News Flash: JCIRN Network Architecture Workshop December 12th
Dear Corporate Partners:
The Partnership
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology was established in 1985 as a public/private partnership between Fairfax County and industry. That partnership continues, as TJ annually receives generous cash and in-kind contributions from local and national corporations, foundations, and government agencies to outfit its labs and continue to bring its information technology capability into the 21st century.
TJ 2.0
TJ and the Partnership Fund aim to reinvigorate these long-term partnerships and embrace new ones as the School heads into the most exciting time in its 25-year history. TJ’s building is 50 years old and desperately in need of updating. Beginning in early 2013, TJ will undergo a major renovation that will expand its physical space, overhaul its research labs, and install a powerful new infrastructure that will allow the School to collaborate with, teach, and learn from students and faculty across the State and beyond. In a return to the successful formula that launched TJ as a research-driven institution, the Partnership Fund is organizing a capital campaign, TJ 2.0, to supplement the public funds allocated for this much-needed renovation.
Corporate Advisory Board
Spearheading this effort is the Partnership Fund’s Corporate, Government & Foundation Advisory Board (CAB), which consists of industry representatives and others interested in building on public/private partnerships to advance STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) education at TJ and across the region.
Purpose: The purpose of the CAB is to link students and faculty to a diverse group of companies in the STEM industry in order to facilitate 1) knowledge transfer between the stakeholders and 2) support to TJ through in-kind and financial donations. These goals are accomplished through arranging mentorships and internships for the students, conducting information sessions for students and faculty at the school, participating in school events (speakers, demos, etc.), conducting on-site information sessions for the school’s lab directors, and placing research in the labs.
Meetings: Representatives on the CAB facilitate the ongoing interaction between companies and TJ, and provide support and insight to the school's leadership. CAB meetings are held at the school nominally monthly during the school year for 1-2 hours. Members may attend via teleconference or in person. The Chair of the TJPF, TJ’s principal, and any special guests the principal and the two Chairs may wish to invite also attend the meetings. The CAB Chair develops the agenda, with input from the TJPF Chair and the principal. CAB members are also invited to bring forward agenda topics.
Roster:
CAB Chairs:
Suprotik Ghose, Microsoft
Julie Reiss, Vissering Pardue and Associates
Tom Valery, ExxonMobil
CAB Members:
Al Blocker, Microsoft
Meredith Broadbent, CSIS
Bill Brucato, Adobe
Evan Burfield, Synteractive
Paul Carlock, Booz Allen Hamilton
Mike Darne, Capital One
Colette De La Barre, Boeing
Jeff Franzen, Lincoln Property Company
Atul Kapoor, TechSmart Service
Andrew Ko, Microsoft
Michele Krauss, SRA International, Inc.
Anitha Raj, ARAR Technology
Dan Schonfeld, Verisign
Mark Skolnik, ExxonMobil
David Speiser, SAIC
Julie Strategos, Select Consulting Services
Robin Thurman, Bechtel
Jeff Wilcox, Lockheed Martin
Dwight Yamada, Northrop Grumman
tjSTAR
The corporate community makes possible the School’s premier research-oriented event, the annual research symposium, tjSTAR, which this year took place on June 1-2, 2011. Corporate partners support tjSTAR by presenting displays, demonstrations, workshops, and design challenges, and by offering sponsorships. For more information, download the 2011 corporate sponsorship packet (an updated packet will be available in Spring 2012) and visit the School website’s tjSTAR page.
Mentorships
TJ is also indebted to its corporate partners for their role in supporting research at TJ through participating in the School’s Mentorship Program that allows seniors to conduct real-world research under the supervision of professional scientists and engineers.
For more information on how your firm can partner with TJ or how you can help enhance and expand the Partnership Fund’s corporate relationships, please contact:
Julie Reiss, Vissering Pardue and Associates
Chair, Corporate, Government & Foundation Advisory Board
Email: julie.reiss@comcast.net Phone: 703.477.7128
Mark Skolnik, ExxonMobil
Chair, Partnership Fund
Email: mark.a.skolnik@exxonmobil.com Phone: 703.846.4536