Shivi made the list in recognition of her two social startup initiatives that leverage her interests in engineering, product design, curriculum and training, and melds it with her commitment to social change.
Shivi has always been passionate about mechanical engineering and product design – an interest ignited by the cardiac pacemaker she had to have installed when she was 10 years old. Shivi’s passion for mechanical engineering and product design undergirds her work on developing innovative and scalable programs.
In early 2020, her FTC robotics team was invited to present at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and talk about collecting and analyzing data. There, she met representatives from the national nonprofit organization, Women in Sports Tech (WiST). As a competitive Junior Olympic softball athlete playing for the New England Storm Softball club, she was intrigued by their mission to drive growth opportunities for women in the sports tech industry, but as she researched more, she discovered a gap in the accessibility of this field to young girls interested in sports. So she wrote a proposal and pitched it to the CEO of WIST on the need to attract young girl athletes to the sports tech industry as opposed to just working with women that were already in it – a new initiative she named WiST Next Gen. This would create a space for high school girls to learn more about the career opportunities available at the intersections of sports and technology.
Shivi was able to co-lead and develop this program rapidly and launch it in under a year. Currently, WiST Next Gen has garnered significant corporate sponsors, including SportsHi, DICK’s GameChanger, and Comcast Sports Tech. In addition, the program’s engaging webinars, planned and conducted by Shivi, have been distributed to over 20,000 young women across the country through NCWIT (National Center for Women in Technology) and Citizen Schools. Recently, WIST Next Gen launched the first official Next Gen Ambassador Program with 60 accepted student applicants. Shivi has been integral in developing and driving the program for these new ambassadors.
As Shivi continues to nurture her interest in engineering and sports technology, she has discovered that people of color are not strongly represented in tech careers. She researched the engineering field and the benefits of peer-to-peer learning, and found herself wanting to make an impact in the field she has grown to love.
Shivi decided to create WEInnov8, a socially relevant and interactive program, with the goal of encouraging minorities and underserved students to pursue a career in engineering design. This program came to life last year amidst the pandemic, with a collaboration with Girls Inc., the nationally-acclaimed youth organization that serves underserved girls ages 6-18 in 350 cities across the country. WEinnov8 has already reached over 100 young girls and is thriving in its second year of operation.
Shivi has designed the sessions to run virtually with materials being shipped to the participants before-hand. She covers topics ranging from aerodynamics, energy-to-lever systems and structural strength, using creative and engaging engineering design challenges, sharing real-life scenarios and showing media snippets of Black and Latin role models in technology.
Shivi discusses ethics in engineering and encourages the girls to reflect on and present their work to their own peers in order to build their confidence and courage to continue STEM studies, where girls often drop out by the age of 14. For her work, she has been awarded the Girls Inc. “Difference Maker Award.”
Shivi is currently also designing numerous prototypes that address accessibility – these include a growing vine robot with extensions for users with mobility issues to grasp objects; a relief hat for those with scalp pain and hair loss based on her own health challenge; and a special straw that allows disabled populations with motor skills limitations the ability to use easy-to-clean reusable straws. Her aspiration is to build technology solutions and share her ideas through programs and policies in order to increase access and representation.
To read the story on Shivi and two dozen other 25 Under 25 innovators go to the following link:
