Wes Hall to lead STEMx

Based on his extensive achievements in Tennessee and an in-depth consideration of the needs of STEMx, I am pleased to announce Wesley Hall as the new director of the STEMx network.

I will share a few thoughts about why we are confident that this is the best direction for the network, but first, let me express my deep gratitude to the Honorable Regina Schofield for ably serving as the interim director over the last few months. She took on this role on top of her regular responsibilities here at Battelle; we couldn’t have asked for anyone better.

During her short tenure, Regina collected your feedback about the qualities and priorities needed for the next chapter of STEMx. We worked together to craft a new path for the growth of this important organization.

In the end, it became clear to me that the best move forward was to double-down on the core idea of the STEMx network: by working as a group, we can deliver more attention and resources to quality STEM education than any state in isolation.

Based on that conviction, I am devoting some of Battelle’s key minds to STEMx. Wes brings two key aspects to the network. He is a proven community organizer, having taken the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network from funding a handful of schools to having statewide impact through support from the legislature. All in just a few short years.

Moreover, Wes has a clear sense of Battelle. From the organization’s scope to its defining mission of “profit for a purpose,” he can provide a clear line of strategy and visibility to our organization.

I am also formalizing new roles for both Regina and David Burns. Each will now serve as Senior Advisors for STEMx. These two senior leaders will work directly with Wes to advise and connect him to their own broad networks in the STEM education world.

Dear STEMx Members,

I am excited to lead STEMx and join you in expanding access to STEM for all students across the nation! As the former Director of the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, I know firsthand how valuable STEMx can be in exchanging fresh ideas and strategies that can be applied locally.

Over the coming weeks, my priorities for STEMx will be threefold. First, I’m going to support members in New York and West Virginia as they complete their Challenge Grant collaborations. The Challenge Grants are incredibly important to generating new strategies to tackling common barriers across states and I am looking forward to New York, South Carolina, and West Virginia sharing their findings at STEMxChange in May.

Second, I’ll be working to plan an inspiring and engaging STEMxChange that will take place in Nashville on May 8-9 in collaboration with our colleagues in Tennessee.

I will be asking for your help in leading sessions to share your state’s best programs and strategies with others.

Finally, I’m most excited to get to know each of you better and the incredible work that you are doing to make differences in the lives of students so that we can expand our sharing and collaborations across states.

The coming weeks will be an exciting time for STEMx and I look forward to working with each of you!

Sincerely,
Wes Hall
HALLJ@battelle.org