MARION - The Marion Institute has a new fiscal sponsorship- STEAM the Streets- a dynamic public outreach campaign to bridge the diversity gap in the technology sector by inspiring and activating underrepresented youth to pursue STEM/STEAM career pathways.

STEAM pathways encompass the four science technology engineering and math disciplines traditionally found in the STEM acronym, but also incorporates arts. #STEAMtheStreets is an initiative of Big Picture Anthems, a multimedia production company that produces hip outreach campaigns to impact youth through in-school programs, relevant media, and creative workshops.

"I'm excited about this new partnership with the Marion Institute. They're an organization that always strives for a deep community impact.” said Ben Gilbarg, founder of Big Picture Anthems and the STEAM the Streets initiative. “They get what we're trying to do in terms of exposing youth to various STEM careers and utilizing the arts to make those careers relevant to young people."

An estimated 9.5 million STEM/STEAM jobs exist in the United States in 2018. Currently, less than 20 percent of college attendees are enrolled in STEM majors, which means that there will be more than one million STEM/STEAM jobs that will remain unfilled due to lack of qualified applicants.

Many suburban districts are addressing this crisis by providing programs, but inner cities are still far behind the curve. Only 25 percent of U.S. middle/high schools have high quality computer science programs. Only 5 percent of employees at top technology companies are black or hispanic.

STEAM the Streets works to level the field by doing high-energy, multimedia school assemblies led by Angel Diaz, Youth Engagement Specialist for Big Picture Anthems. At these dynamic events, Diaz lays out the STEAM career landscape, showing students a plethora of possibilities that they can achieve.

Schools can take the programming one step further with guest speakers in STEM series and creative workshops for students to keep the momentum going throughout the school year.

“I love what I do and love when organizations really see the value of our work. I feel with this new partnership we will continue to soar, reach new heights and inspire the next generation to take action, “ said Diaz.

In addition to the in-school programming, Ben partners with School Yard Rap to create musically-driven educational videos that appeal to school-aged children. The first collaboration, “Black Made That,” brings to life inventions created by Black American trailblazers that shaped the fabric of our country.

More recently, he has created a video entitled “NADA” which celebrates Latin American inventors, and educates in a culturally relevant manner.