Pepco’s parent company Exelon recently hosted the virtual HeForShe STEM Innovation Leadership Academy, a free, weeklong event for girls ages 16-19 in the D.C. region.
This year’s academy, which attracted 60 girls, focused heavily on the global climate crisis as well as the need for energy efficiency while introducing the next generation of leaders to related STEM careers.
Last week’s event culminated in a digital “Energy Innovation Challenge,” where teams proposed an efficiency product/service and developed a business pitch, virtual tour of Pepco’s Watershed Sustainability Center, leadership panel with Exelon CEO Chris Crane and an Exelon nuclear generations discussion.
“I learned about different careers in energy,” said Claire Linton, a Exelon STEM Academy participant who attends Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. “I got to build circuits and did a home energy audit where I used different tools like a thermometer to measure hoe insulated my home was and how energy efficient it was.”