STEM: US2020 Igniting Moments of Discovery (President Clinton: Clinton Global Initiative)

President Clinton Joins US2020 in Announcing City Competition

Dear Jim, Last Friday, US2020 partners and President Clinton launched The US2020 City Competition and announced two new partners, Tata Consultancy Services and HP, at CGI America, a nationwide gathering hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative. During the closing plenary session at the event, President Clinton made the announcements joined onstage by leaders from Cisco, Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services, and Hewlett Packard. Through the City Competition, we hope to push the US2020 effort forward by engaging cities and districts around the country that can bring together businesses, nonprofits, city governments, and local philanthropies around a coordinated effort to spark the minds of students in their communities. The strategy will select and support up to five cities that propose plans to mobilize STEM volunteers through partnerships with leading science and technology businesses.  The chosen cities will be offered $1 million or more in cash and in-kind support to bring together the public and private sectors. The US2020 City Competition is inspired by other successful awards and strategies you might already be familiar with, including the Obama administration's Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3) competitions, X PRIZES, and the Ashoka Changemakers and Carnegie Corporation’s “Partnering for Excellence” Competition. Our newest Founding Leadership Partner, Tata Consultancy Services is providing more than $500,000 in cash and in-kind support to lead the development of our web-based matching technology to connect STEM mentors with high-quality volunteer placements. HP is also joining the US2020 initiative as a Founding Member. Tata Consultancy Services is joining Founding Leadership Partners Cisco, Cognizant, and SanDisk and HP joins other founding partners AfterCollege, CodeNow, HotChalk, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, and TEALS. Together, we are taking strides to strengthen the STEM career pipeline for traditionally underrepresented students. I shared my opinion on this important subject on the Huffington Post yesterday, How We Can Solve the STEM Crisis through Innovation. Friday’s announcements are a big step forward as we implement one of our first strategies and are joined by two new partners. This marks the official launch of US2020 as we continue to engage additional nonprofit and corporate partners and communities that can join us in this call to action. I would like to thank all of you who have helped US2020 reach this milestone and welcome those who will help us reach the next. Today, I invite you to take action and learn more about US2020 and how you can get involved:   Visit our website and share this opportunity with your network Follow us on Twitter at @US_2020 for regular updates Stay connected to us2020.org as it will soon become an online platform for a community of practice and a marketplace connecting STEM professionals with high-quality mentoring and teaching programs. Please reach out to me to discuss how we can further engage you in the work of US2020 and move closer to providing uplifting moments of discovery to millions of students. Yours in service, Eric Schwarz Co-Founder and CEO of Citizen SchoolsExecutive Chairman of US2020