Our Team - STEM ACCESS FOR GIRLS

Meet Our Team

With over 65 years of combined experience, our team consists of innovative, authentic and passionate people who dare to transform communities.

Varzi JeanBaptiste

Ms. Jeanbaptiste’s experiences embody 30 plus years as a researcher/facilitator
contributing to various qualitative and quantitative research projects based out
of: The New York State Psychiatric Institute, Education Development Center
(mass), Atlas Learning Communities(mass) the University of Connecticut, the
University of Miami and Educate Tomorrow. Upon relocating to Miami, Ms.
Jeanbaptiste served as Project Manager for a 21st Century Learning
Communities Grant awarded to the University of Miami in partnership with
Inner City Youth of South Florida/Project Hope. This After-School and Summer Camp Program designed for the Children of the Liberty City area of Miami-Dade was administered by the federal “No Child Left Behind” funds to the Florida State Dept. of Education. Ms. Jeanbaptiste earned her master’s degree in Education with a concentration in Community and Social Change from the University of Miami and In the last 7 years, Ms. Jeanbaptiste has been supporting youth (K-12; post- secondary) impacted by foster care and homelessness through holistic support and services around academic and personal/professional goals and development.

 

Dr. Amy Rubinson

“Tell yourself you can!”
-Dr. Amy Rubinson

Dr. Amy is a scholarly practitioner who has a diverse professional background in the education field including service as an educator and a board chair, educational research and evaluation, and informal-education program development and management. Since its inception in 2016, Dr. Rubinson has been an advocate and advisor of the program. In 2019, she officially joined STEM Access For Girls, as the Program Developer and Evaluator. Dr. Rubinson earned her Ph.D. in Education from Colorado State University, where she researched factors that contribute to educational outcomes for underrepresented students who participated in an out-of-school-time STEM college-readiness program. Dr. Rubinson earned her M.S.Ed. From the University of Miami and her bachelor’s in Biology from Emory University.

Fantiana Abiaka

Fantiana V. Abiaka is the Program Coordinator of STEM Access For Girls in Suriname.  She studied at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, where she majored in Education.  Fantiana has overcome many obstacles like vision impairment since the age of six, but none of her challenges has stopped her from being optimistic and aiming for a brighter future.  As an Education major at Anton de Kom University of Suriname, she always felt that through education people can achieve success. She decided to study Education to improve the education system of her home country, Suriname.  Through education, she believes the country can develop and collaborate with people and tap into the global market. For Fantiana, joining STEM Access For Girls meant a lot to her;  There’s an African proverb that says ‘’ If you educate a man you, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation’’.  So, that means educating young girls about different careers of STEM means investing in the nation.  Fun fact about Fantiana, she loves Reggae music performed by the legends Bob Marley, Lucky Dube, and Peter Tosh.  And she embraces her natural and authentic self and loves kinky hair.

Stessie Ann Dérius Auguste

Jennifer started her educational journey in Okap, Haiti where she completed 12 years of her studies then moved to the United States in 2016. She is currently enrolled at Miami Dade College pursuing a degree in Computer Science.  She believes in taking advantage of every opportunity presented to her. She is passionate about helping others improve their lives and promoting equality amongst minorities in the technology industry.  Her knowledge and experience in Haiti and the Haitian school system,  appreciation, and understanding of STEM and  Fluency in French and Creole have made Jenniffer an asset to the STEM Access For Girls team. She joined STEM Access For Girls in 2019 as the Program Coordinator.

 

“Stay positive and always find your smile, that’s a treasure you shouldn’t let people take away from you!”

-Winnie P.

Winnie Petit Paul

Winnie is an entrepreneur, business manager, and Co-Founder of Haitibrand. She graduated from Collège Saint-Louis de Bourdon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In 2019, Winnie joined STEM Access For Girls as the Haiti Program Manager. She recruits and supervises volunteers, recruits students, manages the preparation for and implementation of the STEM program in Haiti. She also serves as the STEM Access For Girls Haitian School System Expert and is an advocate for STEM education and empowerment.