education, postsecondary pathways, and workforce development. Drawing from his experience in collaborating with business and education institutions nationwide, Ted provided a unique national perspective on the STEM education and talent landscape.
Breakout Session Presentations
round one
round two
round three
THE STEMMY AWARDS
The Excellence in STEM Awards—The Stemmys were established in 2005 to recognize educational institutions, businesses, organizations, and individuals who promote STEM awareness and improve students' STEM competency. The four award categories are Education, Employer, Partnership, and Individual. Thank you to Dr. Victor Amaya, President and Executive Director of Data You Can Use, the Stemmy Awards emcee.
education stemmy: Muskego High School warriorbots & twist
TWIST (Together, Women in STEM Thrive) is an event hosted by Muskego High School’s FIRST robotics team, the WarriorBots, each October dedicated to empowering girls in STEM through competitive robotics. At its core, TWIST is a competition with a twist, as robots are driven entirely by girls in exciting competition between teams from across the Midwest. But TWIST goes beyond robotics to provide an inclusive, safe environment for girls to gain confidence and grow their skills. Giving girls the opportunity to take these leadership roles in a supportive environment allows them to thrive and recruit more young women to join. This helps address the low participation rate of girls. As of last year, only 25.7% of participants in the FIRST Wisconsin program were girls, a disparity that they strive to improve through their efforts.
employer stemmy: Generac
Generac not only generates power solutions but also generates awareness of STEM in Wisconsin through its corporate giving and employee volunteerism. Supporting STEM education is a primary focus of its efforts, and in 2023, nearly 50 percent of the Generac Foundation’s donations were directed toward education. Generac is focused on getting youth excited about what STEM offers and invests in hands-on programs demonstrating how students can solve problems and make an impact. An example of this is their partnership with MSOE. The Generac and MSOE Youth Engineering Design Academy brings public school children to the STEM Center to experience the engineering design process. Similar experiences happen at other STEM programs Generac supports, including summer STEM camps at WCTC, Discovery World, UWM, and Maydm. They also bring STEM programming to underserved rural communities such as Berlin, Jefferson, and Oshkosh, which included a visit from the STEM Shuttle to a local school, supporting Skills USA, and investing in STEM programs at the local Boys & Girls Clubs.
Partnership stemmy: lincoln stem elementary & PTO
Lincoln Elementary School re-established itself as a STEM elementary school within the Watertown Unified School District (WUSD) in 2016. They couldn't provide STEM opportunities within their school budget without the organization, planning, and support of parents, staff, and educators through the Lincoln STEM PTO. The Lincoln STEM PTO is a 501(c)3 organization established to help bring school families and staff closer to aid in enriching their student's STEM education. Together, they have created more engaging STEM experiences to start the love of hands-on, problem-solving learning early in their 4k-5th grade levels. Examples of STEM resources and experiences include a magnetic constructor gear board, light board, hydroponic grow supplies, grow tent fans and lights, gloforge and 3-D printing items, funds for STEM-related books, passion projects, and field trips.
individual stemmy: Maverick Berner
Maverick Berner is a fourth-year PhD candidate at Marquette University researching K-12 computing education. Since 2021, Maverick has been pivotal in Project {FUTURE}, a partnership between Marquette University in Milwaukee and Sacred Heart University in Connecticut to promote computer science accessibility in K-5 schools. Along with his Project {FUTURE} colleagues, Maverick has worked closely with K-5 teachers to develop innovative curriculum units that integrate computer science with instruction in other content areas. To support the initiative, Maverick successfully facilitated partnerships between a development team of undergraduate student researchers and K-5 teachers, allowing for the creation of lessons and tools that address the specific needs and contexts of the classrooms they are used in. His commitment to creating materials that are both engaging and accessible to young learners has resulted in a growing library of digital resources to promote Computer Science education across the Milwaukee Public Schools and beyond.
Generation STEM Displays
Generation STEM (Gen STEM) is a K-12 student display that enables Southeastern Wisconsin area schools and organizations to showcase their students’ amazing STEM projects. Thank you to Komatsu for sponsoring Gen STEM, and a special thank you to the educators and students who showcased their STEM projects!
