About us

Our Mission

The mission of Letters to a Pre-Scientist is to facilitate one-on-one connections to humanize STEM professionals, demystify STEM career pathways, and inspire all students to explore a future in STEM.

Humanize STEM professionals

Demystify STEM career pathways

Broaden students’ awareness of who can become a STEM professional

Inspire students’ curiosity about a future in STEM

History

LPS was founded in 2010 as a classroom project in rural North Carolina for 100 curious students whose teacher recognized that their lack of access to STEM role models and narrow vision of what it meant to be a scientist was preventing them from seeing STEM careers as realistic options despite their enthusiasm in science class. The snail mail model was selected because it is low cost, accessible worldwide, and a unique way to facilitate human connection.

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Challenges of low-income schools

In the words of an LPS teacher, “Students often view scientists as people who are inaccessible. They see portrayals of them in the media, but they don’t usually know any real scientists and – by extension – don’t often see themselves in the role of being a scientist.”

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Our Values

Letters to a Pre-Scientist is committed to supporting all aspects of diversity in STEM and ensuring an inclusive environment that is welcoming to everyone who interacts with our programs. We strive to maintain a culture where everyone who participates in Letters to a Pre-Scientist feels supported by the program to be their full selves.

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Meet Our Staff

Lucy Madden

Founding Chief Executive Officer

Lucy Madden

Founding Chief Executive Officer

Daniela Cossio

Program Manager

Maria Tooker

Program Manager

Laura Rodriguez

Program Director

Tanisha Manning

Program Manager

Board of Directors

Uche Amaechi

Board of Directors

Katie Stofer

Board of Directors

Anna Harley-Trochimczyk

Board of Directors

Kevin Cape

Board of Directors

Martin Njoroge

Board of Directors

Demetrius Carter

Board of Directors

Joclyn Torrain

Board of Directors

Gabriela Brown

Board of Directors

Kevin Cape

Board of Directors

Ilana Somasunderam

Board of Directors

Sharon Soliday

Board of Directors

Anna Goldstein

Founder; Board of Directors

Lucy Madden

Founding Chief Executive Officer; Board of Directors
lucy.madden@prescientist.org
Lucy discovered LPS in 2012 while teaching seventh grade science in Durham, North Carolina, and had the fortunate opportunity to be the first teacher after founder Macon to host the pen pal program in her class. She began working with Macon and Anna to grow the program, and hosted the program in her Los Angeles classrooms for three more years. She found that students’ authentic interaction with a professional role model was an entry point to engage students in science class, and loved the wonderful suspense her students experienced waiting for snail mail! During the 2018-19 school year, Lucy completed her master’s in Education Policy and Management at Harvard University while working to transition Letters to a Pre-Scientist from a volunteer program to a nonprofit organization. Energized by the passion that surrounds the LPS community, she is looking forward to supporting LPS’ growth and development!

Lucy Madden

Founding Chief Executive Officer

lucy.madden@prescientist.org

Bio:

  • Home base: Takoma Park, MD
  • Favorite STEM project or experiment you completed in middle school: Dissecting a frog!
  • Two roles and/or hobbies:
    • Boy mom and a runner who is newly dabbling in strength training and a triathlon.
  • Something you wish more people would talk to you about:
    • Pregnancy, postpartum life, and breastfeeding!
  • Tell us about your favorite pen:
    • MUJI gel pens in 0.38 thickness are the best because they’re super thin, smooth, and they come in lots of fun colors.
  • Education credentials:
    • B.A. from James Madison University in Communication Sciences and Disorders (basically pre-Speech Pathology and Audiology) and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Education Policy and Management
  • One thing from your prior experience that set you up to be successful in your LPS role:
    • Five years of experience teaching 5-7th grade science in traditional public, large charter, and small charter networks in two different states!
  • What do you hope every LPS student takes away from their pen pal experience?
    • That they believe in their STEM potential and know someone is rooting for them!
  •  

Daniela Cossio

Program Manager

daniela.cossio@prescientist.org

Bio:

  • Home base: Savannah, GA
  • Favorite STEM project or experiment you completed in middle school:
    • In fifth grade, my class competed in the Jiminy Cricket Environmentality Challenge. We focused on the environmental impacts of pollution in our oceans! We cleaned up beaches, learned about sharks from the Mote Marine aquarium and raised money for endangered animals. This is the first time I became interested in pursuing marine biology or becoming a vet.
  • Two roles and/or hobbies:
    • I love to sew my own clothes and occasionally quilt and I also love to find new ways to exercise. In the last few years this has been a mix of dancing and pilates classes. 
  • Something you wish more people would talk to you about:
    • Conspiracy theories! I love listening to different conspiracy theories about different things in the world. I enjoy it because It is so much fun to see how people present evidence to justify their theory and how convincing it sometimes is. The sillier the conspiracy theory, the better.
  • Tell us about your favorite pen:
    • Pilot G2 gel pen 0.5 mm
  • Education credentials:
    • B.S. in Neuroscience from Skidmore College, M.S. in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine, PhD in Biological sciences with a focus in neuroscience from UC Irvine.
  • One thing from your prior experience that set you up to be successful in your LPS role:
    • My previous experience as a program director for another STEM non-profit has given me an invaluable perspective and experience on what is needed to ensure a successful program.  
  • What do you hope every LPS student takes away from their pen pal experience?
    • That they learn something new and exciting that sparks their curiosity. 

Maria Tooker

Program Manager

maria.tooker@prescientist.org

Bio:

  • Home base: South Carolina
  • Favorite STEM project or experiment you completed in middle school:
    • Building our own Rube Goldberg machines, or breeding fruit flies to study genetics! Both sparked my interest in the sciences in very different ways, and I loved any opportunity to be “hands on” in the classroom.
  • Two roles and/or hobbies:
    • I love volunteering with environmental and sustainability focused organizations, and I love to crochet!
  • Something you wish more people would talk to you about:
    • Books! Please send me all of your recommendations, so I can add them to my mile-long TBR.
  • Tell us about your favorite pen:
    • A Black Pilot G-2 07 is the perfect pen, no notes.
  • Education credentials:
    • I studied Earth and Environmental Sciences at Washington State University, later earning my Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) credential from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and a certificate in Modern Journalism from New York University-American Journalism Online. 
  • One thing from your prior experience that set you up to be successful in your LPS role:
    • I’m used to wearing a lot of hats, and function well as a “chaos coordinator”, so joining a fast moving organization where the program has a lot of moving parts was a natural fit for me!
  • What do you hope every LPS student takes away from their pen pal experience? That they are capable of doing hard things, and that the fear of failure shouldn’t stop them from trying new things.
  •  

Laura Rodriguez

Program Director

laura.rodriguez@prescientist.org

Bio:

  • Home base: West Michigan
  • Favorite STEM project or experiment you completed in middle school:
    • Making Crystal Geodes with sugar water
  • Two roles and/or hobbies:
    • I love camping on the shores of Lake Michigan and I love my grand babies!!!
  • Something you wish more people would talk to you about:
    • Haunted experiences and places. 
  • Tell us about your favorite pen:
    • I love character and holiday pens but if it’s just a plain pen it would be a Forma 1.0
  • Education credentials:
    • B.A. in Library Science
  • One thing from your prior experience that set you up to be successful in your LPS role:
    • I’m a mom of seven, so “organized chaos” was basically my full-time job. Between sports practices, games, school events, and every activity under the sun, I somehow worked multiple jobs, got seven kids where they needed to be (usually on time!), and made sure everyone was fed. If I can coordinate seven schedules without losing too many marbles, I can handle just about anything!
  • What do you hope every LPS student takes away from their pen pal experience?
    • That they are not alone! With focus, determination, and perseverance, anything is possible. 

Tanisha Manning

Program Manager

tanisha.manning@prescientist.org

Bio:

  • Home base: Tampa, FL 
  • Favorite STEM project or experiment you completed in middle school:
    • My favorite experiment in middle school was dissecting a frog in science class. I was completely grossed out by the idea at first but was really fascinated by the end of the dissection. I can still remember the terrible smell of it all! 
  • Two roles and/or hobbies:
    • I am a wife and mother to two little ones who keep me on toes each and every day. I also love walking. Pushing my littles in the double stroller is a top tier workout in my book. I’m also helping to launch the nursery ministry at the church my family and I attend. 
  • Something you wish more people would talk to you about:
    • Postpartum life and the journey back to yourself. For both mom and dad. A lot of the conversation around welcoming a newborn stops at delivery but the additional work of adjusting to your new normal is a whole experience that not enough people talk about honestly. Walking has been one of my favorite activities to do solo or with the family to help process it all! 
  • Tell us about your favorite pen:
    • The Sharipie S-Gel and I are in a committed relationship. Smooth and clean to write with and no smearing! 
  • Education credentials:
    • B.S. in Early Childhood Education, M.S. in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health, Graduate Certification in Children’s Mental Health 
  • One thing from your prior experience that set you up to be successful in your LPS role:
    • Working as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Manager taught me that social communication is one of the most powerful tools we can give a child that is often overlooked. I spent years supporting students with exceptionalities who struggled to connect with others and express themselves appropriately. That experience has taught me exactly what it means for a child to feel seen through communication; which is exactly what LPS creates through our letter exchange program. 
  • What do you hope every LPS student takes away from their pen pal experience?
    • That their voice matters, it’s fun to try new things and meet new people, and that there’s value in writing, whether it’s to a penpal or an outlet for expression. 

Uche Amaechi

Board of Directors
Uche is a faculty member at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and a Leadership and Group Work Consultant and Facilitator. For the past 17 years, he has also served as the ELT coordinator at the Fletcher Maynard Academy in Cambridge. Uche earned his Bachelor’s from Harvard University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and his Ed.M and Ed.D from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Katie Stofer

Board of Directors
Katie studies learning that people choose for themselves, usually how they learn in their everyday lives, and helps scientists engage with others to share their research findings. She has a keen interest in innovative programs such as LPS to help everyone connect with science. She has been a penpal since 2017, an Advisory Board member from 2018 – 2019, and joined the Board of Directors in early 2020. Katie really wants everyone to participate in science, whether as a profession or as a part of our society, making decisions for our future. One of the things that is most important to having people get into science is knowing actual scientists. Since scientists don’t live everywhere, she wants to support as many ways as she can to get people meeting real scientists, near and far. A main interest of hers in joining the board of LPS is to ensure the organization’s continuing success and share its lessons with other programs with related goals.

Anna Harley-Trochimczyk

Board of Directors
Anna fell in love with the Letters to a Pre-Scientist program when she started as a pen pal in 2016. Having participated in many science outreach programs through the years, she loves that LPS provides sustained engagement between one student and one scientist throughout the school year. She served on the Advisory Board for 2 years before joining the Board of Directors in January 2020. She is thrilled to continue supporting Pre-Scientist Inc as it grows, so that even more pre-scientists from all backgrounds see themselves pursuing STEM careers.

Kevin Cape

Board of Directors
Kevin is an executive leadership coach who is smitten with the possibilities of the field of behavioral psychology, and absolutely flabbergasted by how poorly we humans leverage its discoveries to make our day-to-day lives richer. He thinks that, just maybe, if we all had healthier relationships with science, we might be able to turn that around. He's fairly confident that LPS is onto something in making exactly that kind of progress, and has been eagerly contributing whatever he knows with regards to fundraising (he used to be a professional fundraiser and has lead volunteer fundraising efforts mobilizing hundreds of fundraisers to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars) and leadership in varying volunteer capacities since 2019. He grew up in Long Beach, CA and currently runs his coaching business and lives in New York City with his 14-year-old son and their dog, Herman.

Martin Njoroge

Board Member
Martin represents individual and corporate clients in a variety of high-stakes disputes, including white collar defense, complex commercial litigation, whistleblower lawsuits, and regulatory enforcement actions. He also maintains a wide-ranging pro bono practice, where he represents individuals and classes in both civil and criminal matters. Prior to his career as an attorney, Martin spent three years teaching sixth-grade math in Durham, N.C. at Neal Middle School. This experience developed his passion in presenting STEM related content in ways children find accessible and exciting--a goal shared with LPS and his incredible, fellow Board members. Martin earned his BA at Duke University, and his JD at Harvard Law School.

Demetrius Carter

Board Memeber
Demetrius is a senior executive in the life sciences field and a passionate advocate for STEM equity. He serves as a board member and strategic advisor, and has maintained a long-time pen pal relationship with LPS. Demetrius strongly believes that early exposure to genuine scientific careers can transform educational trajectories and boost participation in the STEM workforce. Through mentorship, outreach, and organizational leadership, he works to create opportunities that help students develop their scientific identity, gain confidence, and feel a sense of belonging in the STEM field. Demetrius holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from NC State University, a Master of Public Health from UNC, and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Gabriela Brown

Board Memeber
Gabriela brings a background in nonprofit finance, operations, and people leadership to the board. In her professional work, she supports a multi-campus charter school portfolio by overseeing financial stewardship, human resources, and grant management. Gabriela was drawn to Letters to a Pre-Scientist for its focus on sparking curiosity and creating meaningful opportunities for kids to connect with science, an approach that closely reflects her own experience supporting hands-on science learning and expanding access to STEM experiences. She is truly excited and happy to serve on the LPS Board in support of this mission.

Ilana Somasunderam

Board Memeber
Ilana loves the kind of curiosity and connection that can grow from exchanging letters, which is what drew her to Letters to a Pre-Scientist and its mission to spark real conversations between students and STEM professionals. At Adobe, she works in design operations, helping teams behind products like Adobe Express and Adobe Firefly stay aligned, creative, and focused on delivering thoughtful user experiences. Before working in tech, Ilana spent years in classroom and outdoor STEM education, youth media, and educator professional learning. Ilana earned her BA from Columbia University and M.Ed from High Tech High Graduate School of Education.

Anna Goldstein

Founder; Board of Directors
Anna helped create Letters to a Pre-Scientist while getting her Ph.D. in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. Being from rural North Carolina herself, she understood the importance of a good science education, and she wanted to help inspire students to keep working hard in school. She wants the pre-scientists to realize that science is more than just a list of facts in a textbook; it can be a tool for bringing positive change to people’s lives. She also wants to give scientists the opportunity to reach out and see what a difference they can make in the lives of young people. Anna currently lives in Massachusetts and is the Director of Impact at Prime Coalition.