Marelisa Vega

"I was surprised at how accurate the results of 'communicator', 'coordinator', and 'investigator' matched my personality! Running the STEM Inspiration programme at a big company like GE requires lots of communicating with people from a diverse range of levels and backgrounds, across all the different GE businesses and locations, as well as with partner STEM organisations such as WISE. I have to be quite a good communicator and coordinator. Lots of that communication is through calls, large and small, on a daily basis. I also organise events and workshops to make sure we coordinate, or bring together all those different perspectives and ideas to make sure the programme meets the needs of both the GE community and the communities where we live and work.Making sure the STEM Inspiration programme is really effective in making a positive difference, encouraging more young people into STEM subjects and careers, I have to do lots of research - from my desk and by finding the right experts to consult. "

"I am Co-Director of Community Investment, or Citizenship, for GE UK & Ireland. That means I manage the community investment strategy for an employee base of 12,000 across more than 20 sites, with a focus on inspiring girls and boys to be innovators. My role includes designing and developing national volunteering programmes and partnerships to achieve positive impact in community, health, environment and education, with a focus on addressing the UK's gap in STEM skills and to increase diversity and inclusion in these fields."

"I've always felt a 'calling' to help people, so I studied Psychology at Columbia University in New York. I started my career as an educator and researcher, in New York and Panama, focussing on children and youth with special needs. Along the way, I realised that inclusion for people with disability could not be possible without an inclusive culture, more generally, so I turned to nonprofit management, as regional director of one of Panama's largest children's charities, called Casa Esperanza. Seeking to delve even deeper beyond a single charity’s mission, I became a social impact consultant, working across public, private and social sectors in Latin America. Recognising how much potential there is for the private sector, or businesses, to be socially responsible, I moved to the UK and started working with GE, to catalyse positive impact, both in communities and within the organisation."

"I was born in Panama, grew up with four siblings between New York and Panama, studied an MPhil in Social & Developmental Psychology at Cambridge, which is where my UK story began. Since then, I have enjoyed travelling the world, climbing mountains, running marathons and trails, traveling the world, philosophising, eating and cooking creatively, lots of socialising, enjoying the London buzz and calling it home with my husband."

"On a typical day, I'll be preparing cool-looking slides that get the most important messages across, then sharing my screen on a video call with our community of STEM Ambassadors (we call them GE Inspirers internally). I'll answer emails from STEM partners like WISE, the EDT and STEM Learning to make sure our programmes and events are the best they can be and we have GE speakers, activities and contributions lined up and ready to go.I'll get in touch with some of our most passionate STEM Inspirers to create hands-on STEM activities relating back to their business, whether that's GE Aviation, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, Power or Digital. We also work on best practice handbooks and activity guides for volunteers, to share knowledge and experience.I'll have a nice, healthy lunch break with a colleague, then spend time getting our communications and various platforms ready for sharing or regularly updated. Now that we have an online programme on www.gecommunity.co.uk called #STEMtogether, I also spend time creating Instagram posts and promoting the scheme online.Another big part of my job is measuring the impact of the different programmes we run, researching and consulting the education community and STEM experts to continuously improve."

"MPhil in Social and Developmental Psychology, University of CambridgeExecutive Certificate in Non-Profit Management, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.BA in Psychology and Visual Arts, Columbia University, New York"