I CAN STEM
Role Models
New Jersey Inductees
The New Jersey STEM Pathways Network honors diverse STEM leaders who have made and continue to make significant contributions in STEM.
2022 New Jersey Inductees
January
Ralph Losanno
Supervisor of Technology at Flemington-Raritan Schools
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Ralph Losanno is the Supervisor of Technology for the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District in Flemington, New Jersey and is the Co-Lead of the HSMC (Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer Counties) STEM Ecosystem. Prior to his work in the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District, Mr. Losanno was honored to be a classroom teacher with over 15 years of experience. As an elementary classroom teacher, Mr. Losanno volunteered, led, and inspired both within his own district as well as across the nation. As one of the founding members of the National Geographic Education Steering Committee, a featured speaker at the Global Google for Education Summit in New York City, a STEM technology trainer, and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Mr. Losanno is uniquely situated to use his personal knowledge and experiences to influence and advocate for those underrepresented populations whose voices are sometimes overlooked. As an educational leader, Mr. Losanno continues to live and serve as a passionate advocate for access, inclusion, and visibility in STEM. He looks forward to the day when all students have the opportunity to envision themselves situated confidently within the STEM community.February
Maria Agapito
President of NJ Science Academy
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Dr. Agapito considers herself to be both a scientist and an educator at heart. She received a B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry and a M.S. in biology with a concentration in molecular biology from Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, NJ. In 2013, she completed her doctoral training in neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. After her PhD, she was accepted to the national institute of health IRACDA/INSPIRE Postdoctoral program. Dr.Agapito joined the pathology and laboratory medicine department at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and conducted research in the areas of developmental biology, neurology and ethanol toxicology using C. elegans as an animal model system. Dr. Agapito has published in various peer-reviewed journal articles, presented at various national conferences, obtained prestigious fellowships. She is currently the president of the NJ Academy of Science, serves as Rutgers RUYES teaching fellow and Assistant Professor of Biology at Bard HS Early College – Newark, NJ. Since 2011, Dr. Agapito has served Kean University as adjunct professor in the School of Natural Sciences. Dr. Agapito’s long-term goal is to change the face of America by enhancing curiosity, educating, and mentoring students to enter STEM related fields. In this way, we can create a diverse population of role models for the next generations to come.March
Rachel Feller
Scientist of Discovery Sample Management at Merck
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Rachel Feller has been a dedicated member and leader in the Merck Rainbow Alliance (RA) since she joined the company right after college in 2006 with a position with the Discovery Sample Management Group. Getting involved with the RA right away helped in meeting many new LGBTQ+ friends and creating a safe space at work to be herself. Over the years Rachel remained in the same department, but her work tasks evolved and she remained after many company reorganizations. She took on leadership positions in D&I helping with department initiatives to spread awareness; she works to improve company culture through volunteer roles on the Leveraging Internal Networks and Knowledge (LINK) team, and outside of work, Rachel volunteers a lot of time with Hadassah The Women’s Zionist Organization of America. She expanded her network way beyond her department and job tasks. Rachel found a family with RA members and with her colleagues. Some projects at Merck that Rachel helped bring to life over the last year are ‘A Day in the Life of a Drag Queen’ – hosting New Jersey’s own Harmonica Sunbeam to share HERstory and accolades, giving insight into the real life behind the make up; The Power of Acceptance – hosting Amit Shah, M.D. and Aditya Madiraju to share their story of love and family acceptance in the Asian American culture and their abilities to host a wedding with their favorite Indian traditions; and presenting on Allyship and Psychological Safety to her department to build a progressive culture. Always highlighting the similarities versus differences and having folks share their stories – is the best way to reach others. The more people you know – the more accepting of others you become. Rachel is a social connector and leader who values building relationships into the core of the D&I work she contributes to at Merck. Building community is so important, and creating a space where people can feel at home while at work is truly fulfilling. Being involved in the D&I initiatives Merck offers, the volunteer work soon became about leadership, development and making visions come to life. Working with colleagues to build community and provide amazing programs within the LGBTQ EBRG and partnering with other EBRGs continues to be a highlight of her work. Rachel enjoys partnering with outside organizations like PFLAG, Garden State Equality and HRC to bring relevant expertise into Merck, raise awareness and welcome colleagues as allies.April
Kamuran Soydam
Educator at Hudson Arts and Science Charter School of iLearn Schools
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Kamuran Soydam currently works as a STEM teacher and Coach for I-Learn Schools. At i-Learn Schools, he has contributed in providing leadership for professional development to other STEM/STEAM instructors and paraprofessionals in the school to promote learning and teaching best practices. He participated in the Eco-Green Panasonic Project that inspires students to think about recycling programs at their school. Kamuran has also been featured on NJTV’s education series, where he shared live science lessons during the COVID pandemic. In 2021, he was honored by the Association of American Educators (AAE) as part of National Charter Schools Week where charter school educators nationwide were asked to nominate an exceptional colleague to be one of five featured educators.May
Pavithra Lakshminarayan
Creator & Chief of Mindbytes
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Pavithra Lakshminarayan is an Entrepreneur & a technology enthusiast with over 22 years of work experience in the field of Information Technology, learning and development, teaching, curriculum design, and building graduate programs from the ground up. It is when her passion for working with children met with her experience, she founded Mindbytes in 2011 through which she creates and provides year-round enrichment programs that address core skills in children. As part of this journey, she has not only built and delivered a variety of STEM skill development programs but has also had the opportunity to play numerous roles in the education space. She has been an advisor for education and research-based projects around strategic planning, curriculum design, course development, and training and integration. She has designed many STEM activities to increase student, teacher, and family engagement in STEM. She has also presented on diverse topics such as Broadening STEM Participation in OST (NSF Includes National Convening), Pathway to Invention Education & Family engagement for early learners (STEM Learning Ecosystems National Convening), Big Data in Education (NJ Education Technology conference by NJECC), Social Entrepreneurship for Children and Integrating Game Design (annual conferences of the NJAGC, NJEA convention), Phenomenon-Based Learning and Bringing Internet of Technologies (IoTs) to classrooms (NJEA Convention). She is the lead for the South Jersey STEM Innovation Partnership network, where she has designed and led activities to broaden participation in STEM education ensuring equitable access to all and created many programs to improve interest and retention of the underserved, and underrepresented students in K-12 STEM programs. Alongside running Mindbytes, she also chairs an early childhood learning priority group at the New Jersey STEM Pathways Network.
June
Luis De Abreu
STEM Program Director at Bergen Community College
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With vast experience in federal, state, institutional, and private programs and after more than ten years involved with STEM Initiatives at the Community College level, Luis has led many services to provide academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities for students. He’s offered Tutoring Services and Supplemental Instruction, Academic, Transfer, and Career Advising, Financial Literacy, Coaching on Essential Skills, and very unique and innovative Research Opportunities. Luis has managed various grants supporting STEM goals and objectives to provide underrepresented students with more opportunities to pursue technical degrees. Retention and completion of these STEM degrees are at the forefront of the work that Luis performs. He has created strategic partnerships with other colleges, universities, businesses, and industry partners and developed a STEM Student Scholars Program (3SP) to train students to become prime candidates for entry-level positions and perform up-to-par with well-seasoned workers. He managed the construction of the award-winning first multidisciplinary STEM Student Research Center in a community college. He is also the co-chair of the Economic Recovery Committee at Bergen Community College (BCC). This group was tasked with finding ways to place BCC at the center of economic recovery efforts with purpose and intention as we aid the state of New Jersey to position itself for post-pandemic recovery. Luis recently mentored a group of students that participated in the 2022 Community College Innovation Challenge and secured 1st place in the competition over many community colleges around the country, providing the students with a very enriching and fulfilling experience.July
Virginie Maillard
Head of Siemens Technology US / Head of Simulation & Digital Twin field at Siemens
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Virginie has headed the global research activities in Simulation and Digital Twin of Siemens Technology since June 2018. She works at the Siemens Technology office of Princeton, NJ, and leads teams in Germany, India and China. In May 2019, she was also appointed Head of Siemens Technology for the US, leading the entire scope of research in the US. Maillard earned her engineering and MSc degrees in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA Lyon) in France. Before joining Siemens, Maillard worked for the automobile manufacturer Renault, most recently as head of corporate research and central research strategy. Additionally, she is currently the president of the Scientific Advisory Board of Institut Mines-Telecom (IMT) in Paris, France, the biggest group of graduate engineering schools in France.August
Traymanesha Lamy
Senior Director of Programs and Advocacy Community Catalyst
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Dr. Traymanesha Lamy serves as Senior Director of Programs and Advocacy at Community Catalyst, a national health advocacy organization dedicated to advancing a movement for health equity and justice. In this role, Traymanesha oversees program integration for building and implementing new strategic initiatives, supports organization-wide health policy and advocacy goals, and works with Community Catalyst programs to strengthen capacity and power-building efforts with community-based partners in 49 states.Traymanesha Lamy is also the co-chair for the Newark STEAM Coalition, a cross-sector collaborative established in 2016 to increase access to STEAM pathways from pre-K to career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. The Newark STEAM Coalition is one of 100 STEM Learning Ecosystems across the globe and one of six communities in New Jersey to participate in a statewide campaign to reimagine STEM learning and prepare New Jersey’s future workforce for STEM fields. Traymanesha has over two decades of experience in youth and community development launching cross-sector collaboratives and coalitions, and designing innovative community-based programs. She has worked closely with community stakeholders to establish shared vision and co-develop strategies for implementing collective impact initiatives. Prior to joining Community Catalyst, Traymanesha worked to increase access to resources for underestimated youth and families while serving simultaneously as the Director of Education for United Way, founder of Newark Thrives!, and co-chair for the Newark STEAM Coalition.
Traymanesha holds a BA in Psychology with minors in Childhood Studies and African American Studies from Rutgers University-Camden, and a PhD in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University. She considers herself a research practitioner and values lifelong learning within the community.
September
Erica DeMichele
K-12 Supervisor in Delran School District
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Erica DeMichele has been an educator in NJ for 24 years, educating both urban and suburban communities in South Jersey in the areas of biology, environmental science and forensics. As a K-12 Supervisor in Delran, a suburban school district outside of Philadelphia, she has had the pleasure of creating new programming to build culture and enhance in and out of school time programs in the area of STEM. As Co-lead for the Delran STEM Ecosystem Alliance, with Mary Jo Hutchinson, family engagement, quality STEM learning aligned to standards, partner development, real world STEM application and continued teacher professional development has been implemented in the culture of the community. Our most notable achievements since being adopted as a SLECop: The $1.2 million dollar Delran Innovation & Fabrication Lab opened its doors in 2019; 6 years of the ever growing/ever inclusive Delran Cubs STEAM Up Camp, an intensive Sustainability program K-12 through Sustainable Jersey for Schools, a robust K-12 robotics program and STEM Fair initiatives inclusive of all ecosystem partners. Currently, she is working on building the STEM career pathway for the middle grade students in Delran, thanks to a competitive Middle Grades Career Grant from the NJDOE, she has brought Fab Maker Studio, CNC routing and die cutting to the students at Delran Middle School. The goal is to bring more digital fabrication tools such as laser cutters this coming school year.October
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November
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December
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I CAN STEM
New Jersey Inductees
The I CAN STEM New Jersey Inductees are selected through a nomination process which is reviewed by the NJSPN’s New Jersey STEM Strategic Advisory Board.
By including role models right in our State, students will have the opportunity to meet or hear from them in real life and learn about the various STEM industries that are right here in New Jersey.
