Happy Summer NGCP Champions! This email has many updates for you. We have been enjoying a year of intense activity and change. I look forward to reconnecting with each of you, benefiting from your experience and advice. NGCP National Champions Board Webinar Meeting: We've decided to have a National Champions Board Meeting via webinar this Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 11:00am-12:30pm Pacific/2:00-3:30pm Eastern to provide information and updates. We will record the meeting and distribute it next week as I know this is very short notice for many of you. We will use both the computer and a phone line. Please connect to: http://connectpro35337274.adobeconnect.com/ngcpboard/, 1-866-642-1665, Participant Code: 596741. Presentations will be made by our Collaborative leads in Oregon and Montana. Before the meeting, please test your connection: http://connectpro35337274.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm. Welcome Arkansas: We are excited to welcome Arkansas as a new Collaborative! Kathleen Lawson, Director of the Arkansas Discovery Network, is the convener of a very well-balanced leadership team. Arkansas joins us under a fee-based model where new Collaborative leadership teams receive customized technical support from NGCP Leadership as well as direct access to a mentor. Tricia Berry, Texas Collaborative lead is serving as the Arkansas mentor. The Connectory: We successfully launched The Connectory<http://www.theconnectory.org/>, the largest database of STEM programs and opportunities. The Connectory replaces the NGCP Program Directory, serving a similar function of connecting STEM programs with each other as well as a new role - providing information for parents about local STEM opportunities. The Connectory is for all STEM programs; however, visitors can filter for a wide variety of topics and audiences (such as girl-serving programs). Thanks to funding from Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Google, the Noyce Foundation, and Time Warner Cable, we have been regularly updating the database with new features. We will provide more information during the webinar about the Clinton Global Initiative America commitment we announced earlier this month, creating a white label version for localized directories. You can learn more here: https://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/commitments/scaling-connectory-exchange. NGCP Non-Profit Status: Many of you assisted in the visioning we did in 2014. NGCP is now its own, independent, non-profit with 501c3 tax-exempt status, as well as additional status as a public charity. The Afterschool Alliance has been serving as our fiscal sponsor as we implement our financial systems. In 2016, we have been able to bring on employees and manage most of our own contracts. We are fortunate to have the Alliance managing NGCP's National Science Foundation grant and have gained Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi as a Co-Principal Investigator. Our focus for 2016 is to further develop the organizational board, plan for organizational sustainability, and broaden our partnerships and sponsors. New NGCP Staff: We have welcomed two new staff members since our last Champions Board update, Casi Herrera and Erin Hogeboom. * ERIN HOGEBOOM is the new Community Development and Network Strategy Manager for the National Girls Collaborative and The Connectory. Erin's primary responsibilities are facilitating strategic planning and implementation surrounding NGC leadership, growth, and sustainability, and managing Connectory partnerships, outreach, and strategy. Erin is based in Brooklyn, New York, though she hails from the west coast as a Californian native. Erin comes to us with over nine years' experience in program management and community mobilizing for collective impact. Formerly a Peace Corps Volunteer and Program Manager for Feeding America San Diego, Erin is excited to be diving into the world of STEM and looks forward to learning from the wealth of knowledge which exists within our network. * CASI HERRERA is a Program Manager for NGCP and The Connectory. She is the former Collaborative Lead for the Missouri Girls STEM Collaborative. In Casi's role at NGCP she will be managing the National Girls Collaborative Network Projects, such as SciGirls. She is also your go-to person if you need help connecting with a FabFem. Casi will also be managing the mini-grant process and will help Collaboratives set up events through the NGC Event System. Casi is a trained as a Science Teacher and spent three years in the classroom prior to joining our team. She has taught Earth and Physical sciences as well as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, and Human Anatomy and Physiology. She is originally from Washington State and after her family took a 4-year trip to Missouri, is back in Seattle and happy to call the Pacific Northwest home. Twitter Chat Archives: We have had two successful Twitter Chats this year. * Thanks to Ruthe Farmer, Olivia Pavco-Giaccia, and Suzi Taylor for leading our Twitter chat in March. We have archived the #YoungWomenMakingHistory Twitter chat in Storify<https://storify.com/ngcproject/youngwomenmakinghistory-twitter-chat/preview>. * Last week we partnered with SWE and Design Squad Global to celebrate the National Week of Making. Please visit the archive here<https://storify.com/MeganNoonan/week-of-making-growmakers-twitter-chat.>. Connected Learning Roundtable with Senator Patty Murray: On May 31, 2016, Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, met with community leaders, education advocates, and students at an event hosted by the Pacific Science Center and the National Girls Collaborative. The meeting focused on the importance of expanding access to STEM education. In her remarks, Murray discussed the need to invest in and support various programs both inside and outside of the classroom, and how to increase opportunities for women and minorities in STEM fields. Senator Murray also recognized NGCP during her remarks stating, "Your organization is doing such important work to encourage more girls to pursue their interests in the STEM fields. Expanding opportunities for young women is not only important for their future. It should be an economic imperative for our country." Read the full text of Senator Murray's remarks<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=ytd7vpxab.0.0.vdohsxbab.0&id=preview&r=3&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.murray.senate.gov%2Fpublic%2Findex.cfm%2Fnewsreleases%3FID%3D9A854BBB-CFBD-40CD-991F-16530F55F460>. NGCP Evaluation Highlights: A new summary is available (and attached) with evaluation findings from 2011 to 2016. The report presents evidence on how NGCP has increased collaboration, sharing of resources, and knowledge and use of exemplary practices. For example, on average, NGCP event attendees connected with nine new people and 70% of event attendees followed up with somebody they met there. Ninety-five percent of 2015 Annual Survey respondents indicated that using an exemplary practice led to a positive outcome in their program and 84% of respondents indicated exemplary practices helped them better serve girls This report also documents the impact of increased levels of collaboration and use of exemplary practices on girl-serving STEM programs, including increased efficiency and effectiveness. It was prepared by Education Development Center, evaluators of NGCP. We will share more information about this evaluation on the webinar Thursday. These are just a few updates. I hope you can join us on Thursday or find time to watch the webinar in the next few weeks. I'll be in touch again soon and will resume more frequent, shorter updates to keep you connected to our growing Collaboration Network! Karen Karen Peterson, Chief Executive Officer The National Girls Collaborative www.ngcproject.org<http://www.ngcproject.org> @ngcproject