People First: Leading to Advance Science, Learning, Inclusion For Museums, Communities
Dr. Rabiah Mayas, PhD is the first Chief Partnership Officer at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
Curiosity comes to Dr. Rabiah Mayas naturally.
The first-ever Chief Partnerships Officer at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (one of the largest in the world), says growing up in Silver Springs, MD her parents sent her to the library or the encyclopedia to find answers to her questions.
But it was a summer research experience at Tuskegee University when she was 14 after her freshman year of high school that ignited her passion for science.
“That was my turn-on moment,” Mayas says. “Three weeks of an internship in a research lab doing microbiology experiments to identify ways for astronauts to live on the space stations,” was the project she worked on.
“One of the things I say often is that I did not realize until I was an adult was that experience at an HBCU where the head researcher was a Black woman who was married with children and all of that was normal,” says Mayas, whose leadership role is fostering the museum’s community-based partnerships in higher education, other cultural institutions, local councils, civic agencies and community activists’ organizations. “Nothing told me that could not be my path,” Mayas says, which is a reason her goal is to “highlight and elevate” people of color in the STEM fields.
“Dr. @RabiahMayas, the first-ever Chief Partnerships Officer at @Msichicago, has a goal to “highlight and elevate” people of color in the #STEM fields. ”
Read more in Take The Lead on women in STEM
With an eye toward a career in medicine, Mayas earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology form the University of Maryland in 2000. She also became an emergency medical technician during college and was certified.
“I was too squeamish and sensitive to do medicine,” Mayas says, so she maintained the research track, heading straight to graduate school at the University of Chicago, where she earned both a master’s and a PhD by 2007.
Read more in Take The Lead on funding for women in STEM
Doing her post-doctoral work at the Museum of Science & Industry starting in 2008 for a one-year project; she was consistently promoted to leadership positions over the past 15 years. Her latest role was the Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee Vice President of Education, included overseeing the Museum's Education Division and spearheading their strategic plan.
Mentorship, education, inclusion and partnership are her guide posts in a culture that has traditionally defined DEI in the STEM fields as a matter of preparation.
“Mentorship, education, inclusion and partnership are @RabiahMayas ‘s guide posts in a culture that has traditionally defined #DEI in the #STEM fields as a matter of preparation. ”
“I am sensitive to the fact that I am a single Black woman, so I am an ambassador working to ensure the populations are invested in and referenced in all the ways they need to be included,” Mayas says.
A second-generation Caribbean American whose father was a social psychologist and her mother was in executive administration, Mayas says she understands the importance of being transparent about who she represents. “I have navigated the very systems we know we need to change. I am unapologetic, consistent and upfront about the need to make some big changes.”
DEI efforts to introduce young people into STEM fields need to be shifted to also include different forms of mentorship and system accountability.
“DEI efforts to introduce young people into #STEM fields need to be shifted to also include different forms of #mentorship and system accountability. ”
According to Technical.ly, “Only about one in five engineering degrees go to women, and an even smaller percentage of those degrees go to women of color. There are so few Black women in STEM fields not because they lack the skills or training, said India Johnson, a social psychologist at Indiana University – Purdue University, but because of the negative experiences that they often have in STEM spaces.”
Read more in Take The Lead on STEM gap
Gender and racial diversity are low in STEM. “According to data from the Pew Research Center, the STEM workforce is predominantly white. Women are also heavily underrepresented in some STEM fields. Only 25% of computer jobs and 15% of engineering jobs are occupied by women. This bias reinforces stereotypes in the minds of the public. Out of 4,000 survey participants asked to imagine a doctor's gender, only 5% presumed that the doctor would be female,” Tech Target reports.
Increasing access to education and opportunities enhances work culture and increases company innovation; it is not just to help the individuals themselves who are included.
“Increasing access to education and opportunities enhances #workculture and increases company innovation; it is not just to help the individuals themselves who are included. #progress”
Read more in Take The Lead on leadership in STEM
“STEM education is also how countries remain globally competitive. Of the 10 fastest growing federal occupations in the U.S., nine out of 10 jobs were STEM related, with statisticians in the No. 1 spot at 23%. Building STEM skills starts young, and so should squashing STEM stereotypes. The hope is that this offsets currently uneven progress in STEM degree attainment across gender, racial and ethnic lines,” Tech Target reports.
“When the onus is placed on the young person, we neglect the fact that the system itself needs to change,” Mayas says. “We have a lot of work to do to recognize what is it about systems that allow diverse participants to be successful. We have to shift the power dynamics.”
Even with the news of Christina Koch, a member of the NASA team to be the first woman to fly around the moon as part of the Artemis II Moon crew, visibility, representation, mentorship and systems changes are all needed to ensure fairness and equity in STEM.
Read more in Take The Lead on women in NASA
Those who are just launching careers can seek mentors anywhere in any career because they can always learn valuable strategies and takeaways, Mayas says.
“As a woman seeking out mentors, try not being constrained by what a mentor can look like, but one who gives solid feedback.”
“Those who are just launching #careers can seek #mentors anywhere in any career because they can always learn valuable strategies and takeaways, @RabiahMayas says. “As a woman seeking out mentors, try not being constrained by what a mentor can look like, but one who gives solid feedback.” ”
While there has been progress towards equity in leadership in STEM she has witnessed, Mayas says, “Museums are at an inflection point of how we reimagine the mission of a science center.” That involves having a strategic plan to make “an institution that is part of the community.”
That is a priority for leadership at the Museum of Science and Industry. Chevy Humphrey became the seventh president and CEO in 2021.
“Humphrey is a recognized national and international leader in the museum field. Prior to joining MSI, she served as CEO of the Phoenix-based Arizona Science Center for 15 years. Humphrey is Chair of the Board of the American Alliance of Museums and previously served as Chair of the Board of the Association of Science and Technology Centers,” according to the Museum.
““Museums are at an inflection point of how we reimagine the mission of a science center.” That involves having a strategic plan to make “an institution that is part of the community.” —@RabiahMayas, Chief Partnerships Officer at @Msichicago. ”
Read more in Take The Lead on tech leadership tips
As a leader, Mayas says she has learned that it is key to explicitly define your leadership with “philosophy and values,” Mayas says. “I come with a people-first approach and I am unambiguous about my approach.”
“As a leader, @RabiahMayas says she has learned that it is key to explicitly define your #leadership with “philosophy and #values,” Mayas says. “I come with a people-first approach and I am unambiguous about my approach.””
This approach has three steps. First is that “people matter the most.” Secondly, “Every single person as a birthright deserves the people, resources and experiences to have a healthy, thriving future.” Lastly, Mayas says, “Integrity means everything.”
She adds, “That’s incredibly important as a leader. I invite people to hold me accountable.”
Take The Lead Leadership Takeaway:
“I have navigated the very systems we know we need to change. I am unapologetic, consistent and upfront about the need to make some big changes.” --Dr. Rabiah Mayas, Chief Partnerships Officer, Museum of Science and Industry
