Episode 80 | Nancy Sasaki, CEO, United Way of San Diego County

In an episode which features a turn of the tables, Jose Cruz interviews his co-host, the one and only Nancy Sasaki, the CEO of the United Way of San Diego County. Nancy, who has spent her entire career in the non-profit world, has been leading United Way San Diego for just over five years. During these five years, Nancy has managed to find new ways to serve San Diego, particularly communities which have not seen the level of investment needed to generate life changing outcomes. One major, multi-partner initiative recently created and led by United Way is the "STEAM-to-Careers" program to expose high school students from Escondido and Lincoln High to the various career pathways in the world of STEAM. Often misunderstood and pigeonholed as careers only for those strong in math and engineering, STEAM-to-Careers is opening the aperture and showing students that there are many paths to enjoyable STEAM careers. And how does the program work? In collaboration with several partners, including Fleet Science Center, Paving Great Futures, San Diego Workforce Partnership, Junior Achievement, Escondido Compact, and SAY San Diego, STEAM-to-Careers is a 10-week rotational program with engineering, financial literacy, healthcare, and multi-media intensives. Students also participate in field trips to see STEAM in action by way of visiting companies such as Solar Turbines, Rady Children's Hospital, SDG&E, and Illumina. A very cool program built upon knowledge acquistion and knowledge application. You'll really enjoy this incredible episode which amplifies the excellent work of United Way of San Diego County. Here are some other takeaways from the interview:The impetus for creating STEAM-to-Careers was the recognition that 60% of jobs in San Diego County require post-secondary educationThe lack of awareness and access to STEAM in underserved communities is large and without programs like STEAM-to-Careers, many young adults will be challenged in finding many of the best high-paying jobs in the futureNancy's thoughts on the importance of reading at grade level by 3rd gradeIdeas for helping students pay for college once they get excited about a STEAM careerUpcoming opportunities with United Way, including the holiday drive for STEAM kitsAn excellent interview from a passionate gap minder. Thank you, Nancy, for your contributions in San Diego, your leadership of the United Way of San Diego County, and for joining us on The Gap Minders, the very show for which you are the Founding Co-Host! Enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the show.If you have any questions or want to contact Nancy or Jose, please send an email to [email protected]. Thank you for listening.To learn more about the two social impact organizations making The Gap Minders possible, please visit www.TheGapMinders.org.