Nina Vaca gave keynote address to high-school students from North Texas encouraging them to pursue education in STEM fields.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 25, 2020
Pinnacle Group Chairman and CEO Nina Vaca spoke to more than 300 high-school students at BNSF Railway’s Technology Awareness Day in Fort Worth, TX recently.
Vaca stressed the importance of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields and the valuable career opportunities that open up for those who pursue STEM. She also encouraged students to find opportunities while in school similar to the P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) program that Pinnacle Group supports.
“By focusing in the STEM fields, students can be a part of the tremendous economic engine helping make this country run,” Nina Vaca said. “STEM is a vehicle to find success and opportunities in the future for everyone – no matter their gender or race. We need to create these future leaders to meet the demands of tomorrow and to continue to power growth and innovation in American businesses.”
Vaca founded Pinnacle Group, a workforce solutions powerhouse, in 1996 and has spent much of her career focusing on education and creating opportunities for minorities and women in business. At each step of Pinnacle’s evolution, she has been an early adopter of the latest innovations to help propel the company forward. Not only has Vaca dedicated her personal time to expanding opportunities for women and minorities in STEM, but Pinnacle Group provides career preparation training and internship opportunities to high school and college students.
As a company that is continually recognized for their commitment to diversity, Pinnacle Group was proud to join BNSF to support diversity in STEM fields. BNSF started hosting Technology Awareness Day in 2004 as part of the National Black Family Technology Awareness Week, a campaign started by IBM that aims to promote significant minority achievement in engineering, science, and technology.
“As an immigrant and a trailblazing entrepreneur, Nina Vaca is a great partner for BNSF Technology Awareness Day,” Muru Murugappan, BNSF Railway Vice President for Technology Services and CIO, said. “Vaca and her company Pinnacle Group have shown their dedication to expanding opportunities for minorities and advocating greater inclusivity in the STEM fields.”
Laura Harris, from NBC5, was the emcee of the event, which was attended by more than 20 high schools from across the North Texas area. The event also held four contests with a theme “The Future is Here: Tech in the 21st Century.”
About Nina Vaca
Nina Vaca is the Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group. She is also one of the few (and youngest) Latinas serving as a director of publicly traded corporations. With Women on Boards 2020, she is working to increase the number of women on public company boards. In addition to her business leadership, Vaca is a civic leader and philanthropist, working relentlessly to expand opportunities for minorities and women in business, particularly in STEM fields in the U.S. and around the world. Recently, she was elected as a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She is also a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute as well as a German Marshall Memorial Fellow. For information and resources, visit NinaVaca.com.
About Pinnacle Group
Pinnacle Group is a leading provider of workforce solutions headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Founded by Nina Vaca in 1996, Pinnacle Group’s core services include talent acquisition and management, managed services (MSP), and payrolling. With an unwavering commitment to client service and a specialty in analytics and emerging technologies, Pinnacle Group provides transformational outcomes to primarily Fortune 100 clients. Its Progata Talent Platform utilizes machine learning (ML) and proprietary algorithms to help match talent with opportunity and maximize utilization rates. Pinnacle Group is consistently named one of the fastest-growing companies in the country and was named fastest-growing women-owned company in the country by the Women Presidents’ Organization in both 2015 and 2018. For more information, visit pinnacle1.com.
About BSNF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies. BNSF operates approximately 32,500 route miles of track in 28 states and also operates in three Canadian provinces. BNSF is one of the top transporters of consumer goods, grain and agricultural products, low-sulfur coal, and industrial goods such as petroleum, chemicals, housing materials, food and beverages. BNSF’s shipments help feed, clothe, supply, and power American homes and businesses every day. BNSF and its employees have developed one of the most technologically advanced, and efficient railroads in the industry. They work continuously to improve the value of the safety, service, energy, and environmental benefits provided to the customers and the communities they serve.
Michael Garcia, AVP Enterprise Services at BNSF Railway; Nina Vaca, Chairman and CEO at Pinnacle Group; and Kim Cummings, AVP Human Resources & Diversity at BNSF Railway.
“STEM is a vehicle to find success and opportunities in the future for everyone – no matter their gender or race. We need to create these future leaders to meet the demands of tomorrow and to continue to power growth and innovation in American businesses.”
