Base 11 Announces Two New Directors of the Board

    COSTA MESA, CA, May 01, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Base 11 announced two newly elected directors of the board: Regina Stanback Stroud, Ed.D., the president of Skyline College in the San Francisco Bay area, and Al Bunshaft, the Senior Vice President of Global Affairs, Americas, for Dassault Systèmes.

Base 11's board of directors is growing at the same time the nonprofit organization is expanding both its national footprint and its impact. Last year, Base 11 launched a $1 million incentive prize competition for student rocketry teams, awarded $1.6 million to one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to establish a hands-on rocketry program, and opened a state-of-the-art Innovation Center in Compton, California. To date, more than 8,000 students have been impacted by Base 11's programs.

"We are honored to have Al and Regina, who are both nationally recognized leaders in their field, join Base 11's corporate board," said Landon Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Base 11. "Most importantly, they are passionately committed to our vision of accelerating diverse students on their pathways to success in what we call Next Frontier industries, such as commercial aerospace, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence."

Stroud has been an educator in California community colleges for more than 30 years, and is highly regarded for her knowledge and perspective on student equity and diversity, education and industry collaboratives, and community workforce and economic development.

Under her leadership Skyline College became a member of STEMconnector, a consortium of private and public entities committed to increasing the number of STEM-ready workers in the global talent pool. Additionally, she serves on the STEM Higher Education Council of STEMconnector as part of the Diversity Committee.

Additionally, Skyline College was the site of the first Base 11 Innovation Center, an MIT-inspired makerspace with high-quality equipment and technology like that used by industry. Opened in 2016, the facility has been used for community college classes, summer outreach programs to high school girls, and individual student projects. The Innovation Center is the focal point of Base 11's Regional Ecosystem in the San Francisco Bay area.

Stroud holds a doctorate of education in educational leadership from Mills College. She holds a master's in human relations from Golden Gate University, a master's in educational leadership from Mills College and bachelor's in nursing sciences from Howard University. She is scheduled to retire from Skyline College this year.

"I can see how a partnership with base 11 can truly create opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds by bringing Ivy League-quality resources to our campus," said Stroud. "I can't wait to help Base 11 expand its impact and change more students' lives."

Bunshaft is the Senior Vice President of Global Affairs, Americas, for Dassault Systèmes, where he is responsible for new business development, academic sales and relationships, and coordination of the company's involvement in institutes and consortia. He also serves as President of the Dassault Systèmes US Foundation, part of the global charitable organization La Fondation Dassault Systèmes. Prior to joining Dassault Systèmes in 2010, he had a 25-year career at IBM, holding various executive roles in R&D, strategic initiatives and general management. Bunshaft's expertise in 3D visualization, computer graphics and engineering-related software tools has been a special focus of his career.

Bunshaft is Dassault Systèmes' leading voice for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. Under his leadership, Dassault Systèmes became a member of STEMconnector, and Bunshaft serves as a member of STEMconnector's STEM Innovation Task Force.

Under his leadership, the Dassault Systèmes US Foundation made its first grant in the country to Base 11 to fund the autonomous systems engineering academy. Dassault Systèmes has made additional investments since then, including becoming a Chairman's Circle Partner for the $1M+ Base 11 Space Challenge.

Bunshaft received his bachelor of science in computer science and mathematics from the University at Albany, SUNY. He earned his master of science in computer engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

"Base 11 brings truly innovative ideas to solve the STEM talent shortage in ways that benefit both students and companies that so desperately need skilled talent," says Bunshaft. "I've enjoyed working with Base 11 for a few years now, and I'm excited to further expand that relationship as a director of the board."

Taylor assumed the chairmanship while John Beneventi became chairman emeritus. Longtime board member Doug Bender has been named vice chair. Click here to view the full board of directors.

Base 11 is a non-profit public benefit corporation focused on empowering high-potential, low-resource community college students with hands-on education and training in STEM-related enterprises. Base 11 partners with community colleges and their feeder high schools to provide high-potential, low-resource students with real-world training, experience and mentorship in STEM-related enterprises, delivering to employers a prerecruitment pipeline of well-trained, highly skilled STEM employees and entrepreneurs. For more information, please visit www.Base11.com. Base 11 is a DBA of the Center for Innovations in Education, a non-profit 501(c) 3 - IRS exemption EIN# 26- 4365936.

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