United States
ELC Inspires Future STEM Innovators With Girl Scouts of Nassau County
Company Feature, Nov 18, 2024
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) was proud to join the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and Hofstra University for their 9th Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Conference. The event was hosted on Long Island near ELC’s Melville, NY campus. ELC contributed inspiring keynotes and an interactive workshop led by female leaders from the company’s Global Research & Development (R&D) and Global Product Stewardship teams. Centered around the theme “Imagine your Possibilities,” the conference offered 80 Girl Scouts in grades 4-8 an exciting day of hands-on learning STEM learning and exploration.
On November 2, the event kicked off with morning workshops where the Girl Scouts explored various STEM fields. ELC’s portion of the day began with introductory remarks from Lisa Napolione, Senior Vice President, Global R&D, and an inspiring keynote by Heidi Bialk, Vice President, Global Product Stewardship & Green Chemistry. Heidi covered a variety of topics in her career, including air quality, soil research, biofuel, and the airline industry, and also discussed her role in advancing green chemistry at ELC, highlighting her efforts to drive sustainability in innovation. Following the keynote, Rachel Painter, Vice President, R&D Product Sustainability, and Simona Sitarus, Director, R&D Product Formulation, provided an overview of the product development process from conceptualization to finalization.
Finally, in a hands-on workshop, the Girl Scouts had the chance to make their own face mists, guided by volunteers from ELC’s R&D team, who provided step-by-step instructions and emphasized the importance of safety, with lab coats, goggles, and gloves provided. The girls mixed ingredients and learned about formulation basics, with each participant taking home her own customized face mist and a special ELC gift bag, including items from Aveda, Clinique, and Bumble and bumble.
With more than 70% of our scientists, engineers, and technical professionals being women and all our R&D Innovation Centers being led by women, we are proof of the power of women to lead in STEM and innovation.
By participating in events like the Girl Scouts of Nassau County STEM Conference, we’re able to do our part in showing girls around the world the possibilities that exist in science and that they too have the power to lead in STEM. This was ELC’s 2nd year of partnership with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, and we were thrilled to welcome back around half of the participants from the event last year. With R&D labs on Long Island and a strong presence in the community, ELC is deeply committed to inspiring the next generation of female leaders in science.
