Marina Bloomer (MBA ’22) is on a mission to get more girls and nonbinary children interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—and pursue careers in these fields.
“Only 15% of the engineering workforce is female,” she says. “There’s a lot of work to do and I’m doing my best to change that.”
Closing the gender gap in STEM is something Marina began thinking about while working as a rocket scientist for companies like GE Aviation and SpaceX—and those thoughts soon materialized into the idea for a business. When her career took her to Madison, she found the perfect opportunity to explore entrepreneurship through the Wisconsin MBA program.
“I decided to use it as a test platform,” Marina says. “I wanted to build out a business plan, learn a bit more about marketing and other sides of business, and see if it made sense to make the jump.”
With support from WSB’s Marketing Leadership Institute and Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, Marina launched Stellar Tech Girls in 2022. The business offers workshops and camps full of hands-on experiments aimed at igniting girls’ curiosity and cultivating their passion for STEM. With an inviting space, curated music playlists, and an ever-expanding array of engaging experiments, the business has been a hit.
“We want girls to feel like this is a community for them—an inclusive space where they can love science and all the other things girls love at that age,” Marina says.