Make The Uncommon Common: Co-Founders Unite In Mentoring Black Girls and Women in STEM

Dr. Brittany Wheeler (left) and Jasmine LeFlore (right), co-founders of Greater Than Tech at a recent Demo Day.

Jasmine LeFlore and Dr. Brittany Wheeler grew up in different regions of the country with different circumstances, but a similar outsized curiosity and love of learning in math and science.

When they did meet when both were pursuing graduate degrees and working in engineering and aerospace, they collaborated to co-found Greater Than Tech, so Black girls would always have a space to seed their dreams.

“When @JasmineMLeFlore and Dr. Brittany Wheeler met, both pursuing graduate degrees and working in #engineering and aerospace, they collaborated to co-found @Greaterthantech, so #Blackgirls would always have a space to seed their dreams.”

As February is Black History Month and February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, it is fitting to salute these two Black women leaders aiming to open doors to careers for young Black women and girls. These co-founders know firsthand the mentoring that would have been so useful to them.

“I always was a kid who was very inquisitive,” says LeFlore, who grew up in Flint, Mich.

Her mother was in early education, and LeFlore says she was constantly asking her mother questions about how things worked, such as how planes flew. Her mother would respond, “Maybe one day you will have a job so that you can answer that question.” And yes, she did.

In ninth grade, LeFlore says she went on her first college tour to the University of Michigan and toured the aerospace department and was hooked.

“As February is #BlackHistoryMonth and February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, it is fitting to salute these two #Blackwomenleaders aiming to open doors to careers for young Black women and girls.”

“I was always interested in STEM. But I didn’t have role models,” says LeFlore, who was named San Diego Magazine’s 2022 Woman Builder of the Year, and one of San Diego Business Journal’s Top 50 Influential Women in Technology. She has also received the San Diego County’s Engineering Council 2022 Outstanding Engineering Service Award, the 2021 Black Engineer of the Year Science Spectrum Award, and the 2020 Women of Color STEM Community Service in Industry Award. 

It was her determination and hard work that got her there.

Accepted into UM but not in engineering, LeFlore set out to do a campus transfer, but her college counselor discouraged her.

“I remember thinking she was someone who looks like me and she saw students struggle. That was a first barrier of someone who didn’t believe in me,” LeFlore says. “In that moment I decided I would rather try and fail than not try at all.”

In 2015 she earned a bachelors in aerospace engineering from UM, followed later by a masters in interdisciplinary engineering from Purdue University in 2020 and an MBA in 2021 from Indiana University.

LeFlore says through all of it, she learned, “People are going to be naysayers, so you have to determine how hard you want to work and have the mentality of ‘if you can get through this, then you can do that.’’”

“@JasmineMLeFlore says through all of it, she learned, “People are going to be naysayers, so you have to determine how hard you want to work and have the mentality of ‘if you can get through this, then you can do that.’” #blackwomenlead”

After she earned her undergraduate degree in 2015, LeFlore went to work for United Technologies in Connecticut; now the company is Collins Aerospace, where she is the Advanced Technology Solutions Lead and has served as vice chair of the African American Enterprise Board.

How she got that job is telling. LeFlore was at a career conference while at UM, and a select group of students had been invited to a hospitality suite to meet recruiters, based on their GPA.

“I wasn’t invited to that hospitality suite,” LeFlore says. “I snuck in and found a recruiter and it was a pivotal moment.” She was hired.

It is where LeFlore met Dr. Wheeler in 2015, who was living in her native California and earning her MBA. Both were working at what would become Collins Aerospace. “Brittany got an award,” LeFlore says. “It was the first time I ever saw a Black woman featured on a company website.” LeFlore called Dr. Wheeler and they became friends.

Together they entered a tech startup competition and made it to the semi-finals with an idea for a censor device that a women can wear to know if she is being followed. They didn’t win first place, but both say it was a pivotal moment.

In 2019 they launched Greater Than Tech, to mentor and support young Black girls and women in STEM. With their organization temporarily shut down due to COVID in 2020, they started again in 2021 with a full week of camp.  

There is a deep need for what they offer.

Women of color in tech spaces and in technical leadership positions are considered “unicorns,” making up less than 2% of the STEM workforce, according to the National Science Foundation.

“Women of color in #tech spaces and in technical leadership positions are considered “unicorns,” making up less than 2% of the #STEM workforce, according to the @NSF. #WOC ”

Greater Than Tech aims to break this glass ceiling by normalizing women of color in tech instead of isolating them. In 2022, Greater Than Tech impacted over 200 girls and underserved students between the ages of 11 and 18, with their demographic makeup being 40% Black, 35% Latinx, 10% Asian and 15% multi-racial.

Forbes reports, “According to Pew Research, there has been no change in the share of Black workers in STEM jobs since 2016, and while women now earn a majority of all undergraduate and advanced degrees, they remain a small share of degree earners in fields like engineering and computer science—and continue to be significantly underrepresented in those areas of the workforce as well.”

And when they are in those roles, according to Forbes, there is additional bias.

“Not only are Black women facing difficulties getting their foot in the door, but they also face tremendous obstacles that make it harder to be successful within the role. Forty-eight percent of women in STEM jobs report discrimination in the recruitment and hiring process, and studies show that women have higher chances of developing Imposter Syndrome, which can negatively impact retention rates.”

Dr. Wheeler’s path to Greater Than Tech, where she is cofounder and also director of education, began with her affinity for math in high school in her native Los Angeles.

“My teacher said if you turn the test in, you can leave early. I was done before everybody,” says Dr. Wheeler, who later earned her Mechanical Engineering bachelor degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a focus in Aerospace, an MBA from the University of Redlands, and a Doctorate in Engineering Management from George Washington University. 

Back in high school, her teacher told her she was very good at math and took her to a board on the wall with careers listed. So she asked him, “What’s the highest paying one?”

He told her engineering and she says it sparked a dream for her. Knowing that “Apollo 13” was her favorite movie of all time, she declared then and there that she wanted to be an aerospace engineer, says Dr. Wheeler, who is now Senior Program Operations Manager at Collins Aerospace.

“When Jasmine and I started, Greater Than Tech was just an idea. COVID allowed us to incubate that idea,” says Dr. Wheeler, who received the 2021 Dave Barclay Affirmative Action BEYA Award and is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers.

““When @JasmineMLeFlore and I started, @Greaterthantech was just an idea. COVID allowed us to incubate that idea,” says Dr. Wheeler, who received the 2021 Dave Barclay Affirmative Action BEYA Award and is a member of the @NSBE. #blackwomen #STEM”

Initially, she says, “We were so worried about what people thought that we were skeptical about telling them about our company and afraid they would think we wanted to leave our jobs. We were our own worst enemy.”

She adds, but gaining confidence in their idea helps. “We know we’re cool. I’m that girl,” Dr. Wheeler says.

“I feel the same way,” LeFlore says. “If you feel like you want to see this in the world and do not want to look back and say I wish I could have some this,” then you have to try.

“We were one of a few women in aerospace in our companies,” says LeFlore. “A lot of times you do not feel heard. But we represent the students we work for.”

And while the dial has moved a bit for BIPOC and especially WOC in STEM, there is certainly not equity in leadership across race, gender and age in tech fields.

“And while the dial has moved a bit for BIPOC and especially #WOC in #STEM, there is certainly not equity in #leadership across race, gender and age in tech fields. ”

“When we first started we were given advice to assimilate,” LeFlore says. “Now there is a shift that Black women can be more authentic and that representation matters.”

Dr. Wheeler acknowledges shifts, but not total systems changes.

“Small pillars of acceptability have changed, but we still have a long way to go. People are listening more. But what they are doing with the listening will take resources and allyship to become a habit, a new norm.”

The latest data reflects that assessment.

U.S. National Science Foundation’s new report, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023, shows “more women, as well as Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native people collectively, worked in STEM jobs over the past decade, diversifying that workforce, and are earning more degrees in science and engineering fields at all levels compared to previous years.”

The report continues, “However, those groups—as well as people with disabilities—broadly remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics when compared to their overall distribution in the U.S. population, reflecting the larger equity challenges our nation faces.”

Dr. Wheeler adds, “We need to make the uncommon common.”

LeFlore agrees. “We don’t see Fortune 500 CEOs who are WOC. We work with kids who don’t think we founded Greater Than Tech. They need to see that we can own and lead and make decisions.”

Dr. Wheeler adds that it is key for her to provide for young Black women the pathway and role models for their successes; which she was missing growing up.

“Dr. Wheeler adds that it is key for her to provide for young #Blackwomen the pathway and role models for their successes; which she was missing growing up. #mentorship #BHM”

“We didn’t have STEM programs in LA and no one looked like me. One thing I wanted to do was be the first in my family to go to college, the first to get a masters, the first to get a doctorate and the first to create generational wealth for my family.”

The advice that LeFlore offers to anyone wanting to create a startup or any entrepreneurial effort is, “Trust your vision for yourself and your world. There is a reason you believe you can make a change. Be your biggest, best cheerleader for yourself.”

“The #advice that LeFlore offers to anyone wanting to create a #startup or any #entrepreneurial effort is, “Trust your vision for yourself and your world. There is a reason you believe you can make a change. Be your biggest, best cheerleader for yourself.””

Take The Lead Leadership Tip of The Week:

“Trust your vision for yourself and your world. There is a reason you believe you can make a change. Be your biggest, best cheerleader for yourself.” Jasmine LeFlore, co-founder, Greater Than Tech