About Us
Our Vision
The Columbia Engineering Outreach team envisions a world where all students can see a place for themselves in STEM. Whether as researchers, professors, or engineers, we believe that every student should have access to enriching learning experiences that help them achieve their goals.
To accomplish this, we support Columbia students and faculty in connecting directly with the community through K-12 programs. Through existing and emerging initiatives, we increase access to STEM education at all levels.
In addition to our community outreach programs, we assist faculty and researchers with strengthening the broader impact of their work through the support of NSF and other private partners.
We also foster relationships with colleges and universities across the country, to provide students from historically underrepresented backgrounds with research and mentorship opportunities. Through these partnerships, we are able to supplement the education they receive from their home institution and increase their exposure to STEM career pathways.
Through this work, we bridge the divide between the community, Columbia Engineering, and the STEM industry at large.
Staff
Kristian joined the Outreach team in July 2021. His career in education started when he worked in East Harlem to match mentors with students in the community. While there he launched the FIRST Robotics team #1880. Since then he has worked in a variety of roles for NYC’s Department of Youth and Community Development, The New York Academy of Sciences, and The School of The New York Times. A throughline in these roles has been a commitment to providing high-quality programming to students from a wide range of backgrounds with a goal of young people seeing the many STEM pathways they can pursue. Kristian is excited about leveraging the resources of Columbia to benefit students, faculty, and researchers across disciplines. He traces his passion for STEM back to his time at Space Camp as a 6th grader.
Trey joined the Outreach team as Program Manager in October 2022. He is looking to combine his passion for education and STEM literacy to arm others with knowledge to open otherwise unavailable doors. He aims to close the race and gender gaps in the tech world. During his professional journey, Trey has undertaken a medley of roles in supporting underrepresented communities. From teaching kids Tech Entrepreneurship at Code/Interactive, and traveling overseas to lead workshops at the New York Academy of Sciences, to teaching Computer Science at August Martin High School and Mercy College. Trey is a kid at heart with a love for learning and connecting like-minded individuals who are curious about the world around them.
Teresa is excited to support and grow Outreach initiatives with the goal of reaching out to every future engineer. She began her journey in Outreach at the University of Toronto in Canada where she created an entrepreneurial program linking Mathematics with other disciplines, such as architecture, cryptography and astronomy. Before then, she traveled to Uganda and co-led a workshop that brought children together to explore cultural differences through performing arts. All of these experiences formed her belief that there is much more knowledge outside of textbooks to be discovered, learned, and applied. She's on a mission with the Columbia Outreach team to inspire young minds to explore the intriguing world of STEM!
Jackie has worked in the education sector since 2015 and joined Columbia University in March 2018. Her work has been primarily in operations and administration. She worked in the pre-college realm for over 3 years and is eager to bring her knowledge to grow and expand our outreach efforts. Previous to her work at Columbia, she coordinated events and operations at an elementary school in Newark, NJ, where her interest in educational access was sparked. She is currently pursuing her Master of Public Administration at Columbia University and will graduate in May 2023. Jackie hopes to tie together her experience as a first-generation college graduate and an academic administrator with her passion for access and equity to bring quality opportunities to future Columbia engineers.