New York, NY - August 17, 2020 - It’s no secret that women are grossly underrepresented in STEM careers, especially women of color.  Designed to activate a culture shift among young girls and inspire the next generation of STEM pioneers, Lyda Hill Philanthropies®’ IF/THEN® Initiative  has created #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit, a new monumental 3D-printed display of 122 female statues - the most women statues ever assembled in one location, at one time.

Featuring contemporary women of all ages and backgrounds who currently work in a variety of STEM careers, the 3D statue exhibit was originally scheduled to open earlier this year. While COVID-19 delayed the launch of the full exhibit, IF/THEN® has arranged for a pop-up preview of the exhibit – six statues to be unveiled and displayed at WCS’s Central Park Zoo in New York City.

Statues are slated to be displayed at the Central Park Zoo from Monday, August 17 – October, 2020.

The six women, all AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors, displayed as statues at Central Park Zoo are:

  • Kristine Inman, Wildlife Biologist
  • Rae Wynn-Grant, Large Carnivore Ecologist, National Geographic Society
  • Dorothy Tovar, Stanford University, Microbiologist focused on bat - human zoonotic disease transmission
  • Jess Cramp, Shark Researcher and Marine Conservationist, Sharks Pacific 
  • Earyn McGee, Herpetologist focused on lizards, University of Arizona
  • Kristen Lear, Bat Conservationist, Bat Conservation International

INTERVIEWS:

AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassadors depicted in the statues;

Nicole Small, President and CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

Karen Tingley, Director of Education, Wildlife Conservation Society

A downloadable, digital asset library of women STEM innovators, including the women depicted in the statue exhibit, is available through the IF/THEN® Collection, which was recently launched by IF/THEN®.  The Collection is the largest, free resource library of its kind celebrating diverse, contemporary women in STEM. 

CONTACT:    

Jodi Davis, Goodman Media for Lyda Hill Philanthropies

201-927-6171

IfThenPR@GoodmanMedia.com

Max Pulsinelli, WCS/Central Park Zoo

571-218-7601

mpulsinelli@wcs.org

ABOUT IF/THEN IF/THEN® is part of Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ commitment to fund game-changing advancements in science and nature. IF/THEN® seeks to further advance women in STEM by empowering current innovators and inspiring the next generation of pioneers. Rooted in a firm belief that there is no better time to highlight positive and successful female professional role models, IF/THEN® is designed to activate a culture shift among young girls to open their eyes to STEM careers by: (1) funding and elevating women in STEM as role models, (2) convening cross-sector partners in entertainment, fashion, sports, business and academia to illuminate the importance of STEM everywhere, and (3) inspiring girls with better portrayals of women in STEM through media and learning experiences to pique their interest in STEM careers. To learn more, visit www.ifthenshecan.org or follow IF/THEN® on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

ABOUT LYDA HILL PHILANTHROPIES Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving of founder Lyda Hill who believes that  “science is the answer” to life’s most challenging issues and is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature.  To learn more, visit www.lydahillphilanthropies.org.