Who is Future Ada?

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit headquartered in Spokane, Washington.  Founded in 2017 with an original mission centered on gender diversity and advocating for underrepresented genders in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM).  In 2019 we updated our mission to be fully inclusive in support of all people.  We changed our mission as it was clear to us we couldn’t achieve our original mission without taking into account intersectionality.  It was also clear to us that creating inclusive spaces, where individuals from all diverse backgrounds want to be, is the key for our original and also our new mission.

It is important to us to make STEAM fields approachable and welcoming to everyone regardless of race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, class, religion, etc.  We believe in the power of having diverse voices at the table and the inhanced creative solutioning it brings. No one should feel they can’t take a STEAM class in school, join a STEAM club, contribute on a STEAM project, or pursue a STEAM career. 

Our programs are free by default to remove as many financial barriers as possible to getting our support.  We also have laptops and other equipment for our in-person events for those who may not have their own.  

Mission Statement

Advocating for diversity and inclusion in STEAM via community education, outreach, and support networks so all people feel welcome and wanted in these exciting fields.

Vision Statement

To create sustainable diverse and inclusive spaces for all people within STEAM.

Our Values

  • Inclusion
  • Diversity
  • Collaboration
  • Representation
  • Security
  • Creativity
  • Innovation
  • Empowerment

Why STEAM vs STEM?

We advocate for STEAM as we believe the Art component brings creativity and inclusion into STEM.  Art helps inject more humanity into the sciences and pushes STEM professionals to think outside the box when problem solving.

Our Demographic

We are here to create spaces in STEAM where everyone feels welcome and included regardless of age, race, gender, class, religion, ethnicity, education, cognitive or physical abilities.  We have an added focus on groups generally less represented in these fields as we want to encourage more folks from those groups to participate in STEAM.

It takes all of us, those traditionally represented and those not, to create inclusive spaces for all people.

Why it Matters

Everyone should be able to pursue any field of interest they have.  No one should feel unwelcome or unwanted when following their passions.  It is important to us to ensure all people have these opportunities.

Additionally, it has been shown that having diverse teams increases overall creativity and innovation.  The fields of STEAM are leading the charge on shaping the future. The problems being solved will impact the whole world.  We want to ensure the folks at the problem-solving table fully represent the world in which the solutions are being created for.

Ada Lovelace

Our organization is named after Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (commonly known as Ada Lovelace) who was a famous English mathematician and writer.  She worked with Charles Babbage on Analytical Engine (the precursor to the modern computer) and invented the first computer algorithm.  As a result, Ada is considered to be the first computer programmer and has been called the “founder of scientific computing”, the “mother of computing”, and the “prophet of the computer age.”

We draw a lot of inspiration from Ada and her story.  Our goal is to inspire diverse current and future generations to be inspired by her as well and continue to push the bounds of STEAM fields… our own future Ada’s.

Future Ada is a non-profit corporation registered in Spokane, Washington, USA and is exempt from tax under 501(c)(3).

EIN: 82-4398280
Founded: 2017

Future Ada
PO Box 6
Spokane, WA 99210

GuideStar Charity listing:
https://www.guidestar.org/Profile/9691724

TechSoup Listing:
https://www.techsoup.org/OrganizationProfile?mode=display&orgId=1591167

Benevity Listing:
https://causes.benevity.org/causes/840-824398280

“Imagination is the discovering faculty, pre-eminently.  It is that which penetrates into unseen worlds around us, the worlds of service.”

Ada Lovelace
Mathematician and writer

“People are allergic to change. You have to get out and sell the idea.”

Grace Hopper
Navy Admiral and computer scientist

“Life need not be easy, provided only it was not empty.”

Lise Meitner
Physicist

“I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.”

Marie Curie
Physicist and chemist

“Why shouldn’t a woman run a reptile house? Women are at work in my country and the rest of the world, in all types of work and professions.”

Joan Procter
Zoologist

“There is no joy more intense than that of coming upon a fact that cannot be understood in terms of currently accepted ideas.”

Cecila Payne-Gaposchkin
Astronomer and astrophysicist

“It’s made to believe / women are the same as men; / are you not convinced / daughters can also be heroic?”

Wang Zhenyi
Astronomer, poet, and mathematician

“The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery, not over nature but of ourselves.”

Rachel Carson
Marine biologist, conservationist, and author

“Above all, don’t fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.”

Rita Levi-Montalcini
Neurologist and italian senator

“If the present arrangements of society will not admit of woman’s free development, then society must be remodelled.”

Elizabeth Blackwell
Doctor

“The main stumbling block in the way of any progress is and always has been unimpeachable tradition.”

Chien-Shiung Wu
Experimental physicist

“Don’t let others discourage you or tell you that you can’t do it. In my day I was told women didn’t go into chemistry. I saw no reason why we couldn’t.”

Gertrude Elion
Pharmacologist and biochemist

“[The other women] didn’t ask questions or take the task any further. I asked questions; I wanted to know why. They got used to me asking questions and being the only woman there.”

Katherine Johnson
Physicist and mathematician

“Still more mysteries of the universe remain hidden. Their discovery awaits the adventurous scientists of the future. I like it this way.”

Vera Rubin
Astronomer

“Nothing was given to minorities or women. It took some fighting to get that equal opportunity, and we’re still fighting today.”

Annie Easley
Computer programmer, mathematician, and rocket scientist

“Only when our clever brain and our human heart work together can we reach our full potential.”

Jane Goodall
Primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist

“Once you are at this faraway distance [in space], you realize the significance of what it is that unites us. Let us work together to overcome our differences.”

Valentina Tereshkova
Engineer and cosmonaut

“Believe in the power of truth… do not allow your mind to be imprisoned by majority thinking.”

Patricia Bath
Ophthalmologist and inventor

“If we assume we’ve arrived [at absolute truth], we stop searching. We stop developing.”

Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Astrophysicist

“The first thing about empowerment is to understand that you have the right to be involved. The second one is that you have something important to contribute. And the third piece is that you have to take the risk to contribute it.”

Mae Jemison
Astronaut, educator, and doctor