INDIANAPOLIS – Project Lead The Way is proud to announce the appointment of John Calabrese to its Board of Directors. Mr. Calabrese is the Vice President of Global Vehicle Engineering for General Motors. For the past several years, Calabrese has been a leading advocate of GM’s STEM educational outreach.
“We are excited and honored to have John Calabrese join the Project Lead The Way Board of Directors,” said PLTW Board Chairman Frank Zaffino. “John has a wealth of engineering and leadership experience. Combined with his passion for engineering and commitment to expanding student access to STEM education, he is a valuable addition to our Board.”
Calabrese began his career at General Motors Company (GM) in 1979 as an intern in GM’s Fisher Body Division, having earned an academic GM scholarship at the Illinois Institute of Technology while studying to complete his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University. In his 32-year career with the global vehicle manufacturer, Calabrese has served as an experimental engineer, executive director of global advanced purchasing, and executive director and global functional leader of several engineering divisions. Today, he is responsible for the engineering of GM vehicles around the world. His many roles, and the manner in which he got his start at GM, have made Calabrese an advocate for STEM education.
In addition to serving on PLTW’s Board of Directors, Calabrese is the key GM executive for Virginia Tech and sits on the advisory board of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. He chaired the Leadership Committee for the 2013 SAE Foundation STEM Celebration and is a board member for the Engineering Society of Detroit and the Michigan Science Center.
“I look forward to joining this group of professionals. We all share a passion for pushing the science and math educational programs forward in this country and that starts with training our educators,” Calabrese said. “It is essential that the next generation of professionals has the skills and education necessary to compete on a global platform, particularly as it pertains to STEM-related fields. Project Lead The Way is a program that helps ignite student interest in these vital subjects by having teachers learn new and exciting applications for the principles they teach.”
The PLTW Board of Directors is dedicated to improving student education in the United States, linking it to economic development and the job demands of a high-tech, highly skilled global economy. The business acumen and experience of the board is vital to the direction and success of PLTW, recently recognized by Change the Equation as one of just four high-quality STEM organizations that are ready to be taken to scale on a national level. PLTW is also on the Social Impact Exchange’s S&I 100 Index, recognizing the top 100 performing nonprofit organizations in the United States.
For more information on PLTW’s Board of Directors, visit http://www.pltw.org/about-us/board-directors.
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About PLTW Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of STEM programs. PLTW’s world-class, activity-, project-, and problem-based curriculum and high-quality teacher professional development model, combined with an engaged network of educators and corporate partners, help students develop the skills needed to succeed in our global economy. More than 5,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently offering PLTW courses to their students. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.