19) "sySTEMic flow" (Jessica Sanon)

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jessica Sanon about her personal math journey, her advocacy for women of color in the STEM and entrepreneurial space, the founding of her company sySTEMic flow, and so much more!  To learn more about Jessica's work, you can visit her website at jessicasanon.com or you can follow her on LinkedIn.   BIO:  As an entrepreneur, Jessica Sanon is passionate about supporting and building economic mobility and capacity for marginalized communities. In 2017, Jessica founded sySTEMic flow, a socially driven organization aiming to advance STEM learning for women who identify as Black, Indigenous, and Person of color (BIPOC). Before joining HPN, Jessica was the Youth Employment Coordinator at Waltham Partnership for Youth, where she developed, implemented, and oversaw four career exploration and training programs that provided youth access and opportunity to workforce development and worked with business leaders on their recruitment and retention efforts within their organizations. She also worked at UMass Amherst as an Assistant Manager of Operations, implementing and managing student projects, events, and financial accounts.   Jessica Sanon joined the Housing partnership network staff in November 2020. As the Associate for Peer Exchange, Policy, and Innovation, Jessica is responsible for working with HPN staff to advance new business and program concepts that strategically address gaps in the affordable housing marketplace. She will work with HPN business line and program leaders and platform service staff to explore, pilot, and incubate new member initiatives and ventures that stem from peer engagement. Jessica will also assist the VP and the EVP of Peer Exchange in HPN's efforts to help members address racial equity in their organizations, the network, and the sector.  Jessica has worked across various disciplines and has experience in client management, program and business development, organizational assessment, and project management.  Most importantly, Jessica sees the work that she does as a community effort, focusing on addressing members' needs by continuously listening to members' perspectives in an open, safe-space, and collaborative environment.   Jessica earned her MBA at the Heller School with a concentration in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Management from the Heller School of Social Policy and Impact Management at Brandeis University; she was elected as the 2018 student commencement speaker of her MBA class. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Statistics and Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy certificate from the University of Massachusetts Boston.