TMCnet News
San Diego Squared Launches Network to Build Diverse Talent PipelineSan Diego Squared, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) nonprofit, in partnership with local STEM-focused corporations, announced the launch of a new initiative to empower diverse STEM talent in the San Diego area. Known as "The Talent Diversity Network" (TDN), the network brings together nonprofit organizations, companies, and private donors all collaborating to empower underrepresented talent and create a more diverse STEM workforce in the area. "TDN is an initiative and industry-driven model composed of employers, community-based organizations, and education partners working together to connect underrepresented undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students to paid internships and careers in STEM," said H. Puentes, President and CEO of San Diego Squared. "TDN allows our STEM-driven companies to link to untapped, diverse talent with paid internships." Founding partners include Neurocrine Biosciences, Illumina Corporate Foundation, TRACON Pharmaceuticals, JLL West Coast Life Sciences, Mirati Therapeutics, Hologic, Inc, Life Sciences Cares San Diego, Bill and Marisa Rastetter, Dr. Thomas Daniel, and Faheem and Maria Hasnain. Over the past year while piloting the program, SD2 has placed 14 students in paid STEM internships and plans to continue to do so. One student has already been hired as a full-time employee at TRACON Pharmaceuticals after completing a paid internship through the SD2 Squared Interns program during his time at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). "Many local companies would like to offer internships to talented, diverse college students but don't have the capacity to identify them," said Karmin Noar, Vice President of Strategic Growth at San Diego Squared. "TDN, as the name implies, recognizes this problem, and will seek to help companies through its network of talent scouts (e.g., colleges and universities, community-based organizations, professional associations, and student groups) connect with previously unrecognized and untapped talent." San Diego Squared (SD2) is a 501(c) nonprofit organization fostering STEM education and career development for underrepresented students. Their mission is to empower tomorrow's STEM leaders today by connecting underrepresented students to the power of STEM, providing them with access to education, mentorship, and the resources they need to lead tomorrow's workforce. To learn more or get involved, visit talentdiversity.org or sd2.org.
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