Montréal, January 11,  2024 ‒ The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal is pleased to announce that Dr. Mae Jemison, American engineer, physician, professor, social scientist and former NASA astronaut, will be our guest for a major event on February 29 at Théâtre St-James.

Dr. Jemison was the first African-American woman, as well as first woman of color in the world, to go to space. She is a thought leader in integrating the physical, social sciences and arts to solve problems and foster innovation. She is a strong, recognized voice in promoting scientific careers for women and people from diverse backgrounds and the critical importance of broad representation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to accelerate discovery and robust, beneficial technologies.

Dr. Jemison practiced medicine in Sierra Leone and Liberia; researched and designed technologies for sustainable development as an Environmental Studies Professor at Dartmouth College; and currently leads 100 Year Starship, a nonprofit global initiative to assure that capabilities for human travel beyond our solar system to another star exist within the next 100 years while every step of the way enhancing life on Earth.

“We are honored that Dr. Mae Jemison has chosen the Chamber's forum to address our community and the next generation of scientists and business people. She is a pioneer in the scientific field and a leading voice in promoting diversity in STEM. At a time when we are still seeing a lack of diversity in both the scientific and business communities, I am convinced that her presence will inspire a new generation of scientists and leaders who are representative of the diversity of our society,” said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

The discussion will be led by local leaders to be announced shortly.

This event is aimed at the business community, elected officials and decision-makers, as well as up-and-coming members of the science, technology, computer science and mathematics (STEM) community. The Chamber would like to thank its partners, whose support will ensure the presence of students at the conference.

This conversation takes on special significance as February is Black History Month. It is an honor for the Chamber to welcome Dr. Jemison as part of these celebrations of the legacy of Black people.

“Dr. Mae Jemison is a very inspiring woman! Our government is proud to support this event aimed at promoting the place of women in scientific careers and the jobs of the future. This is the kind of initiative that creates openness and provides new horizons in a variety of ways,” continued Kateri Champagne Jourdain, Minister of Employment and Minister responsible for the Côte-Nord region.

“The Conseil emploi métropole is proud to provide financial support for the Women in STEM project and, by extension, the International Leaders series. This initiative is in perfect alignment with the call for projects launched in March 2022 to stimulate and facilitate the pursuit of higher learning for women in STEM, their graduation and their transition to employment. It is also in line with the CEM's 2021-2024 strategic plan, which notably seeks to position it as a major stakeholder in sustaining and developing sectors of excellence in the metropolitan census region and to ensure that the funded projects take into account groups that are underrepresented in the labor market, particularly immigrants, women and young people,” explained Jean Lortie, President of both the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail and the Conseil emploi métropole.

Find out all about this exceptional event on the Chamber's website.

About the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
With a network of 8,000 members, the Chamber of Ccommerce of Metropolitan Montreal (hereinafter, the “Chamber”) is active on three fronts: it is the voice of the city’s business community, delivers specialized services to businesses and their representatives and leads impact initiatives to strengthen the business ecosystem. For 200 years, it has been acting on issues that are decisive for the prosperity of the city’s businesses. With the support of the Acclr experts, the Chamber’s goal is to accelerate the creation and growth of businesses of all sizes, at home and around the world.

About the International Leaders series
The International Leaders series is produced by the Chamber of commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and presented by RBC. Under this banner, the Chamber welcomes inspiring personalities from all sectors, internationally recognized for their vision and achievements that have changed our world. Past guests have included the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.

About Women in STEM
Women in STEM is a series of meetings intended to help channel female CEGEP students into fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This initiative is developed by Montréal Relève, the subsidiary of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, with the financial support of the Conseil emploi métropole. It is realized in association with CGI and UQAM, in partnership with Beneva, and in collaboration with the Regroupement des cégeps de Montréal.

This major event is organized as part of the International Leaders series presented by RBC and is part of the "Women in STEM" initiative, made possible thanks the financial participation of the Government of Québec, who contributed $375,758 through the Conseil emploi métropole.

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Source : 
Jean-Baptiste Portrait
Conseiller, Affaires publiques et Relations médias
Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain
Tél. : 514 669-6768
[email protected]

Facebook : www.facebook.com/chambremontreal 
Twitter : @chambremontreal
Pour poursuivre la discussion : #ccmm