Who we are

Our Mission

“We hope to create a space where girls are inspired to begin their journeys to becoming strong future female leaders in STEM.”

Founders

Our Story :

Despite the strides made in opening education to women in the past few decades, women are still vastly underrepresented in STEM fields today. In 2023, women make up 29% of the STEM workforce, compared to nearly 50% of non-STEM occupations. A lack of women directly affects the quality of science: Medical devices tend to fail more often for women, and search algorithms that use datasets with a lack of representation of women perpetuate the various forms of gender-inequities of our current world. The root of the gender-imbalance in STEM lies in a culture where girls are exposed to a lack of resources to foster their STEM interests/skills and naturally come to underestimate their abilities in such areas.

In August 2021, we founded G.I.F.T. to create opportunities for girls to gain immersive, hands-on experiences in STEM. We offer after-school classes in several local elementary schools and community centers such as YMCA, allowing young students from ages 5 to 11 to complete hands-on projects that involve creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. We want to create a space where girls are empowered to pursue their passions and love for learning and experimentation. We hope that G.I.F.T. serves as an inclusive and comforting place where girls are inspired to begin their journeys to becoming strong future female leaders in STEM.

Evelyn Ain Lee

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” -Marie Curie

Lumi Lee

“You have the right to be involved. You have something important to contribute, and you have to take the risk to contribute it.” - Mae Jemison

Brandon An

"Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." --Albert Einstein

Lauren Park

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” <Little women by Louisa May Alcott>

Roy Kim

“Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.” - Khalil Gibran

Avery Park

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” <The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho>

Mentors

Phoebe Kwak

Los Angeles Unified School District Middle school teacher

USC Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

Esther Lee

UCLA(Chemical Engineering)

Stephen Lee

UCSD(Mathematics)

Ilho Moon

UCI( Biomedical Engineering)

Edward J Park

Stanford (Computer Science)

Gina Choi

MIT (Chemical engineering/ economics)

A non profit organization working to expose girls to more STEM opportunities, so as to contribute to fostering future STEM leaders who can level gender and socioeconomic imbalances in the current STEM field