#STEMSpotlight: OregonASK

What’s the name of your organization? OregonASK Expanded Learning Partnership

What’s your name and title? I am Bethany Thramer, the Community Relations Manager. I work with all of our team to support events in-person and online.

In which city (or cities) is your organization located? We serve the entire state but have office space and most of our staff are in the Portland metro area (Wilsonville office). I am located in Springfield (born and raised in the Willamette Valley)

Describe your organization and its mission. OregonASK is a collaboration of public and private organizations and community members which seek to address common issues and concerns across all expanded learning areas. We are working to support, expand, and educate on quality expanded learning opportunities for children, youth, and families throughout Oregon.

What are the short and long-term goals for your organization? OregonASK is working toward creating more high-quality expanded learning opportunities, through connecting partners, supporting policy change, and providing professional development. We have a strong commitment to increasing access to transformative STEAM opportunities thanks to national partnerships with STEM Next Million Girls Moonshot and the National Girls Collaborative, and dozens of amazing partners statewide. One of our main goals is to continue gathering information about the opportunities and gaps in services across the state, as we have been working on for years.

How can TAO and community members support your work? We look forward to broadening and deepening connections with local industry partners who are interested in supporting STEM/STEAM expanded learning opportunities. We also want to spread the word that afterschool and summer STEM provide transformative opportunities for many Oregon youth, particularly those traditionally underserved.Check out our recent PSA to learn more about the benefits of afterschool STEM programming and our map of 1,200 afterschool programs we identified throughout Oregon.

This blog post is part of an awareness campaign about organizations working to advance STEM education opportunities for Oregon youth. A big thank you to Oregon Community Foundation for supporting STEM education!