Robin Stevens Payes

Ever since Robin Stevens Payes began listening in on the backseat conversations in the carpool when her own kids were teens, she was inspired. They wanted to be diplomats and play in a band and study medicine and invent a steering wheel heater. A science writer and educator, Robin was also concerned. She saw traditional curriculum force kids down a narrow learning path, stifling their many interests. She also saw the lack of opportunities available to girls, especially in underserved communities, for STEM enrichment.

Determined to encourage young people to tap into the infinite possibilities for their lives, Robin wrote a YA time travel adventure series, Edge of Yesterday, which follows STEAM-smart Charley Morton who builds Leonardo da Vinci's plans for a time machine to learn the polymath’s secrets to “doing it all.”

She also launched EOY Media, an interactive learning and storytelling platform for teens, and MASTERY, a learning approach, building on STEM, that integrates technical and human skills. Through internship programs with DC Public Schools, workshops and classes, Payes has helped hundreds of young people pursue their transdisciplinary interests, foster their unique STEAM and human skills, strengthen their creative muscles and see themselves reflected in a coming-of-age story.