This featured guest piece is an excerpt of our April 2025 newsletter.

Dear MCSW Community:

Happy April!

It’s an honor to be this month’s featured guest author during the month that contains Earth Day. From my perch at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), where this year’s 2025 Girls Empowerment Leadership Initiative (GELI) Summit is being held, I’m so excited to bring together my personal and professional passions – bringing the exciting world of science to the forefront of youth leadership development.

The 2025 GELI Summit takes place Thursday April 24, 2025. This year, our transformative youth summit takes on a new theme. Designed to equip the next generation with the skills, connections, and confidence to lead in STEM/STEAM to make lasting community impacts. This isn’t just an event—it’s a launchpad for future leaders, innovators, and changemakers. Whether you’re passionate about science, leadership, or making a lasting impact, this is your moment to shine.

The available sessions from leading female scientists are truly one of a kind. Participants will have hands-on STEM/STEAM experiences, exclusive access to groundbreaking ocean science and biology experts, enjoy leadership development workshops, and will network with like-minded young women ready to change the world. You won’t want to miss it.

Lunch and snacks will be provided, and transportation and translation options are available. Overnight lodging is available for groups. Register here as an individual or register a group today. Space is limited, so register now or share information about this year’s GELI Summit with a young woman in your life.

Embracing STEM/STEAM education is crucial for fostering innovation, solving global challenges, and ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for all. By diving into these fields, we equip ourselves with the tools to make a real difference in the world.

The GELI Summit is just one of the many ways the MCSW strives to ensure we are empowering the next generations of leaders. Through all our events, public hearings, data collection, and legislative advocacy, we will continue to ensure that voices of young women and gender expansive individuals are present in our legislative priorities, hearings, reports and events. Your voices and input are critical to informing not just our legislative priorities that we fight for, but the work we do every day.

The ocean, our planet’s great climate regulator, plays a vital role in maintaining Earth’s balance. Understanding its complexities and the broader environmental challenges requires a strong foundation in STEM/STEAM education. Starting young in these fields equips us with the knowledge and skills to innovate solutions for preserving our oceans and combating climate change. By fostering curiosity and critical thinking early on, we empower future generations to tackle global issues and ensure a sustainable, thriving planet. Dive into STEM/STEAM and be part of the change!

For more information on the MCSW Girl’s Empowerment Leadership Initiative, visit our website or email MCSWprograms@mass.gov.

In Solidarity,
Leslie-Ann McGee
MCSW State Commissioner

Leslie-Ann S. McGee is the Director of Special Projects for Marine Facilities and Operations at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. At WHOI, she is responsible for developing strategic vision and leadership, managing external relations and partnerships and retaining primary responsibility for organizational and program management. Leslie-Ann is responsible for the large-scale waterfront planning associated with the future WHOI dock and associated facilities that serves two global class vessels, the iconic deep-sea submersible Alvin, a coastal research vessel, a robust robotics and non-vessel research program, mechanical shops, research labs and a leading dive program. Ms. McGee served as the Director of Coastal Zone Management for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Director of Programs for the World Ocean Council, Director of Ocean and Coastal Solutions at Battelle Memorial Institute. She has held state and federal positions with NOAA, the New England Fishery Management Council and the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game. Ms. McGee is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. She conducted her graduate research on Bluefin Tuna at the New England Aquarium.

April 2025 Regional Spotlight