YWCA Glendale and Pasadena Announces Umaa Rebbapragada as 2022 STEAM Program Advisor

For Immediate Release
Contact: Heather Masterton
Chief Strategic Engagement Officer
YWCA Glendale and Pasadena
P 585.687.8319 | heathermasterton@ywcagp.org

YWCA Glendale and Pasadena Announces Umaa Rebbapragada as
2022 STEAM Program Advisor

NASA JPL Data Scientist to shape YWCA’s TechGYRLS STEAM Workships and Mentorship Program for Girls

Glendale, CA, Feb. 22, 2022 –– YWCA Glendale and Pasadena is excited to announce, in honor of National Engineers Week, Dr. Umaa Rebbapragada as our 2022 STEAM Program Advisor. Rebbapragada previously joined us as a Camp Rosie volunteer guest instructor, where she taught a class on why we study astronomy and what life might look like on other planets.

Rebbapragada has a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkley. After graduation, she worked her way into a software engineering role at CNET, based in San Francisco. From there she went on to get her Ph.D. from Tufts University, with a focus on machine learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence. While there, she interned at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. Upon completion of her Ph.D., JPL hired her as a staff data scientist focused on infusing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence techniques into science data systems for NASA and other large-scale scientific projects. Currently, she focuses on building classification and anomaly detection systems for astronomical imaging systems.

“When it comes to facing the problems of the future, it’s all hands on deck,” Dr. Rebbapragada said. “Too many young girls get discouraged from pursuing STEAM subjects and careers. We need the talent, ideas, and mindsets that girls and women have to solve the great problems of today and tomorrow.”

YWCA Glendale and Pasadena’s TechGYRLS Program introduces girls aged 11-15 to the wonders of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math through hands-on workshops and 1:1 mentorship programs. TechGYRLS is part of our Girls’ Empowerment Program that also offers after-school programming, summer camp, and STEAM education workshops. Other programs include a 24/7 Crisis Hotline, a 16-bed Domestic Violence Emergency Shelter, a Domestic Violence Community Services Center, a Violence Prevention Education Outreach Program, and the Coalition for an Anti-Racist Glendale. For more information, please visit: www.ywcagp.org.

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