Transforming girls into confident, innovative leaders in technology.
Electric Girls:
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Earn badges
Girls earn badges for learning new skills and showing acts of leadership and kindness. Badges provides a motivation for girls to challenge themselves and be the best thinkers and builders they can be. For example, our "curiosity" badge is earned when a girl takes an extra step to learn something new! Join a community Girls make new friends and become a part of a growing community of young learners and leaders in technology! Electric Girls counselors are all female role models who foster a safe environment for girls to learn and explore. Become proficient in hand and computerized tools:
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Learn new skills
Girls learn the fundamentals of electronics and programming, and use these new skills build their own inventions. They are guided through the design process, learning how to ideate, build prototypes, and make iterations of their designs. Become mentors Girls who complete at least one Electric Girls program have the opportunity to become Electric Girls mentors. Mentors are role models for younger girls (they teach lessons, assist other girls with their projects, and also learn more advanced skills), and have greater independence while designing and building more complex inventions. Returning Electric Girl? Build and retain these social and tech skills:
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OUR IMPACT
The following data was collected from 205 girls who participated in our 2017 Summer Camp.
Returning Camper Parent Testimonials:
"When I got the e-mail that Electric Girls would be doing a fall program, I asked Emily -- pretty sure that she would not be willing to give up her 1 day a week to sleep in and be lazy -- but she didn't hesitate! She practically filled the application our herself. She worked more intently on programming this time around. All I ever heard about was Arduino and how she had started teaching some of the younger girls how to use Scratch and Arduino too. When I went to demo day, despite the chaos, I've never seen my child as proud as she was as they spray-painted the word "MENTOR" onto the back of her shirt. For the first time in her life she felt truly invested in something. Like she was an important part and could really make a difference while doing something that she loved. You can't pay for that type of pride."
"She believed she was smart - her grades and achievements at school prove that to her; but she lacked direction or goals and there's something about being around girls and young women who think like she does that really has allowed her to become her best self. Her goals have become more focused- she wants to focus on web design and information technology, but she has also really opened up to wanting to learn more about photography (an unexpected outcome from this summer's camp session!). Above all, I could not be more proud of how she has taken to mentoring and coaching other young girls in computers and tech! She has always felt kind of awkward and different around her peers but the girls and counselors at Electric Girls listen to her ideas, give her positive feedback, and make her feel respected. "
"When I got the e-mail that Electric Girls would be doing a fall program, I asked Emily -- pretty sure that she would not be willing to give up her 1 day a week to sleep in and be lazy -- but she didn't hesitate! She practically filled the application our herself. She worked more intently on programming this time around. All I ever heard about was Arduino and how she had started teaching some of the younger girls how to use Scratch and Arduino too. When I went to demo day, despite the chaos, I've never seen my child as proud as she was as they spray-painted the word "MENTOR" onto the back of her shirt. For the first time in her life she felt truly invested in something. Like she was an important part and could really make a difference while doing something that she loved. You can't pay for that type of pride."
"She believed she was smart - her grades and achievements at school prove that to her; but she lacked direction or goals and there's something about being around girls and young women who think like she does that really has allowed her to become her best self. Her goals have become more focused- she wants to focus on web design and information technology, but she has also really opened up to wanting to learn more about photography (an unexpected outcome from this summer's camp session!). Above all, I could not be more proud of how she has taken to mentoring and coaching other young girls in computers and tech! She has always felt kind of awkward and different around her peers but the girls and counselors at Electric Girls listen to her ideas, give her positive feedback, and make her feel respected. "
How We Got Started
Electric Girls was founded in Spring 2015 by Flor Serna as a response to her experience as the only female recording engineer at Vital Sounds Recording out of Loyola University. Quickly joined by Maya Ramos, the pair founded Electric Girls to develop leadership skills in young girls through their learning of electronics and computer programming skills. Electric Girls first summer camp consisted of 6 girls - Electric Girls now has served hundreds of girls in the greater New Orleans area through summer camps, after school partnerships, weekend programs, in-school programs, and one-day workshops, and has expanded to multiple New Orleans schools and age ranges (5-14).
OUR TEAM
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Flor Serna
Co-founder & Executive Director flor@electricgirls.org Cia Blackstock Director of Programs cia@electricgirls.org |
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Alana Walker
Maya Ramos Co-founder |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Allison Hotard - Chair
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Natalie Jayroe
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Hear it from our girls themselves: