Fort Collins, CO – (July 2019) – Inspiring Girls with STEAM Power and the Model Renaissance Man Could a Renaissance man who excelled in all the areas encompassed by a STEAM curriculum inspire more girls to further their education in that area? The author of a new book believes the answer to that is yes. As we saw in Women in Tech: Their Current Status, What They Have Achieved and What They Want, there is still a significant gap in tech and science-related fields. For those who attempt to solve the problem from the ground-up, the solution lies in getting more girls to pursue an education in STEAM fields. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (February 2019) – Physics Majors Mentor Others and Inspire Real World Change In September 2018, physics students Lauren Isenhour and Kiera Thibault were instrumental in organizing and hosting a two-day all-woman workshop, MISSion: Innovation. The workshop provided young women an opportunity to explore STEM subjects, along with design work. As students in CSU’s Department of Physics, Isenhour’s and Thibault’s education uniquely prepared them for mentoring at this event. “Physics, as the study of the natural world, goes into everything,” says Isenhour, “and with a physics brain, you can map out and think through any kind of problem.” MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Oct. 23, 2018) – Physics Majors Mentor Others and Inspire Real World Change In September 2018, Physics majors Lauren Isenhour and Kiera Thibault were instrumental in organizing and hosting a two-day all-woman workshop, MISSion: Innovation. MISSion: Innovation provided girls and young woman an opportunity to explore science, math, engineering, technology, and design. Isenhour’s interest in mentoring and creating a community for women in STEAM has been long-standing. Inspired years ago by Pretty Brainy’s founder, Heidi Olinger, Isenhour became involved in the organization to do her part to provide experiences for women interested in science. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Sept. 23, 2018) – First MISSion Innovation Ends with Five Action Plans Moving Forward Mission impossible? More like mission accomplished. MISSion Innovation is the first all-woman innovation marathon for creating and developing targeted solutions to help Fort Collins advance its Climate Action Plan and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. After 24 hours, five lightning lessons and one quality yoga session, participants from each of the five teams had come up with a feasible carbon-reducing solution the City could implement. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Sept. 20, 2018) – MISSion Innovation Gets Girls to Solve Climate Crisis Through STEAM Nearly 100 local high school, college and professional women will gather on Saturday morning at Colorado State University to launch the first-ever MISSion Innovation event, an all-woman innovation marathon for climate action. Participating students will work in small groups with the support of technical mentors to create new ways to reduce greenhouse gases for the city of Fort Collins. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Sept. 19, 2018) – City Announces Innovate Fort Collins Challenge Award Recipients The City of Fort Collins has named five projects winners of the 2018 Innovate Fort Collins Challenge. The projects were selected from an original list of 19 submissions from businesses and organizations proposing solutions to challenges related to waste materials, transportation, energy and behavior change. . . .Finalists participated in a public pitch night on August 30. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Sept. 10, 2018) – MISSion Innovation Empowers Women to Pursue STEM Women studying science, math, engineering and technology are on a mission to empower young women and girls to pursue the same path. On Sept. 22-23 from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., Pretty Brainy will be hosting an event called MISSion Innovation, an all-woman innovation marathon geared towards designing carbon-reducing technology. This innovation marathon is a part of Pretty Brainy’s pitch for the Innovate Fort Collins Challenge . . . MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Sept. 4, 2018) – Innovate Fort Collins Challenge Presents Sustainability Solutions In keeping with its goal to attain carbon neutrality by 2050, the City of Fort Collins is looking to its community for innovative solutions to reduce carbon emissions. The finalists for the second annual Innovate Fort Collins Challenge, a City grant challenge aimed at reducing Fort Collins’ carbon footprint, presented their pitches to a panel of judges on Aug. 30. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Aug. 31, 2018) – Mentorships and More Nicole Ehrhart’s mother continually told her she could be anything she wanted when she grew up. “It didn’t occur to me that I would have limits,” said Ehrhart, a veterinary surgeon at Colorado State University. But her experience is rare. Far too many girls fail to get the encouragement and support they need to pursue studies in science, technology, math and engineering. And the need for that support doesn’t end when women are young. MORE

Madison, WI – (May 17, 2016) – Undergraduate Rita Roloff to Share Passion for STEM with Local Girls For computer science major Rita Roloff, the field presents tantalizing possibilities. “You can create anything you really want to,” says the student from Greendale, Wis., a Milwaukee suburb. “It doesn’t have to be an app. You can help a lot of people with technology and have a real impact.” MORE

Fort Collins, Colorado – (Apr. 5, 2016) – Pretty Brainy to Host ‘Help Your Daughter Succeed in STEM’ at CSU April 9 Parents and teachers are a girl’s No. 1 influence in her success and attitude toward science and math, according to research funded by the National Science Foundation. To educate parents on how to better help their daughters succeed in STEM (science, tech, engineering and math) programs, Pretty Brainy will host “How to Help Your Daughter Succeed in STEM” on April 9. MORE

Fort Collins, Colorado – (Feb. 19, 2015) – Lighting Design Promotes STEAM Fields, Community Service Take a group of girls interested in engineering. Give them mentors that include students from Colorado State University. Set them up with a community service project. Put together, it produces a multi-faceted operation that is beneficial on many levels. “This really makes me feel good, because it’s something that I like, but also because it’s helping someone else,” said Madeleine Boyles, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Bill Reed Middle School in Loveland. MORE

Fort Collins, Colorado – (Jan. 16, 2015) – Pretty Brilliant Aims to Inspire Girls to Pursue STEM Studies, Careers Starting Feb. 6, girls in local middle and high schools will team up with engineering majors at Colorado State University to design the lighting for a Habitat for Humanity home for a single mother and her children. The Pretty Brilliant program is the first of its kind to benefit Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity, according to Kristen Candella, Habitat’s executive director. MORE

Fort Collins, Colorado – (Oct. 28, 2014) – Artists Team to Help Pretty Brainy, Promote Girls Entering Educational Path for STEAM Careers Two renowned artists are teaming up to help encourage more girls to get involved in STEAM – science, technology, engineering, art and math — studies in their schools. Kate Lindeen has launched #ChangeThePattern, an initiative that highlights the need to change the pattern of too few girls and women studying and entering STEAM careers. MORE

Fort Collins, Colorado – (Apr. 4, 2014) – Fashion Design Meets STEM in Workshop Pretty Brainy, a nonprofit organization devoted to girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning, is offering Fashionably Mashed, a half-day fashion design workshop using STEM. Girls 10 to 14 years old will learn key steps of professional fashion design, including concepting, sourcing and costing. They’ll work with color theory, physics, economics, sustainability, business math, consumer science, soil science and human behavior. MORE

Denver, Colorado – (Dec. 2, 2013) – Girls Can Be Pretty and Brainy In a Cyber Monday feature, Colorado’s Best invites Pretty Brainy to demonstrate the eco-fashion and soil science lessons of its program, _The STEM of Fashion Design_™. Host Paula Haddock interviews STEM students Zoe Cirillo and Kylee Rinker and Pretty Brainy CEO Heidi Olinger. VIEW

Fort Collins, CO – (Nov. 7, 2013) – Girls in STEAM Learnin Public Radio host Ken Campbell interviews Pretty Brainy founder Heidi Olinger on the distinction between STEM and STEAM Education and Pretty Brainy’s mission to empower girls to gain STEAM. LISTEN

Denver, CO – (Aug. 4, 2013) – Girls Using Science, Math for Fashion KUSA 9News Denver reports on Pretty Brainy’s use of fashion design to expand how girls experience STEM. 9News anchor TaRhonda Thomas interviews STEM student Sadie Buggle and Pretty Brainy CEO Heidi Olinger. VIEW

Fort Collins, CO – (July 15, 2013) – Pretty Brainy Offers STEAM Workshops for Girls 10-14 Pretty Brainy, a Fort Collins-based nonprofit organization devoted to inspiring STEAM (science, technology engineering, art and math) learning in young girls, is offering “Fashionably Mashed” workshops to girls 10-14 this summer. Heidi Olinger, Pretty Brainy’s founder, is offering middle-school-age girls hands-on workshops based on a fashion or jewelry design project that includes science, technology, engineering, art and math. MORE

Fort Collins, Colorado – (June 21, 2013) – LulzBot-Donated 3D Printers Help Girls Design Jewelry, Learn 3D Tech Students in the Beyond Beautiful class in Fort Collins got a chance to learn about the LulzBot 3D desktop printer by using the device to make their own custom jewelry. Organized by Pretty Brainy, an organization that provides workshops to inspire girls to pursue science learning, the after-school enrichment class is aimed at teaching girls ages 10 to 18 fashion design using science, technology engineering, art and math. MORE

Fort Collins, CO – (Dec. 12, 2012) – Pretty Brainy Inspires Girls to Pursue Careers in Math and Sciences For decades, men have taken the lead in careers concentrated in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). And as the importance of these career fields continues to grow, the United States is reaching a critical tipping point for inspiring young women to consider similar career paths or face limited opportunities. Women are cutting themselves off from 75 percent of all potentially lucrative job opportunities in these rapidly growing fields, according to Heidi Olinger, founder and CEO of Pretty Brainy. MORE

Denver, CO – (Apr. 13, 2012) – Clothing as Communication Does what a girl wears matter to her self-image and academic success? Colorado Public Radio Host Ryan Warner interviews Pretty Brainy founder Heidi Olinger about derogatory messaging on girls’ back-to-school clothing what her organization is doing for girls underserved in science and math. LISTEN