The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), along with the National Science Foundation (NSF), brought together alumni of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) and the AAAS Lifetime Mentor Award in a three-day event addressing “New Directions for Inclusive STEM Education and Career Mentoring.”

The gathering was held in Washington, DC on April 20th through April 22nd, 2016. The meeting celebrated the 20th anniversary of the PAESMEM as well as the 25th anniversary of the AAAS Lifetime Mentor Award, and gave participants the opportunity to reflect on the current state of STEM educational and career mentoring while identifying new strategies to increase effective STEM mentoring.

Over the course of the three days, AAAS and NSF held panels, group discussions, and small group breakout sessions, with several goals in mind, including: (a) summarizing the progress of STEM mentoring over the last 20 years, (b) identifying and summarizing STEM mentoring research, (c) identifying barriers and challenges present in STEM mentoring, (d) identifying key strategies and tools to increase STEM mentoring over the next 10 years, and (e) reviewing and identifying new directions for PAESMEM and AAAS guidelines.

On day two Dr. Christine Pfund, Director of the NRMN Mentor Training Core and Dr. MariaElena Zavala, Associate Director of NRMN’s Mentorship and Networking Core, participated in a webcast titled New Directions for Inclusive STEM Education & Career Mentoring. The webcast was divided into four parts: “Welcome, Overview, and Why STEM Mentoring is Critical,” “Best Practices for STEM Mentoring,” “Building STEM Workforce Skills, and “Resources for STEM Mentoring”. Click here to view the complete webcast agenda and three day meeting agenda.

Dr. Pfund spoke on the overview of mentoring in the STEM fields and why mentoring is critical for success at all career stages. Dr. Zavala spoke on the mentoring resources available to those pursuing careers in STEM fields. The esteemed panelists answered webcast participants’ questions at the end of the session.