Deborah Kestin Schildkraut, Aspire2STEAM Advisor
Connecting youth to STEM education opportunities has been a longtime passion for Schildraut.
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Technology marketing leader and advocate for marginalized groups, brings expertise to nonprofit providing scholarships and mentoring to overlooked women
— Deborah Kestin Schildkraut
ANKENY, IA, UNITED STATES, June 22, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Aspire2STEAM.org, which provides educational scholarships and mentoring to young women and girls who are working toward careers that require education in science, tech, engineering, the arts, or math (STEAM), has announced that Deborah Kestin Schildkraut has joined its team of strategic advisors.
Ms. Schildkraut draws on nearly three decades as a marketing strategist—primarily in the technology industry, starting in the advertising agency business, spending the bulk of her career at IBM in a variety of marketing and social impact roles, and then as Vice President Global Community Engagement for the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). As the founder of Kestin Impact Consulting LLC, she is widely sought out for her deep knowledge of emerging technologies including AI Applications, Blockchain, and the Metaverse, as well as Cloud, hardware, and software solutions.
“Debbie is an ideal match for Aspire2STEAM and we’re absolutely delighted that she is now a member of our advisory team,” said Cheryl O’Donoghue, CEO at Aspire2STEAM. “While the depth and breadth of her professional experience is impressive, she is also the consummate mentor and has a long track record of community service, inspiring and advancing women, underrepresented groups, and students of all ages. Our scholars will benefit greatly from her guidance.”
On serving Aspire2STEAM scholars through her advisory and mentoring work, Schildkraut said, “I couldn’t be more excited to bring my professional and community service experiences to support this amazing organization. Everyone should have equal access to education and opportunities providing them with the ability to pursue and achieve their full potential. We will all benefit from untapped creativity, knowledge, and ideas that an individual brings forward when given confidence and resources. Economic circumstances should not limit the impact someone can make on our world.”
As a keynote speaker and panel moderator, Ms. Schildkraut shares best practices around the power of building communities and creating content to address marketing hurdles businesses face, with a focus on SMB and MSP companies and how they can build their brand presence. Among her popular topics include building community and customer relationships, fostering diverse and inclusive work environments, in addition to creating employee engagement, content marketing, social innovation, sustainability, work-life balance, and mental fitness.
Ms. Schildkraut has received numerous industry awards. She has been recognized multiple years as a CRN Woman of the Channel, received the CompTIA Advancing Diversity in Technology Award (2021), as well as the CompTIA Advancing Women in Technology Award (2020). She has also received Outstanding Volunteer and Most Innovative Chapter Awards from Hadassah Medical Organization where she served in various Board positions at the national, regional, and local levels. She received the Outstanding Alumni Volunteer Award from the State University of New York at Albany, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from their prestigious School of Business and double majored in Business Administration/Marketing and Music. She was Commencement Speaker and remained very active with the University serving in a variety of alumni leadership roles, including Founder and President of the School of Business Alumni Association, as well as serving in several roles on the Board of Directors for the University.
Ms. Schildkraut is a proud mom of two children and served as the Middlesex County STEM Academy Foundation President, High School Band Parents Association President, Girls Scout Troop Leader, and numerous other positions in her local community.
About Aspire2STEAM
Established in 2018, Aspire2STEAM.org is a charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which has earned Guidestar’s Gold Seal for integrity, transparency, and accountability. Aspire2STEAM provides educational scholarships and mentoring to young women and girls who are working hard—aspiring—to achieve careers that require education in science, tech, engineering, the arts, or math. Aspire2STEAM is committed to helping women and girls with a hand up over the incredible barriers of student debt and rising education costs, and the real, ever-present opportunity barriers that keep them out of most male-dominated industries.
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Cheryl O’Donoghue
Aspire2STEAM
+1 630-253-8861
email us here
