A winding career path led her to science—and now she's helping others follow in her footsteps

In Other News #11 // Celebrating the stories of everyday heroes among us.

Women in science are scarce.

Despite efforts to recruit and encourage girls and women to pursue science-related fields—a key component of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, studies show women only comprise 25 to 30% of STEM fields today. That number, however, is up from 1970, when women held just 8% of STEM positions.

“I believe science should be for everyone,” says Anne Gageby, director of environmental education at Pennsylvania’s Strawberry Hill Foundation. “It makes me sad that too often young girls envision white men in lab coats. If science is something they have an interest in, they can walk outside to view the birds, start thinking about the insects they encounter. Science is right in your backyard—that’s my philosophy.”

Science indeed begins in our backyard. Gageby’s career is proof of that.

She began overseeing environmental education at Strawberry Hill in 2022—but in some ways, the nature nonprofit located near Gettysburg has always been part of her life.

Strawberry Hill, part of Michaux State Forest