CivicSciTV Newsroom
Founding CEO of Letters to a Prescientist on the impact of the Sandbox Fellowship
Fanuel Muindi interviews Lucy Madden, founding CEO of Letters to a Pre-Scientist (LPS), an organization connecting middle school students in low-income schools with STEM professionals through handwritten letters. Madden reflects on the program’s origins, its mission to humanize scientists, and its evolution into a nonprofit reaching 17 states.
Key themes include fostering STEM interest among underrepresented students, challenges in scaling, and the reciprocal benefits for scientists. Madden shares, “The humanizing piece is special; kids are surprised to learn their STEM professional has a dog or plays video games.”
She also discusses lessons from participating in the inaugural Science Sandbox Fellowship, and emphasizes LPS’s unique role in driving resources into science classrooms.
Eileen has a BA in Comparative Literature and Studio Film/Videommaking from Harvard University. She coordinates multiple programs on the CivicSciTV Network, and manages the social media posts, and newsletters.

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