I first heard of TechGirlz when I met Tracey Welson-Rossman at the Tech Inclusion Summit at the White House this past January. I am currently the Founder and CEO of PlayWerks, an interactive media company that creates high quality interactive experiences that inspire,empower and engage children and adults. Previously, I worked in consumer research at MGA  Entertainment and at Mattel, Inc. and also as a nursery and pre-kindergarten teacher.

I have always been passionate about children and education and now I am about to embark on
the next phase of my life-long mission to create positive changes in the world, especially for
young girls.

As a young child, I was inspired by the media, particularly Tom Hanks in the movie BIG, to create a dream job for myself, which I did when I was working on Barbie and Bratz Dolls at Mattel and MGA. Now I am determined to create media platforms that include STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields that will empower, engage, educate and inspire young girls to create amazing jobs for themselves.

I love how TechGirlz is making technology cool for middle-school age girls. I think they will continue to help close the gender gap in STEM – keep up the good work!

You can read more about Shirin’s work here.