Girls of Promise® - Women's Foundation of Arkansas

The Girls of Promise® is an initiative of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, which exposes girls to opportunities and mentors in STEAM fields with the goal of increasing the number of women in higher-level STEAM courses, careers, and putting them on the path to achieve economic security as women.

About Girls of Promise®

Since 1999, more than 5,000 eighth-grade girls have been introduced to women with careers in STEM fields, participated in hands-on learning activities, and met other girls passionate about learning through Girls of Promise® conferences and other programs. The initiative, which originally started as a two-day conference for eighth-grade girls, now also includes the Innovate for Good, formerly known as Tech for Good, Competition sponsored by AT&T, the Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship, and other programs for Arkansas girls through grantee partners.

All the programs through the initiative are completely free for participants. Learn more about the programs below.

Girls of Promise® Conference

The annual Girls of Promise® conference is open to 8th-grade girls who are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math in Arkansas! Students will learn about various STEAM careers, enhance their skills, and meet women mentors excelling in their fields.

Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program

In partnership with several companies located in Arkansas, we offer a paid 10-week summer internship program with free housing for women of color attending college in Arkansas and pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (finance & related majors included). The Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program is named after the Foundation’s first Black president.

Innovate for Good Competition

The Innovate for Good, formerly known as Tech for Good, competition challenges 6th – 12th-grade girls to team up and work together to develop an app, website, computer program, 3D printer template, or anything innovative (that incorporates technology) that they’re inspired to create! Teams are allowed to have up to 4 members. Each submission must either directly benefit, or provide a service to address a community need that is predetermined by Girls of Promise®. Innovate for Good allows girls to use their tech skills to make something that helps others!

Coding Summits

Due to COVID-19, we don’t currently have any coding summits planned for the near future.

Girls of Promise® hosts two coding summits a year–one in the summer & one during Computer Science Education Week in December. These programs are held in various parts of the state to ensure opportunity to girls across Arkansas. Previous summits have been held on the college campuses of the University of Central Arkansas, University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff, and Henderson State University. They have also been held on the corporate campuses of Southwest Power Pool and Acxiom Corporation, as well as the Governor’s Mansion.

These half-day programs are completely free & first come, first serve. There are usually 80-150 spots available for girls to attend.

2022 Girls of Promise® Sponsors

Thank you so much for sponsoring Girls of Promise® this year! Our Girls of Promise® programs are ONLY possible because of amazing support from sponsors and volunteers! Listed below are this year’s sponsors and their level of sponsorship.