Changing the face of STEM by building a community for brilliant women.
Community
Connecting young women to mentors and role models within the STEM fields to empower them to pursue a science degree that once seemed unattainable and unrelatable.
Education
Providing higher visibility to existing resources while gathering information for new methods to support students throughout their academic journey.
Careers
Creating pathways to industry and higher education to grow a larger network of female STEM professionals that are role models for the women that follow.
Defiant Science is an organization deeply rooted in the belief that the future of STEM is dependent on women working within these fields We are a pending 501(c)3 nonprofit, dedicated to empowering all young women to follow their passion and pursue careers in STEM fields. From an impactful age in young women’s lives, we provide support by surrounding them with the right access to resources, opportunities, mentors, community, and anything else they need to succeed.
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Alexis Quezada & Shireen Dooling
Founders
Alexis and Shireen are matcha tea lovers and Arizona State University alumni. They graduated with a Bachelor of Science in graphic design from the Herberger Design School. Both of them love and support science education, outreach and research so much that they have created Defiant Science to fulfill their desire to contribute to something greater than themselves while helping other women achieve their goals.
Alexis enjoys hiking the Arizona mountains and caves while cosplaying at charity events. Defiant Science is a way for her to combine multiple passions of design, learning and science into one. She is constantly learning new design techniques and creative ways to solve problems that impact the world today.
Shireen makes sure to look up at the sky at night, but if she’s not outside, she’s spending her free time studying Astrophysics at ASU. She cofounded Defiant Science because she feels that there isn’t enough support for young women interested in these fields and has experienced it firsthand.
Changing the face of STEM.
Defiant Science is an organization deeply rooted in the belief that women are important to the future of science and society. We are a pending 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to empowering all young women to follow their passion and pursue careers in STEM fields. We support women by surrounding them with the right access to resources, opportunities, mentor, community, and anything else they need to succeed. We lean on experts in the field to show us where we can grow, change, and move forward with purpose.
A large percentage of women who apply to study in STEM fields never complete their degree, creating a gap in the workforce. This gap creates missed opportunities for universities and employers to connect with incredible female candidates who could have contributed to the STEM fields. We have experienced this firsthand and know what it’s like to miss that feeling of belonging or having a female role model to look up to. Even today, almost a decade later, our experience is far to common.
It should not feel impossible to see yourself as the future of STEM. We are on a mission to eliminate that feeling, to build a community of brilliant women, and prove that future of STEM is attainable and relatable for all.