Gaithersburg, Md. – May 9, 2018 – The MdBio Foundation, a non-profit that provides STEM education and workforce development to underserved communities, today announced that it has been named as one of 100 Best Places to Work in the Greater Washington area by the Washington Business Journal. In surveys to select the finalists, employees cited MdBio’s entrepreneurial spirit, an environment that encourages creativity, new ideas and fun, and a rewarding mission of providing science, technology, education and math (STEM) education and workforce development in underserved communities in Maryland, D.C. and around the country, as reasons why the organization should rank among the top in the region.
“MdBio Foundation is honored to be recognized by our employees and the Washington Business Journal as a great place to work,” said MdBio Foundation CEO Brian Gaines. “We believe it’s important to foster collaboration and innovation, giving individuals the freedom to explore new ideas. And as a small organization with 11 employees who are passionate about their jobs and our core mission, we are nimble enough to find ways to make these ideas become reality.”
In 2017, after an MdBio employee was moved by the destruction along the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Harvey, the team was able to develop a plan and raise funds in just 60 days to support its “Learning Undefeated” initiative. This initiative took the MdBioLab – a self-contained, mobile STEM classroom offering teaching space, scientific equipment and lab supplies – to schools along the Gulf Coast and in Houston that suffered damage and loss of property.
Team members also rated the organization high on personal alignment with MdBio’s mission, flexible work environment, collaboration, a team-focused atmosphere, and the ability of individuals to create and implement programs that area meaningful to them.
Much of MdBio’s approach in the workplace translates into the way it operates outside headquarter walls. “What MdBio does is so unique – we approach a problem in a different way and try to figure out a fun and original way to solve it. It’s so rewarding to see the way that a student’s face lights up when they catch the spark of a new idea – like when they realize that there are career opportunities available to them that they have never thought about before,” said Jennifer Colvin, MdBio’s vice president of education. “To watch someone go from not thinking that they can do something, to knowing that they can do it, to believing in themselves – that’s what we are all about.”
In its 12th year, the Best Places to Work program honors 100 Greater Washington companies and organizations that scored highest among hundreds of employers that participated in Omaha, Neb.-based Quantum Workplace’s annual employee engagement survey. The survey sought information about team effectiveness, retention, employee alignment with company goals, trust with co-workers, individual contribution, manager effectiveness, trust in leadership, feeling valued, work engagement, people practices, communication and resources, individual needs, personal engagement and team dynamics. The Best Places to Work results are quantitative, based on survey responses from employees themselves, rather than a panel of outside judges.
The Washington Business Journal will name the top company in four categories, based on the size of the companies, at its annual awards event on May 17 at the MGM National Harbor.
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About MdBio Foundation
MdBio Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides innovative, effective and experiential science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development opportunities to underserved communities. MdBio’s interdisciplinary approach uses STEM to explore a real-world, problem-centric curriculum that bridges school, community, health and business. The foundation’s flagship program is a mobile laboratory for high schools that has provided quality educational experiences to more than 150,000 students throughout the state of Maryland since its launch in 2003. MdBio also operates other celebrated STEM education programs, such as the Young Science Explorers Program for middle school students, the Maryland BioGENEius Award, and ATLAS: Advancing Tomorrow’s Leaders in STEM college and career symposium. Visit www.mdbiofoundation.org or follow on social media @MdBioFoundation.
