(Annie Spratt / Unsplash Photo) New research from the University of Washington and the University of Houston found that gender stereotypes around computer science and engineering for kids can start in first grade and stretch through high school. While disappointing, it’s not entirely surprising. The gender diversity of high school students taking AP computer science…
Category Archives: Impact Series
27
Nov
Nov
Jeff Bezos, fourth from left, and Lauren Sánchez, next to him, attended the United Nation’s COP26 meeting in Glasgow in November and met with leaders from Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Bolivia. Also pictured is Bezos Earth Fund president and CEO Andrew Steer, third from right. (Photo via Instagram) Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced…
22
Nov
Nov
Thousands of people take part in a Black Lives Matter protest march in Seattle in June 2020. (GeekWire Photo / Monica Nickelsburg) Microsoft on Tuesday shared an update on its work to promote racial equity in the U.S. by investing in and working with Black and African American led financial institutions, suppliers and partners. The…
18
Nov
Nov
The Field Day team, left to right: co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jason LaPier, engineer Garrett Sparks, engineer Trevor Smith, marketing and community lead Catalin Wong, and co-founder and CEO Eli Blackman. (Field Day Photo) Since early 2020, the workplace has been turned upside down. First came COVID-19 work-from-home policies that isolated workers. Then the…
13
Nov
Nov
Motivated by climate concerns, Erin Bryn Fetridge in November installed 20 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of her Northwest Seattle home. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) When Erin Bryn Fetridge and Ron Darling decided to put 20 solar panels on their roof this fall, one key motivator drove the decision. “We want to have…
09
Nov
Nov
(Bezos Academy Photo) With five Bezos Academy preschools up and running in Washington state, the organization announced this week that it will be opening additional schools this year in Texas and Florida. The tuition-free preschools are based on Montessori educational principals, which include individualized, child-led learning and hands-on experiences. The first school opened in October…
04
Nov
Nov
My cat contemplates sampling a discounted slab of cookies-and-cream pie from Seattle’s Pie Bar. He abstained. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) I’ll admit, I definitely have food waste issues. Four nights out of five, I’m eating the last, unwanted bites of my kid’s dinner so they’re not composted. The shabby heels from the loaf of…
30
Oct
Oct
Parrots CEO David Hojah (left) with Parrot advisor Steve Saling and the company’s product, “Polly.” (Parrots Photo) David Hojah is a former NASA engineer, but his real passion is healthcare. Growing up, he saw his family members taking care of his aunt, who had multiple sclerosis, and his uncle, who had a spinal cord injury….
30
Oct
Oct
An example of a multifamily housing in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. (Sightline Institute Photo / Creative Commons) Roughly 9,200 affordable housing units are being preserved or created in the greater Seattle area thanks to an initiative launched by Microsoft three years ago. An additional 19,000 households have been able to hold on to their housing due…
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Oct
Oct
North Seattle College campus. (Seattle Colleges Foundation Photo) The pressing need for more computer science graduates combined with tech companies’ pledges to build more racially and ethnically diverse workforces are teeing up a new solution: Empower two-year colleges to offer computer science bachelor’s degrees. Seattle-based Amazon has stepped up to help the effort. The tech…