STEAMe Co-founder and Chief Systems Officer Appointed to the National Academy of Education
Prestigious honor recognizes Dr. Nichole Pinkard’s substantial contributions to STEAM education and building technology-driven learning ecosystems
CHICAGO, February 10, 2025 – STEAMe, the company powering cross-community digital and data infrastructure for workforce development systems, today announced its co-founder and Chief Systems Officer Nichole Pinkard, PhD, was elected to the National Academy of Education (NAEd). Dr. Pinkard was among 22 distinguished individuals elected this year to join the esteemed Academy.
NAEd advances research to inform education-related policy and practice. To join the Academy, individuals must be nominated by an existing member and elected by the organization’s membership. Members are chosen based on exceptional education-related scholarship.
“I am deeply honored to join the National Academy of Education. My work has always been about building systems to increase access to opportunity in STEAM fields, especially for those who have traditionally been excluded,” Dr. Pinkard said. “At the intersection of technology and economic mobility lies the potential for generative and transformative community impact. It’s more important than ever that we develop alternative pathways, and bring forth solutions that create prosperity at scale.”
Dr. Pinkard, a computer scientist and the Alice Hamilton Professor of Learning Sciences at Northwestern University, is a leading expert in using technology to expand educational access. Her work has been implemented in cities and communities across the country, equipping underserved youth with critical digital and STEM skills while fostering inclusive learning ecosystems. At the core of this work is the Cities Learn platform, a purpose-built solution adopted by cities for strengthening out-of-school time ecosystems; STEAMville, a digital platform for delivering engaging STEAM programs to youth and professional development for educators; and MAPSCorps, which trains high school students as community data scientists, empowering them to collect and analyze local data for civic impact. Together, these initiatives create a scalable, connected learning model that ensures all youth, regardless of background, have access to meaningful educational experiences.
“This honor could not be more deserved,” said Stacy Lindau, MD, MAPP, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of STEAMe, professor of OB/GYN and medicine at the University of Chicago, and past president of MAPSCorps. “Dr. Pinkard’s enduring contributions to STEAM education are emblematic of science in service to community. She is an education researcher who inspires with her ability to translate science to meaningfully advance human and community flourishing, starting with youth.”
Drs. Pinkard and Lindau have reunited with Rachel Kohler, a MAPSCorps board member and now CEO of STEAMe, to develop a technology platform that powers workforce development systems. Started in 2024, STEAMe provides a digital and data infrastructure to connect workforce development systems end-to-end, facilitating personalized pathways to jobs in high-demand sectors. STEAMe’s multi-sided platform leverages bidirectional integration, AI-enabled engagement tools, and advanced analytics to both deepen and scale the impact of employment initiatives across communities.
Dr. Pinkard’s research and experience is foundational to STEAMe’s mission to power upward mobility and prosperity for all. Her work has been recognized by the International Society of Learning Sciences, the American Educational Research Association, the NSF Early CAREER Award, the Common Sense Media Award, and the Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions to Humanistic Research and Scholarship in Learning Technologies. She earned a bachelor’s in computer science from Stanford University, a master’s in computer science from Northwestern University, and a doctorate in learning sciences from Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy.
About STEAMe
STEAMe powers workforce development pathways to grow upward mobility, prosperity, and resilience across communities. STEAMe’s digital and data platform unites workforce development partners to efficiently scale, measure impact, and reduce stopouts — to get the right person to the right training and the right job, at the right time. Learn more at steame.com and follow STEAMe on LinkedIn for updates.
Media Contact
Patty Keiler, patty@collaborate.health, 312-550-5394