Cascade STEAM

## Mission

Cascade STEAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Bellingham, WA dedicated to Develop and promote STEAM Education, Career Connected Learning, Digital Literacy, and Digital Equity for all people of all ages.
STEAM is an acronym for the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. STEAM education is a powerful framework to promote curiosity and creativity, encourage a shared learning experience, and build tools to solve important life challenges. We advocate through development and promotion of events, activities, and programs, and invite collaboration with community partners in shared purpose.

## Programs

Our efforts are organized into programs, each of which is rooted in education, shared learning experiences, building relationships, and positive community impact, including:

• Community Groups: Organizing communities of aspiring, current, and retired professionals focusing on a STEAM topic, through recurring meetings and events.
• Community Projects: Organized community engagement and community service projects, often collaborating with community partners.

## Community Groups

Community Groups are made possible through the commitment of volunteer organizers and open collaboration of partners. Scheduled events can be found on the Cascade STEAM Meetup Page and discussion at the Cascade STEAM Community Hub (Discord).

Community Groups include:

• Citizen Science: science, in particular life sciences
• Cyber: cybersecurity
• Data Engineering: data engineering, including data storage and access, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and large language models (LLMs)
• Engineering: engineering, including robotics
• Open Source: everything open source software and hardware, including GNU/Linux

# Community Projects

Cascade STEAM Community Projects are organized collaborative efforts for community impact and social good. We welcome all people of all ages to participate. Organization and discussion occurs at our Community Group meetings and on our Community Hub. See our Meetup Page for scheduled events.

## Digital Navigators

Community Tech Support is now available from Cascade STEAM via our Digital Navigators Program. Assistance is offered to the public from volunteer technology professionals and students via arranged onsite visits with social welfare and support organizations to help resolve basic computing challenges.

## Hack Night

Join Cascade STEAM for Hack Night on Saturdays from 4pm-“Late” at the Bellingham Makerspace for an open, collaborative session of shared learning! Bring your projects, homework, questions, and ideas and let’s do them together.

## HelpDesk

Community Tech Support is now available from Cascade STEAM via our HelpDesk Program. Assistance is offered to the public from volunteer technology professionals and students by donation.

## Mentorship

Mentorship connects community members interested in STEAM in either a “Traditional Mentorship” or “Peer Mentorship” arrangement, providing a support structure for a positive mentorship experience for all.

## Stormwater Monitoring

The Citizen Science Community Group helps in organizing support for RE Sources and their Stormwater Monitoring Project to help protect Bellingham Bay. Organizers are working to create science, technology, and administrative projects and subprojects for community members to easily plug into and contribute as we work together as a team to resolve challenges.

## Events

See our Meetup Page for all scheduled events. Most Cascade STEAM events, programs, and activities are Free. Open to everyone. All are welcome. Family friendly. Bring your friends.

## Community

Join our Community Hub to connect virtually with our community for discussion, planning, and virtual events. Discord is a free online platform for public and private text, audio, and video chat. We also use online platforms for event management and outreach:

• Meetup to receive event announcements and to RSVP for events.
• LinkedIn to share our activity with your professional network.
• Facebook to share our activity with your personal network.

## Code of Conduct

All participants of Cascade STEAM events, activities, and programs agree to commit to our Code of Conduct.

## Contact Us

Interested to get involved? Volunteer? Collaborate? We would love to hear from you! Please contact Michael Gan, Cascade STEAM President, for any inquiries at [michael.gan@cascadesteam.org](mailto:michael.gan@cascadesteam.org), 360-499-2099, or @Michael Gan via the Cascade STEAM Community Hub.