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Pilot Entrepreneurial Training and Technical Assistance - Spelman College

President Obama issued Executive Order 13506 - Establishing a White House Council on Women Girls on March 11, 2009 (EO 13506). The purpose of EO 13506 “is to establish a coordinated Federal response to issues that impact the lives of women and girls and to ensure that Federal programs and policies address and take into account the distinctive concerns of women and girls, including women of color and those with disabilities.”

Per EO 13506, despite the progress that the past generation has made to eradicate the barriers to women’s success, women are still seriously underrepresented in the science, engineering, and technology fields.  The fields of science, engineering, and technology play a major role in the transportation infrastructure industry.  In response to EO 13506, OSDBU will partner with Spelman College to launch the Pilot Entrepreneurial Training & and Technical Assistance Women and Girls Program.

Major Programmatic Activities:

  • Establish an internship/mentorship program to entice more of the nation's young talent to enter into transportation-related careers and garner practical experience.
  • Conduct town hall meetings and roundtable discussions for small women-owned transportation contractors to identify and develop the types of technical and financial assistance that are supportive of the needs of women to better position them to become more successful transportation-related businesses.  The training will also be available to students, particularly those who aspire to become entrepreneurs.
  • Develop case studies to highlight issues of interest to existing and emerging small women-owned transportation-related businesses. The purpose of the case studies is to discuss and analyze issues that impact women-owned transportation-related businesses and explore possible solutions for successful outcomes.

The pilot program is projected to assist one hundred (100) student interns, two thousand five hundred (2,500) girls in the surrounding grade schools and high schools, and three thousand (3,000) small women-owned transportation-related businesses.

Spelman College, an all-women’s college located in Atlanta, GA, was chosen to assist DOT to launch the pilot program for two reasons.  First, Spelman College is a private, independent, liberal arts, Historically Black College (HBCU) for women, founded in 1881. Spelman College was ranked by U.S. News and World Report 2009 as #1 among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and in 2009, it was ranked at #77 of all U.S. liberal arts colleges.  In addition, Spelman College has created a partnership with the Atlanta Business League, an organization in the Atlanta Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) that maintains significant involvement with women-owned businesses, and leading entrepreneurs in their fields who have attained the ability to coordinate large public and private entities, both locally and nationally.  The pilot program will benefit from this partnership because through this established partnership, Spelman College will be able to engage public and private entities to participate in the internship and mentorship element of the program.