WhizGirls Academy

Access to CS education is limited and wide disparities exist even for those who do have access to these courses. For example, in the fewer than 15 percent of all high schools that offered any Advanced Placement (AP) CS courses in 2015, only 22 percent of those whotook the exam were girls, and only 13 percent were African-American or Latino students. Media portrayals and widely-held stereotypes exacerbate this dynamic, with far more men than women depicted in technology roles in film and television roles. As
highlighted in the first-ever White House Demo Day, these disparities in who gets included, and who feels included, are one reason why women compose less than one third of the technical employees, and African-Americans less than three percent, at some of America’s largest and most innovative technology companies.
• Majority of schools do not offer computer
programming classes
• 12% of Computer Science Degrees are awarded to
women
• In 33 out of 50 states in the US Computer Science
does not count as high school graduation Math or
Science requirements
• Less than 2.4 of college students graduate with a
computer science degree. And the numbers have
dropped since the last decade
Our target demographics are:
Tweens girls and boys ages 8-13 years
Teens ages 14-18 secondary
Adults ages 18+
Teachers- teacher trainings
School districts
Non-profit organizations ie. Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA/YWCA, etc
Colleges and Universities

Statistics state an exciting 1.4 million computer programmer specialist job openings are expected in the U.S. by 2025, but only 30% of these positions are expected to be filled by U.S. computing graduates. Currently, only 12% of engineers are U.S. women; and an even alarming 2% of engineers are women from underrepresented minorities. 

WhizGirls Academy LA Sparks Hackathon

The video link is from our first LA Sparks (WNBA team) innovation hackathon sponsored by the Verizon Foundation in collaboration with UPS.

WhizGirls Academy promotes lifelong learning and leverages the power of
technology to amplify human potential. Through WhizGirls Academy, we commit to making quality computing education widely and easily accessible to everyone in the communities that we have participated in. We want to ensure that lack of resources, exposure, prior skills, and STEM proficiency are no longer barriers for individuals seeking to advance their computing literacy. WhizGirls Academy encourages students to engage in critical thinking and analytical skills, coding and programming skills (HTML/CSS), career awareness and preparation with a focus on STEM and digital technology/careers. Students learn presentation skills when they start each session with "Tech News of the Day". They also learn public speaking skills, teamwork, with a heavy emphasis on leveraging digital tools to thrive in this digital age. They learn from mentors and successful entrepreneurs in the technology space. Students have been taken on tours of SpaceX and Google and connected to potential future employees.
At WhizGirls Academy we are focused on creating an innovative program where all students learn how to lead a healthy balanced lifestyle. This includes teaching the kids how to meditate, healthy eating habits, fitness (yoga, basketball, dancing), teaching the students how to be entrepreneurs, teamwork, presentation skills, socio-emotional learning and we are creating a pipeline for their future careers and empowering innovative entrepreneurs. By teaching and inspiring girls and inner city kids to be interested in coding and giving them the skills to face life's challenges Shirin's leadership and vision is preparing girls and boys to become successful professionals in computer science and tech fields. Students are also being exposed to various careers that did not exist before social media, Youtube, E-sports, etc. WhizGirls Academy takes a comprehensive approach to working with girls and boys with the ultimate goal of empowering them with the digital tools to survive and thrive in life. Collaborating with non-profits like Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls clubs, to give the girls and boys the tools to learn coding and stay interested in technology will produce strong, educated and entrepreneurial women and men. To double the impact, Shirin has planned to teach coding and entrepreneurship to inner city middle school and high school kids through her healthy balanced lifestyle way of life including meditation/yoga, etc. Her goal is to empower these girls with entrepreneurship skills and create empowered leaders. And most importantly she is creating the pipeline of future female tech founders by training them at an early age. She has created a new paradigm to empower teachers and train them with WhizGirls Academy curriculum as well. Core modules at WhizGirls Academy include: project based learning, gamification, tech and digital literacy, career awareness/outreach/pathways, mentorship, leadership, team building, presentation skills, critical thinking, creative expression, and entrepreneurship.

I have found that underrepresented communities lack exposure to tech careers, and they are continually left on the sidelines of the tech economy. Youth are left not knowing about the wealth of opportunities available to them in one of the largest growing job sectors. Without access to tech companies willing to invest in these communities, even while educated, these students will have to overcome many barriers that may ultimately deter them from pursuing careers in tech. My purpose is to leave a lasting legacy with social impact, spirituality, and responsibility. Everyday I focus on how to execute my vision for children in the educational technology space, with heavy focus on girls, inner city children, and communities. I have been fighting for tech education equality for many years. In fact, I was talking about STEM and equity for girls in 2005 in the toy industry. And all of my work colleagues kept saying there is no money in education and don't waste your time. I took a leap of faith and quit my dream job and found a new dream and mission of educating children around the world with technology and STEM through educational digital content. And I have made it a reality with blood sweat and tears. This journey has been a roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs on the red brick road. Every time I almost gave up something happened that led me back to the yellow brick road. Being honored as LA City Pioneer Woman of the Year in 2015 by Mayor Eric Garcetti led me back on track to inspire a team to work with me. At WhizGirls Academy we envision a more prepared diverse and equitable tech workforce that draws from every community in LA and eventually all over the world. In order to keep up with the demand for tech talent, we are always exploring new ways of collaboration, to continue our deep engagement in the community, providing insights to the tech industry and educational institutions, and creating online opportunities so that students can compete in the fast paced tech industry.  I got connected to Gwynne Shotwell, the female president at SpaceX and the kids have been in awe every time we took them on tours there. I am super passionate and determined to have our programs at WhizGirls Academy foster outside the box thinking and resilient students. I believe that it takes a tribe and a village to make a big impact. And I have been collaborating with school districts, companies, tech leaders, colleges, and students to make a big difference in their lives. I love to meet new people and am always open to potential collaborations wherever I go. I talk to everyone I cross paths with because you never know how you can serve. Since I live everyday on purpose, it attracts the right people to my cause.

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Shirin Laor Raz Salemnia interview

The link above is a video from the Amy Poehler Smart Girls interview with Shirin.

I started my tech and coding journey at Fairburn Elementary School a LAUSD public school based in Westwood,CA. I had a female computer science teacher everyday in the 3rd grade Ms Feldman. She taught us how to code Fortran, we had an Apple 2C green screen computer and we played Where in the World is Carmen San Diego every single day. I was obsessed with coding, video games, and computers because of my female Computer Science teacher from the 1980's. She never pointed a finger and said you are a girl you should not code or be interested in tech. Then the movie BIG with Tom Hanks changed my life. I wanted to test toys for a living. I started my journey on the tech yellow brick road. I got a ton of resistance at the career center at CSU Northridge where I went to get my Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Studies/Child Psych degree. They said that a toy tester was not a job for a FCS major and that I should come back to get a Master's Degree and a PHD so that I can start a clinic, work at the hospital, or work at a school. They had me fill out a Myers Briggs form. Business and Technology were the top two categories on the Myers Briggs and that was my first big clue. Yet I persisted to follow my heart and work in market research at Mattel. On the day of my informational interview with my soon to be boss at Mattel, I walked in with a business card that had a link to my resume on it. My future boss looked at me and said "This is super innovative as a recent college grad, You are a super innovative entrepreneur." I resisted him and said "No, I want to be like Tom Hanks in the movie BIG. Another big clue. Fast forward to getting my job after nine months of persistence and grit at Mattel. And then getting the corner office at MGA. Started the research dept from scratch and was Brand Manager for Bratz. Yet parents would always complain about how Barbie and Bratz were not positive role models for their daughters. This led me to my existential crisis. Which started my journey to give back and make a difference with my passion in gaming, coding, and tech. Having a background and being trained in market research has been super helpful because when I first started I did focus groups with parents to understand what was missing in the space.  And then I did focus groups with 8-13 year old girls to see and hear what they want. And then I started to create and fill in the gaps and we have tested our pilot programs with feedback surveys to date as well.

To date, we have had 5500 girls/boys/adults come through our WhizGirls Academy program since its inception in August 2013. This includes summer camps, afterschool programs, during school programs, 30 hackathons (including one in Long Beach for Mayor Garcia during Innovation Week, three for the Obama Administration White House, and four for Mayor Garcetti) and one TechLAvia event during CicLAvia with Mayor Garcetti in South Central LA. The students have realized that they have a lot of potential and opportunities in the tech space, and not to be confined by their culture/society or their neighborhoods.
WhizGirls Academy has created an integrated learning environment that is fully engaging and adaptive with the real-time opportunities and potential of students, tech entrepreneurs, businesses and communities. We incubate and accelerate the growth of human, social and intellectual capital to drive individualized learning, innovation and ambition. We recognize that learning is a multi-disciplinary, holistic experience that should be centered around each individual's process of self-discovery, identification, exploration and creation. By actively collaborating with students, tech entrepreneurs, community leaders and business leaders, we provide the tools, platform, venue, partnerships and resources that allow each participant to self-actualize and create real world outcomes. Beyond just rhetoric, we have built explicit, specific systems that provide a structured yet evolving framework for learning. This framework enables students to determine their own paths (entrepreneurial and tech) and encourages them to apply, share, and teach by blending theory with practice and bringing their own innovative and creative pursuits WhizGirls Academy erases the disconnect between students, and specifically tech employers, and businesses to create a truly shared platform and culture for learning, innovation and growth while learning about balanced healthy lifestyles.

As a Persian American woman in Los Angeles that grew up with equality in the 1980's. My dream is to bring it back especially in workforce development. The main goal is to develop career pathways to tech jobs for underrepresented kids that otherwise wouldn't have access to opportunities with top tech employers. My original deal with the Obama Administration White House was to focus on inner city kids and girls in the K-12 space. My years in college at CSUN and my years in my dream job at Mattel and MGA were preparation and live MBA school for being a tech entrepreneur. I have found that talent is equally distributed. However, opportunity is not. At WhizGirls Academy being at the intersection of community and business, we are committed to creating an inclusive and prosperous tech community. We're working with Los Angeles' top tech and media employers to create pathways to tech jobs for L.A.'s diverse talent pipeline. I have fostered relationships with inner city school principals, superintendents, non -profit organizations, local city government officials, and federal government officials to make it happen. I have faced lots of discrimination being underfunded as a minority female founder that has bootstrapped her way to date. Since I have had experience with inequity, and have been harassed while raising funds, I am super passionate to pave an easy path for future generations. I have always had to carve my own way as a minority child through college and in the business world. My personal experience has made me understand the value of community and relationships. And it is very important for me to leave a legacy to make technology accessible, cool, relatable, and fun for the next generation. I had a fun experience growing up obsessed with technology. And now the next generation has access to technology and careers in technology. But they do not have the tools and the pathways to build amazing careers for themselves. With our WhizGirls Academy programs, we are connecting then with mentors in their communities so that they can connect and build a foundation to success in STEM careers and as innovative entrepreneurs.

I always look for silver linings whenever an issue or challenge arises. I truly believe that leaders must lead by example in the community. I have been called an innovative visionary leader from the future. My nickname is the Wonder Woman of Tech from Mayor Eric Garcetti because I create pathways for the next generations to not only survive but thrive. I believe that a balanced healthy tech lifestyle approach to life will foster the next generation to live a peaceful life with all aspects of their lives fulfilled. When we first started our project based learning healthy balanced lifestyle tech WhizGirls Academy hackathons, I cold called fitness trainers, healthy restaurants, meditation experts, and people in the tech industry in my network to get on board with our programs. Initially I would go to 3-5 networking events per night to meet new people as mentors, sponsors, partners, etc. I used my rolodex from my previous career but also been open to meeting new people for collaboration. Since this is a personal mission for me, I have done it with passion. Everyone has been uplifted from my grit and persistence to make amazing things happen for the next generations. I reached out to people that I didn't know to give product donations and swag to the kids. I have been a vessel to receive for the next generations.

My friend Adela Jamal that recently graduated from MIT Sloan told me about Solve. Ruthe Farmer also suggested that I apply. 

Shirin was recognized as an innovative tech leader by the White House and very strongly encouraged to create WhizGirls Academy. WhizGirls Academy is the only tech lifestyle program to promote healthy eating, mindfulness/meditation, entrepreneurship, and balanced healthy lifestyle program based on a lifestyle tech brand and original IP. This started because of the void in the space for inner city kids and girls and the need from parents. WhizGirls Academy has created an integrated learning environment that is fully engaging and adaptive with the real-time opportunities and potential of students, tech entrepreneurs, businesses and communities. We incubate and accelerate the growth of human, social and intellectual capital to drive individualized learning, innovation and ambition. We recognize that learning is a multi-disciplinary, holistic experience that should be centered around each individual's process of self-discovery, identification, exploration and creation. By actively collaborating with students, tech entrepreneurs, community leaders and business leaders, we provide the tools, platform, venue, partnerships and resources that allow each participant to self-actualize and create real world outcomes. Beyond just rhetoric, we have built explicit, specific systems that provide a structured yet evolving framework for learning. This framework enables underserved students to determine their own paths (entrepreneurial and tech) and encourages them to apply, share, and teach by blending theory with practice and bringing their own innovative and creative pursuits from middle school and up to adults as old as 50+. WhizGirls Academy erases the disconnect between all students, and specifically tech employers, and businesses to create a truly shared platform and culture for learning, innovation and growth while learning about balanced healthy lifestyles. After participating in our programs at WhizGirls Academy students are excited about pursuing tech careers and healthy balanced lives.

When equality in the tech workforce has been achieved I will feel like my vision and mission has served its purpose. And that I have left a lasting legacy in this lifetime. My goal is to serve and train all students nationwide and to host teacher trainings and licensing our curriculum within the next five years. Every student that has come through our WhizGirls Academy program has stated that they want to get into STEM careers (engineers, coders, starting tech startups, etc). United Way sponsored our JobCorps program during the summer of 2014. They have since taken some of the students on a national testimonial tour to share their "life changing" experience in our WhizGirls Academy program. We have a video testimonia tab on our WGA website from some of the JobCorps students. This was so fulfilling to work hard on my purpose and mission and see it changing peoples lives. Having opportunities and resources to thrive has impacted my life as I have been a larger vessel to give back and make a difference in the lives of all students around the world. Everyday I ask what can I do to serve, and slowly but surely I started out in one small community. But as time goes on and 5 billion people learn through our WhizGirls Academy  programs:  how to code, how to take care of their bodies through meditation and mindfulness, healthy eating, entrepreneurship, how to work in teams (girl/boys) together, presenting to industry investors, etc. There will be a domino effect that takes place and lives will  be impacted for good. Many students will learn how to live healthy balanced tech lifestyles while creating amazing careers for themselves in the tech space. Some will  even go on to become entrepreneurs to make a difference as well. And some will decide to join our team as we make a larger impact worldwide. I feel super blessed to live this life of service. And what started as a need from parents and the White House became a massive endeavor that I am super proud to say that I started. And that I got to give back and create racial equity for women and girls along with empowering them to live full lives filled with hope, joy, and connection.

We are in alignment with the following UN Goals: The good health and well being, quality education, and gender equality and especially to empower all women and girls.  The effectiveness of the WhizGirls Academy program has been measured by pre-surveys and post-surveys. Evaluation results help us: Monitor students’ knowledge and skills as they progress through the program. Tailor our programming to fit the needs of specific students. Report to funders about our progress. Keep in touch with alumnae as they enter high school, college, and the workforce. After the students complete the WhizGirls Academy sessions, we have seen a lot of interest in tech/computer careers. The older children have gone on to create apps, work as interns at tech companies, and want to expand their futures to include technology/coding/entrepreneurship/gaming, etc. In the same way we leverage technology to connect students we also provide mechanisms and accessible in-person opportunities for facilitating ongoing active discussions between parents, professionals, and community members. By combining these methods with data and feedback from students, we can drive immediately actionable decision-making. We also have current support from innovation groups, business groups and incubators to actively engage with the students. Based on the feedback from the students we have altered the programs to fit each age demographics need. WhizGirls Academy Hackathons have been customized to each specific group, age demographic, and the themes usually include innovation. However, when we hosted the first virtual Hackathon with the White House it was themed Civic Engagement as the goal was to get more women and girls excited about careers in public office. Called the Equal Futures App Challenge, they wanted to leverage technology to get more young women and girls civically engaged and excited to participate in and eventually run for office. When we get a request to host a hackathon, we meet with the sponsors and school officials to customize the curriculum so that will get their goals met. We have video testimonials from the older kids that show how game changing the experience has been.

While the White house brought this work to my attention, I had already started my journey on the tech yellow brick road. When I first had the existential crisis in my dream job I heard daily how Barbie and Bratz were not positive role models for their daughters. Then Geena Davis started her gender and media institute with research on how girls are being portrayed in media. I realized this is a massive issue. Across the board in the tech industry, in business, in the media, in public office, women are not equally represented. Now we do have a female vice president in office which I am super happy about, But the numbers of women and minorities in the tech industry and all other industries have not dramatically changed yet. My goal with building my tech lifestyle brand from day one has been to make a difference for girls to create amazing jobs for themselves in the tech industry. As Tom Hanks did for me in the movie BIG. He was the role model that I looked up to. And it didn't phase me that I was a girl and he was a man testing toys in the movie. I found my dream job through a great movie that I loved to watch. Through WhizGirls Academy and my brand, we are solving a massive problem. And nipping the root cause of inequality in the bud. I have created empowering minority STEM focused characters that girls can relate to. And they actually want to be like them. If they can see it they can be it. Luckily I come from a research background and can easily do market research to test and pivot our WhizGirls Academy concepts and new products.  And through the project based learning hackathons we have created a career pipeline of mentors, future bosses and careers for the students. The companies, institutions, schools, communities, have come together to be a part of a massive project. But each student and mentor's lives have changed because of our programs. The narrative of making STEM accessible, being a nerd, being a minority, and being female very cool. I call it Geek is Chic for for all races, genders, creeds, etc. The underserved communities have embraced change because it has been easy for them to adopt to tech.

The core tech in our progam is the proprietary original IP WhizGirls project based learning coding: HTML/CSS/ Javascript, UI/UX. And we also use the ArcGIS platform with esri our main tech/data/mapping partner. We initially were teaching Unity game design and development but now are planning to move forward with Unreal games. We have also been researching AI, AR/VR dev, Robotics, and  other potential tech career pathways to build out our additional curriculum.

At one point we had 10 people on the team. And then when the pandemic started most of the team that I intially hired as interns from USC moved back home and we had to halt all WhizGirls Academy operations because all schools and communities were closed. Now we have one person but are in the rebuilding phase and this is why this opportunity is perfect for us. I am in the process of interviewing and hiring new teachers to train, a social media intern, a project manager, and a gaming dev and design intern.

WhizGirls Academy kicked off a summer (2013) pilot program that focused on
tech and digital literacy via project based/gamified learning of computer coding languages: HTML and CSS. We are the only program with a themed curriculum where the WhizGirls Games and Characters are used to engage the kids. We are girl focused and boy inclusive! Ten years to date!

Shirin was a founding mentor and advisor at LA Area Chamber of Commerce's no-equity accelerator for early-stage founders from underserved communities & demographics. Shirin helped founders wow prospective investors, partners and customers by rigorously staying on-message about key benefits. Shirin ran workshops on How to Find Your Yellow Brick Road, Strategic Planning, Market Research, and Pitching both in person and remotely. She focused on Women and Underrepresented Founders of Color with tech startups. Previously, Shirin was an adjunct professor at the Viterbi USC School of Engineering teaching a course on social impact and entrepreneurship. Created course and syllabus from scratch because of the need to educate students about Social Impact Tech careers and opportunities. TEDx speaker and was an esteemed panelist at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Honored with these exemplary distinctions: The Los Angeles City Pioneer Woman of the Year and the IJWO Woman of the Year awards. 

At WhizGirls Academy we envision a more prepared diverse and equitable tech workforce that draws from every community in LA, eventually nationwide, and then all over the world. In order to keep up with the demand for tech talent, we are always exploring new ways of collaboration, to continue our deep engagement in the community, providing insights to the tech industry and educational institutions, and creating online opportunities so that students can compete in the fast paced tech industry.

Key Resources-

Capital/Finance

People- New team hires

IP-WhizGirls

Websites: WhizGirls Academy, WhizGirls

Partners/Key Stakeholders-

Boys and Girls Clubs

Girls Scouts

Nationwide individual School Districts

Sports teams/orgs

Foundations

Cost Structure-

Salaries and Operating Expenses

Cost to license curriculum- legal, etc

Cost to expand and add new curriculum-AR/VR, Game Dev and Design, etc

Cost to hire and train teachers

Expenses- website maintenance, legal, accounting, etc

Teacher training certification fees

Key Activities-

Maintain relationships with existing partners

Create relationships with new partners nationwide

Researching new curriculum and career pathways using Tech: AI, Robotics, Animation, Game  Development: Unreal and Unity, Cybersecurity, Financial Literacy, etc.

Marketing

Creating an online social media presence and maintaining it

Social initiatives

Type of Intervention-

Mainly one day hackathons 

Open to 1-2 hour workshops : afterschool/weekends

Channels-

Social Media/Word of Mouth

School Districts Nationwide

White House-OSTP, Dept of Ed

Website

Partnerships

Surplus-

Investing back into teachers trainings

Hiring more teachers

Expanding curriculum to other tech career pathways- TV/Film, Music tech, etc

Segments-

Grades 3-12

College/University students

Philanthropists

Communities in Need

Expanding to villages in developing countries

Companies and their DEI departments

Customer:

Direct to parent/students workshops in affluent areas

Revenue Streams-

Partner Sponsorships : Verizon, ATT, BofA, esri, Riot Games -40%

Grants- Foundations, Local/National Grants 20%

DEI  Marketing sponsors- 40%

Revenue in future: Licensing and royalties for:  apparel, merchandise, books, conventions (ala ComicCon), etc.

Value Proposition-

Innovative project based solution with original IP to solve the girls in STEM issue

Impact Measures- We have been doing pre-post surveys and feedback forms before/after the hackathons. And focus groups with parents and students, and educators to determine what works.

High rate of students( starting in 3-12 grades) especially girls getting into STEM majors in colleges/universities and career because of WhizGirls Academy

Customer Value Proposition-

Track impact from a student that has no interest in STEM to after coming through our programs to STEM career pathways

Videos and stories/testimonials from our programs

Since the Obama Administration White House recommended that we focus on inner city students including girls, we have had sponsors (donations and grants) cover the cost of WhizGirls Academy as a free model to students. It has been a mix of an embedded and integrated  business model.  To date we have gotten sponsors to cover all costs on an ad hoc basis and had a free model for inner city students and girls. The operating strategy and resource strategy are integrated. Our goal is to create an annual plan to expand our reach that includes: a document will outline our WGA business goals, strategies, and financial projections,  startup costs, including salaries, potential office space, and marketing expenses,  outline income and expenses, to track our progress and make sure we are staying on track financially. We will make sure to include a buffer for unexpected costs, as well as room for future growth. Hire experienced professionals: Accountant, lawyer, etc. Monitoring our progress, regularly reviewing our budget, tracking our expenses, and assessing our revenue and new revenue models. When we plan our WGA programs on an annual basis with funding secured, we can easily provide our services nationwide and not be a stop and go as we have been since we started . We are currently looking at other models: charging for teacher trainings, licensing fees for curriculum, license and royaly fee for IP with merchandise, raising capital officially, service contracts to schools that are in affluent areas.

file:///C:/Users/Shirin/Downloads/WhizGirls%20Academy%20Info%20Sheet%202023%20(1)%20(1).pdf

Sponsorships range from $25K-$150 K. We have been successful with the $25K to date. We are working on expanding to our annual program. And have created a tiered sponsorship deck with specific details on what each company will get (DEI, marketing, career pathways for future employees, etc) As previously mentioned, sponsors to date have included: Verizon , ATT, esri, Riot Games, JobCorps/United Way, Camarillo Public library, LA Public Library, Girl Scouts, Adidas, LA's Best, UPS, LA Sparks (WBNA team), City of Los Angeles, Lynwood Unified School District, Beverly Hills Unified School District, Baron Jay Foundation. The link above is a one sheet with more info on WhizGirls Academy.