Professor Shatz Honored by Latino STEM Alliance

June 15, 2021

Lisa Shatz, PhD, Professor and Chair of BFIT’s Electrical Engineering program, was honored by the Latino STEM Alliance (LSA) during its 2021 Showcase and Celebration event this month. Shatz was named as one of the “Latino STEM Alliance Heroes and Sheroes” for creating a partnership in which college engineering students volunteer at the Alliance’s premiere event, a Robotics Competition and Science Fair, by demonstrating their projects and serving as judges.

Shatz began the partnership in 2015, when the Electrical Engineering bachelor’s degree program was part of Suffolk University, and continued it after the program moved to BFIT in 2017.

“It’s great that some of the Electrical Engineering (EE) students had attended the same Boston middle schools as the participating students and that some graduates of the EE program continue to volunteer,” said Shatz. “They serve as excellent role models to middle school students in STEM fields where people of color are underrepresented.”

Latino STEM Alliance’s mission is to inspire and empower under-resourced youth to achieve educational and career success in STEM fields. Since 1990, STEM jobs in the United States have grown 79%, however, Latinos are sorely underrepresented in the field, making up a mere 7% of all STEM workers in the country to pursue STEM postsecondary education and careers.

This first-ever online Showcase and Celebration for Latino STEM Alliance was a milestone in the organization’s history and celebrated all of the work that LSA has accomplished with students for more than 10 years. The event’s keynote speaker was Massachusetts State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz. Visit the LSA website at latinostem.org.