I helped the board of LSA develop a strategic plan over the winter of 2011. I was impressed with the energy and dedication of the volunteers who are broadly representative of the Latino community in Massachusetts in terms of both their home towns and countries of origin. The board is determined to roll out a high-impact model that measurably adds value to the array of services already available for Latino students and for students pursuing STEM. The earlier post suggesting that the organization is fake is both inaccurate and unfair. The organization has spent several months diligently researching the environment in which programming will be deployed and has engaged an array of experts in order to strengthen their plan. I believe that LSA will have a meaningful and lasting impact on efforts to improve the number of Latinos pursuing STEM careers.
This is a fake organization that is seeking funding and misrepresenting itself. There is no connection to the Latino community or to youth of any sort, except by seeking limited participation in other established organizations and programs. This organization has inappropriately taken recognition from the efforts and events of other organizations in communicating with media, potential corporate sponsors, and government agencies. It has no membership and no operations.
latinostemalliance 03/30/2011
The Board of Directors of the Latino STEM Alliance would like to share some information in this forum regarding the organization:
The Latino STEM Alliance is a REAL organization incorporated and recognized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It holds a 501(c)3 status as a charitable not-for-profit organization. The Latino STEM Alliance is NOT a membership-based organization, thus no individuals or corporations are its “members” As of March 2011, the operations of the Latino STEM Alliance are limited to the development of its business plan in preparation for the 2011-2012 school year. As of March 2011, no funds have been raised by the Latino STEM Alliance outside of personal donations done directly by its current board members. The board is formed by a diverse group of individuals from the for-profit and non-profit sectors within Massachusetts with various degrees of experience in K-12 education. The Latino STEM Alliance holds no debt to any person or entity. No formal collection communication has been received by this organization since its incorporation in 2010. A student-led event in March 2010 was erroneously credited to the Latino STEM Alliance by a 3rd party. Shortly after this erroneous communication was made, the 3rd party corrected its communications and credit was correctly given to the student organization running the event. The Latino STEM Alliance was not directly involved with this communication. For more information or inquiries about the Latino STEM Alliance please e-mail info@latinostem.org
The Latino STEM Alliance is committed to bridging the inspiration, opportunity and achievement gaps for Latino youth in STEM-related education and careers and will continue to focus on that as it kicks off its programs in 2011 and beyond.