Now Virtual: Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium

Erin Holdgate • September 9, 2022

Nantucket, MA – The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association announces that its 2022 Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium (MMWSS), happening this month, is free and virtual. This program will take place September 22-23, 2022, and participants can register online at https://www.mmwss.org/registration#Registration. 

 

The MMWSS is meant to promote and support women and girls in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields while also providing hands-on, intimate spaces for attendees to come together to create real-world solutions that can be taken back to their place of work or education. 

 

Distinguished women scientists will speak at the event along with panelists who are women well-known and respected in the STEM fields. Speakers include:       

 

Nicole Cabrera Salazar, Ph.D. a Latina astrophysicist who is transforming the culture of STEM through her company Movement Consulting;

 

Nancy Gray, Ph.D. the President and CEO of Gordon Research Conferences;

 

Malika Jeffries-EL, Ph.D. Associate Dean of the Graduate School in Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Division of Materials Science at Boston University.

 

Panelists at the MMWSS include:

 

Dionne Hoskins-Brown Ph.D. a Fishery Biologist through the Galveston Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries and an Associate Graduate Professor in the Marine Science program at Savannah State University;

 

Tara Spann Chief People and Strategy Officer for MENTOR National;

 

Sandra Begay a research and development engineer at Sandia National Laboratories;

 

Amy Bower Ph.D. a Senior Scientist in the Dept. of Physical Oceanography at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution;

 

Shawna Young Executive Director of the SCRATCH Foundation;

 

Amanda Hough Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year 2019.

 

Women continue to be under-represented in the sciences. According to the 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators report by the National Science Foundation, “Women comprised just 28% of workers in science and engineering occupations in 2010. This under-representation shortchanges the students, the field of science, and the public that benefits from scientific advancement.”

 

The MMWSS is named after Maria Mitchell, America’s first woman astronomer. Mitchell, who went on to teach Astronomy at Vassar College, promoted hands-on learning, and encouraged women to study science. Jascin Leonardo Finger, MMA Deputy Director and Symposium Coordinator states, “This Symposium is designed to serve as a source of inspiration and support and to be a hands-on experience in which all attendees are actively participating and problem solving much in the spirit of Maria Mitchell. We had an incredibly successful Symposium in 2018 with fantastic feedback, a wonderful online shortened version in 2020 due to COVID-19, and now we look to 2022.”

 

The themes that the Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium will address are persisting issues that hindered women in science in Maria Mitchell’s time and still affect them today. The MMWSS will also address where women are today; how to recruit women and girls into STEM; Diversity, Equity, Intersectionality, and Inclusion initiatives; how to address the challenges that women still face in STEM; and how to broaden participation and leadership including through mentoring and mental health support. Maria Mitchell believed in learning by doing and the MMWSS will continue this philosophy by encouraging all attendees, female and male of all backgrounds and educations, to actively participate, problem-solve, and learn through a hands-on experience.

 

The MMWSS is made possible thanks to the generous support of the American Philosophical Society; Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio); Vassar College; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; D. E. Shaw Company; Novartis; American Astronomical Society; Schwartz Hannum PC; Tupancy-Harris Foundation; Axcelis Technologies, Inc.; Massachusetts Technology Collaborative; Mount Holyoke College; Agios; the Simons Foundation; Stinson LLP; the Kenan Institute of Engineering, Technology and Science; and Mass General Brigham.

 

Tickets to the MMWSS are available at mmwss.org and registration is FREE. Please visit the website for more information and registration at www.mmwss.org.

 

The event is organized by the Maria Mitchell Association, a private non-profit organization. Founded in 1902, the MMA works to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.

 

The Maria Mitchell Association is a private non-profit organization. Founded in 1902, the MMA works to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.
 

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For Immediate Release

September 9, 2022

Contact: Jascin Leonardo Finger, MMA Deputy Director

jfinger@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

Raise The Roof!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 6, 2026
Well, actually replace the roof! With funding from the Community Preservation Act and the work of Lydon and Sons, Inc. the Mitchell House is getting a new roof. The current one had come to the end of its useful life. A cedar roof can last a long time – longer than asphalt – and is more historically accurate. The roof we are removing was installed in about 1992 – replacing a roof from the 1930s that was not cedar but a combination of materials that actually yes, did last sixty years. The unfortunate issue has arisen that the roofwalk (walk) has to be replaced. This is NOT the original walk – nor that old of a walk. It’s likely from the 1970s or so and has been cobbled at over time. It’s not a functioning walk – no one is allowed on it – but the Mitchell House needs it none the less. Maria Mitchell and her father, William, likely used the walk for astronomical observations – in addition to the yard – but the walk is also protected as part of the preservation easement on the House. Walks – NOT and NEVER called widow’s walks – were used for preventing and putting out chimney fire and roof fires. In a place where wood was expensive and had to be brought from “the main” these were purely utilitarian. What good Quaker (or non-Quaker) would build a platform for his wife to stare out to the harbor to see if her husband was on his way home? The other issue is that the walk was completely resting on the ridge board – and actually was notched to accept the pitch and tip of the ridge board so they couldn’t work around it. I suspect this may have been the ways walks were once built – and also a crafty and smart thinking carpenter who came up with the idea. It makes the walk lower. But between that issue and the age of the walk and then the blizzard of February 2026 that packed gusts over 83 MPH (that’s Category 1 hurricane winds) the walk gave in. Balusters had been knocked out and the railings were loose and pulling away from the posts. So, we will also be working with Barber and Sons to create a new roofwalk – and they agreed to do this for us quickly which is also no small feat given how busy everyone is these days. So from the bottom of the Mitchell House’s heart (and mine) a big thank you to Chris Lydon and Lydon and Sons and crew, Barber and Sons / Beau and Nate Barber, the Community Preservation Committee, and Nantucket Preservation Trust (our easement holder)! JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • March 30, 2026
1882. Mch.13.3 p.m. I start for Faculty. As I sit, I feel as well as I ever did in my life; I go to Faculty and we probably shall elect what we called the “honor” girls. I dread the struggle that is pretty certain to come . . .The whole system is demoralizing and foolish. Girls study for “prizes” and not for learning when “honors” are at the end. The unscholarly motive is wearing. Maria Mitchell once said, “You cannot mark the human mind because there is no intellectual unit.” She did not like grades or prizes as you can see by her words above. I have to agree. Whether it be in academics or sports or some other activity, you should be rewarded in what you learn and how well you do – not to achieve a prize at the end. It’s the same idea with giving prizes to everyone so no one feels left out – just don’t do it. Learn how to lose gracefully.  JNLF

Women’s History Month

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • March 23, 2026
March is Women’s History Month – though all months should be women’s history month! Maria Mitchell was one of the founders of the Association for the Advancement of Women (AAW), was its president for a term (1875), and founded its Science Committee which she chaired for the remainder of her life. When the fourth Congress of the AAW met in Philadelphia in October 1876, Julia Ward Howe (also a friend of Maria’s) was serving with Maria on the executive committee. Maria presented a paper, “The Need for Women in Science.” In it she stated, Does anyone suppose that any woman in all the ages has had a fair chance to show what she could do in science? . . . The laws of nature are not discovered by accidents; theories do not come by chance, even to the greatest minds; they are not born of the hurry and worry of daily toil; they are diligently sought, they are patiently waited for, they are received with cautious reserve, they are accepted with reverence and awe. And until able women have given their lives to investigation, it is idle to discuss the question of their capacity for original work. She is not saying that women cannot be scientists – she is saying they need to be given the opportunities. Maria was incredibly busy with the AAW – it took up a great deal of her time – and at the next meeting in November of that year some aspects of the meeting were wonderful according to her account –“excellent” papers, “newspapers treated us very well. The institutions opened their doors to us, the Centennial gave us a reception. But – we didn’t have a good time!” It appears there was discord among the women. A few opposed the subject of “Woman Suffrage,” but Lucy Stone was able to present her paper on the subject despite this. And, some women felt that the West was not well represented and was overshadowed by New England, thus women representing the western states protested the nomination and election of Julia Ward Howe as president of the AAW. But she won. Whew! It was not always easy and controversies constantly abounded with many schisms over time within the women’s rights movement. I often wonder what Maria might think of the place of women today – how far things have come from her time or would she be surprised that there still is inequality? What would she think? In honor of Women’s History Month, visit the National Women’s History Alliance, the National Women’s History Museum, and the National Collaborative of Women’s History Sites. These places will also point you in the directions of women’s history sites across the country and how to find out more information about all these women who paved the way for us!  JNLF
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