What STEM Educational Institute does

STEM Educational Institute (SEI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in 2021 and headquartered at 909 Third Avenue, Suite 364, New York, NY, that delivers free cohort-based programming to underrepresented high school and college students. Its core product is the Scholars Program, a one-year curriculum structured around a three-pillar framework of STEM education, financial literacy, and mental health resources. The program begins with a summer intensive followed by mandatory Saturday sessions through the academic year, and accepted scholars receive a $500 summer stipend and a $1,000 college scholarship upon completion. Since founding, SEI has graduated five cohorts across the Bronx (in partnership with the New York Yankees), Brooklyn (in partnership with Bureau Veritas), Harlem, Newark, NJ, and San Francisco, CA.

The organization's technology stack is deliberately lean: program delivery is in-person, applications are managed through Google Forms, and content is distributed via a website, a YouTube-hosted podcast (Coding Conversations), and an annual SEI Summit held during Techweek. The notable technical component is a December 2025 partnership with Big Interview that layers AI-powered interview coaching onto the program to address the 'interview gap' for technically qualified but soft-skill-constrained candidates. This is the only AI capability in the product surface and is sourced externally rather than built in-house.

SEI's business model is donation-driven. The organization does not charge students for participation; instead, it is funded through individual donations (with preset tiers of $25, $50, $100, and $200 plus custom amounts), corporate sponsorships, and grants. The only quantified funding event is a $20,000 Amazon Business grant recorded in October 2022, with a separate Amazon Small Business Grant Finalist recognition in 2024. Headcount is 1-10 employees, founder Dr. Nikisha D. Alcindor serves as President, and the organization is governed as an independent nonprofit with no parent, PE, or VC ownership. Customer-facing segments are students (primary) and corporate sponsors/donors (secondary), with go-to-market executed through community partnerships, events, and content rather than traditional sales motions.

Name

STEM Educational Institute

Legal name

STEM Educational Institute, Inc.

Website

https://stemeducationalinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

STEM Educational Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2021 that delivers free STEM, financial literacy, and mental health programming to underrepresented high school youth across New York City, Newark, and San Francisco, combining cohort-based Scholars Programs with AI-powered career coaching via Big Interview.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education and Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science & STEM Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAH), Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB), STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC)

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• Financial literacy training
• Youth workforce development
• Nonprofit educational services
• Scholarship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, STEM Educational Institute is funded primarily through donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The website features a donation portal with preset amounts ($25, $50, $100, $200) and custom amount options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

STEM Educational Institute provides free cohort-based programs that teach high school students skills in STEM, financial literacy, and mental health. The core offering is the one-year Scholars Program, delivered through summer sessions plus mandatory Saturday sessions, with $500 summer stipends and $1,000 college scholarships awarded to program completers. The organization supplements the curriculum with an annual SEI Summit, a Coding Conversations Podcast, and AI-powered interview coaching delivered via the Big Interview partnership.

Product overview

STEM Educational Institute is a nonprofit organization focused on ending generational poverty through a Three Pillar Curriculum combining STEM education, Financial Literacy, and Mental Health Resources. The core offering is a one-year Scholars Program for underrepresented youth featuring summer sessions and mandatory Saturday programs, with participants eligible for $500 stipends and $1,000 college scholarships. The organization supplements its educational mission with a Coding Conversations Podcast featuring STEM professionals, and hosts an annual SEI Summit event bringing together industry leaders. Through a partnership with Big Interview, the organization provides AI-powered interview coaching to help students transition from STEM training into meaningful employment opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coding Conversations: A podcast hosted by Nikisha Alcindor featuring conversations with STEM professionals about careers and innovation

Products and services

• Scholars Program A free one-year cohort-based STEM education program for underrepresented high school youth that begins with summer sessions and continues with mandatory Fall and Spring Saturday sessions; accepted and completing scholars receive a $500 summer stipend and a $1,000 college scholarship.
• AI-Powered Career Readiness Platform (Big Interview Partnership) AI-enhanced interview coaching and job readiness training delivered to SEI scholars through the Big Interview partnership, targeting the "interview gap" for underrepresented youth who possess strong technical qualifications but lack soft skills during hiring.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 cohorts of STEM Scholars graduated since 2021
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Big InterviewcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2025Partnership to leverage AI-powered interview coaching and training to help underrepresented students in NYC improve their job readiness and economic mobility. The collaboration provides students with AI tools, storytelling efforts, and a pathway to STEM career opportunities. Big Interview's AI-enhanced tools help bridge the 'soft skills' gap students face during the hiring process despite possessing strong technical qualifications.
• New York YankeescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership supporting the New York Yankees STEM Scholars program. Corporate partner providing branding, facilities, and support for youth STEM education initiatives based in the Bronx, NY. Multiple cohorts (2021-2025) have participated in this program.
• Bureau VeritascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting the Bureau Veritas STEM Scholars program based in Brooklyn, NY. First cohort launched in 2021.
• NVIDIAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNVIDIA representatives participate in the SEI Summit as speakers. Fatima Tambajang serves as Developer Relations at NVIDIA and Bianca Pryor serves as Director of Media Intelligence for Media & Entertainment at NVIDIA, representing the company at SEI events and panels.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAndreessen Horowitz's Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF) represented by Partner Judene Small participates in SEI Summit events. CLF focuses on expanding access, ownership, and opportunity in the AI economy through culture, capital, and technology.
• AmazoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazon recognized STEM Educational Institute as a Small Business Grant Finalist, providing visibility and credibility for the organization.
• TechweekminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEI Summit is hosted during Techweek, an annual technology and innovation event, providing venue and cross-promotion opportunities.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresented at SEI Summit by Dr. Javin Schefflein (Neuroradiologist), Dr. Omar Sangurima (Head of Program Management and Cyber Third-Party Risk), and Ana Garcia (Senior Director of Community Engagement and Health Equity). Malik Caldwell from MSKCC featured on Coding Conversations podcast discussing mindfulness and STEM.
• Columbia Law SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVice Dean of Experiential Learning and Pritzker Pucker Family Clinical Professor of Transactional Law Lynnise Pantin represents Columbia Law School at SEI Summit.
• Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Leadership InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChief of the Enterprise Technology Bureau Steven Rosenbush represents WSJ Leadership Institute at SEI Summit.
• JP Morgan ChasecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Manager Tanisha Ritter (VP Community & Business Development) represents JP Morgan Chase at SEI Summit events.
• Microsoft XboxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior HR Business Partner for Xbox LC Lloyd Jr. represents Microsoft at SEI Summit, discussing HR and workforce topics.
• RunwaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder and CEO Siqi Chen represents Runway at SEI Summit, participating in panels about AI and finance transformation.
• VantagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Founder and CEO Ben Schaechter represents Vantage (cloud infrastructure and cost management platform) at SEI Summit, participating in finance and AI panels.
• ConcoursecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO and Co-founder Matthieu Hafemeister represents Concourse at SEI Summit, participating in finance transformation panel.
• RilletcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHead of Finance Stephen Hedlund represents Rillet at SEI Summit, participating in finance transformation panel.
• ZscalercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVP of Cybersecurity Advocacy Rob Sloan represents Zscaler at SEI Summit, participating in cybersecurity panel discussions.
• Boris Lawrence Henson FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured on Coding Conversations podcast. Former Director of Programs and Partnership Engagement Be Dismond Sweet discussed mental health stigmas in the Black community and the foundation's resource guide for Black therapists.
• Halo StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudio Head Pierre Hintze featured on Coding Conversations podcast discussing gaming as a career path.
• InvestopediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEditor in Chief Caleb Silver represents Investopedia and People Inc. at SEI Summit.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Black Girls CODE: Nonprofit delivering STEM and computer science programs to girls of color through workshops, summer camps, and hackathons — same underserved-youth STEM education mission, similar urban cohort model.
• Girls Who Code: National nonprofit running free summer immersion programs, clubs, and college-loops for high school girls in computing — directly comparable to SEI's STEM Scholars cohort model, but at much larger scale and with a narrower gender focus.
• NAF (National Academies Foundation): National nonprofit operating STEM-focused career academies in public high schools, with corporate partner funding and internship pipelines — comparable mission of preparing underrepresented youth for STEM careers, but delivered through in-school academy infrastructure.
• Bottom Line: Nonprofit supporting first-generation college students from underserved communities through degree completion and career access — comparable 'college-to-career' mission aimed at economic mobility, though broader than STEM.
• Year Up: Workforce development nonprofit combining skills training, corporate internships, and career placement for young adults from underserved communities — comparable corporate-partner-driven, cohort-to-career model targeting economic mobility.
• STEM NOLA: New Orleans-based nonprofit providing STEM enrichment through camps, clubs, and family events for underserved youth — a regional counterpart to SEI with a similar community-based cohort delivery model.
• Per Scholas: Nonprofit providing tuition-free tech workforce training and career placement for adults from underserved communities — adjacent cohort-based model with explicit employer partnership and job placement outcomes, mirroring SEI's AI-powered interview coaching mission.

Regional players

• NYCFIRST: NYC-area nonprofit delivering robotics and STEM programs in schools and after-school settings — geographically overlapping with SEI and serving a similar NYC public-school student population.

Others

• Big Interview: AI-powered interview coaching platform partnered with SEI — included as a strategic partner/ecosystem participant rather than a competitor, illustrating the type of vendor relationships a peer STEM nonprofit would also pursue.

Broad incumbents

• Code.org: Large nonprofit focused on expanding access to computer science education in K-12 schools — broader scope than SEI but shares the mission of democratizing STEM/CS exposure for underrepresented students.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@stemeducationalinstitute
• Xx.com/sei_stem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stem-educational-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about STEM Educational Institute