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MEET THE EXPERTS: Women in STEM
May 16, 2021 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
T/m will explore the impact of STEM toys on a child’s perception of gender roles and career choices with prominent Kansas City professionals during the virtual event Meet the Experts: Women in STEM.
The live panel discussion, scheduled for Sunday, May 16 (2-3pm), will feature SureShow, Inc. CEO and Founder Dr. Shelley Cooper, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Biological Sciences Specialist Dr. Kellyann Jones-Jamtgaard, and T/m Curator of Collections Amy McKune.
How did toys shape their own career interests? What skills did they gain from play? How have social constructs about gender and race shaped STEM careers in the past? Have enough gains been made in the marketing of toys to reflect a broader audience? The panel will explore these and other themes and will conclude the event with an audience Q&A session.
Registration is required for this FREE event. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Meet the Experts: Women in STEM is held in conjunction with the current T/m exhibit Bridging the Gender Divide: Toys That Build STEM Skills.
GUEST PANELISTS:
Dr. Shelley Cooper
CEO/Founder, SureShow, Inc.
Dr. Cooper is an entrepreneur and 25-year veteran educator who continued her dedication to community service by studying telemedicine and earning her doctorate degree in 2014. Her dissertation, Opinion Leaders’ Perspective of the Benefits and Barriers in Telemedicine: A Grounded Theory Study of Telehealth in the Midwest, laid the foundation for the 2014 establishment of the parent company Diversity Telehealth.
The SureShow platform was founded in 2019. It replaced no-show medical appointments and late cancellations with billable telehealth appointments. Providers recoup lost revenue, patients receive more frequent care, and clinics achieve higher quality measures.
Dr. Cooper also provides no-cost telehealth services for underserved families through her charitable organization Diversity Health Network, Inc. (501c3).
Dr. Kellyann Jones-Jamtgaard
Biological Sciences Specialist, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Kellyann Jones-Jamtgaard, Ph.D., is a biological sciences specialist with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she provides support for competitive education, research, and extension grants programs with a focus on minority-serving institutions. Prior to the NIFA, she was the career academy liaison at the Partnership for Regional Educational Preparation-Kansas City (PREP-KC), an education nonprofit that focuses on college and career preparation for urban school districts.
Jones-Jamtgaard was a 2017 Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow assigned to the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Appointed by Mayor Sly James, she served as a commissioner on the Kansas City Health Commission, a group tasked with improving public health in Kansas City, Mo., from 2016-19.
Jones-Jamtgaard holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish from Duke University and a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Kansas Medical Center. Her doctoral research focused on alterations in cellular trafficking during Hepatitis C virus infection.
Amy McKune
Curator of Collections, The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Amy McKune has served as T/m’s Curator of Collections since 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in History museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY – Oneonta. During McKune’s 30-year career, she has served in curatorial and collections management positions for five museums. Between 1992 and 1996, she played a key role in creating the new Washington State History Museum (Tacoma, Wash.) and a 23,000 ft² long-term exhibition on Washington State’s history. McKune is drawn to topics related to equity for women, so she welcomed the opportunity to curate Bridging the Gender Divide: Toys That Build STEM Skills.
