Kate Polokonis,
Executive Director
Kate is a former teacher with experience in St. Louis public schools and out-of-school STEM programs. Her experiences in the classroom led her to return to graduate school to study social and economic development and social policy as a way to foster change in the systems surrounding education and child wellbeing.
Kate received her MSW from The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. During her graduate career, Kate focused on workforce development. She project managed the launch of Starkloff Disability Institute’s DREAM BIG program, a career-exploration camp for teens with disabilities, from pilot program to full implementation. At Ready by 21, she supported the Regional Youth Employment Coalition and led the research on regional short-term credentialing programs that formed the basis for the online portal Blueprint4Careers.
Kate has led community-organizing efforts to end the school-to-prison pipeline and implement anti-racist and restorative disciplinary policies in districts throughout the St. Louis area. Kate was a Tomorrow Builder Fellow at WEPOWER where she focused on improving governance and coordination in St. Louis’s early-childhood system. Kate is a life-long St. Louis resident and passionate about promoting racial and economic equity in her hometown.
Mayra Taylor Garcia
Manager of Strategic Initiatives
Mayra began her career at Saint Louis Public Schools, where she taught Biology and Biomedical Sciences for 4 years. As a classroom teacher, she saw how students’ exposure and access to high-quality STEM education can be impactful: whether it helps inform their career goals or simply is enjoyable for students and allows them to understand how the world around them works.
Originally from Mexico, Mayra’s introduction to STEM started at a young age with both her parents holding degrees in the STEM field. She remembers learning to pipette at 5 years old, science summer camp where she learned to identify native plants in Wisconsin, and designing her first experimental study in Ecology class as a high school student in Oregon. Her STEM education deeply impacted her during her K-12 years, which led her to pursue a degree in biology. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master’s in Secondary Education.
She is excited to work towards educational equity within the St. Louis region, specifically by working on system-level solutions with STEMSTL.
Mary Buchanan
Program Coordinator
STEM and healthcare have been the focus of the majority of my professional career. As a registered nurse for approximately eighteen years, I provided skilled care and education to patients and their families. Following this, my passion became sharing a love of STEM with underrepresented populations in Southern Illinois. I served eleven years as a STEM Program Manager and Director of Program Engagement with the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois. Through this, hundreds of girls were exposed to engineering,robotics, and other STEM career paths each year. I additionally am a board member of Southern Illinois FIRST Robotics. We provide financial and educational support to FIRST Robotics teams in Southern Illinois, as well as coordinate local tournaments. I hold a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing from St. Louis University. During my time off, I love spending time with my five children and soon to be three granddaughters. I also enjoy working on genealogy, needlework, and reading.
