She Took a President’s Call for Action to Heart

Talia Milgrom-Elcott leading the charge for STEM teachers in US schools Hear more from Talia Milgrom-Elcott and other innovative analysts, thought leaders, and educators at the 2018 Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), January 23-26 in Orlando, Florida. Learn more here.

When President Obama called for the country to recruit 100,000 STEM teachers in ten years in his 2011 State of the Union address, Talia Milgrom-Elcott decided she was going to lead the charge to make it happen. In a rare case of a citizen answering the call of a president, Talia formed 100Kin10 (one hundred K in ten), a recruitment group with a goal of leading the charge to attract those 100,000 teachers.

Talia rolled up her sleeves and took the challenge head-on with drive, determination, and, as she says in hindsight, a little bit of naivety and foolishness. But it all came together, and at the halfway point the group has recruited more than 200 organizations to join in the recruitment and retention of STEM teachers in American schools.

The journey is far from over, but it is considered a success already. For information on how to help or join the movement, visit 100Kin10.org.

This article was originally published in the Huffington Post by Dr. Rob Berger.

About Talia Milgrom-Elcott

Talia is widely recognized for her visionary and innovative approach to tackling large, systemic challenges. At 100Kin10, she’s creating a new model for networked, nimble, and iterative collaboration that’s relentlessly focused on identifying—and solving—some of our most intractable social challenges.

Under her leadership, what began as a call in President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address for 100,000 excellent STEM teachers in 10 years is becoming a reality, with more than 250 leading organizations from across sectors coming together in an unprecedented movement to train and retain 100,000 excellent STEM teachers by 2021. With 100Kin10, Talia is building a new type of collective-impact effort that breaks the mold for how organizations collaborate, learn from one another, and together tackle challenges that none could successfully address on its own.

Talia earned her chops in education and philanthropy working with amazing mentors as a Program Officer at Carnegie Corporation of New York from 2007-13, and as part of Chancellor Joel Klein’s leadership team at the New York City Department of Education before that.

Talia graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three little kids. She used to read lots of books and magazines, run, practice yoga, and sit in cafes reading the Sunday Times. Now she plays with Legos, magnetiles, and “stuffies” and reads books with pictures, a great tradeoff, all things considered.

Follow Talia Milgrom-Elcott on

Talia Milgrom-Elcott speaking at the upcoming FETC:

AuthorDr. Berger is one of many industry education correspondents for the Mind Rocket Media Group, An educator and former school administrator. His video interview work and conversational podcasts have been featured in various media outlets. He often hosts education panel discussions and develops strategic content. As an academic Dr. Berger is a guest lecturer at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. A former assistant principal, he has been an adjunct undergraduate professor and developer of online college courses. He is a passionate Detroit sports fan who has also adopted Nashville sports teams as his own. 

Contact the Mind Rocket Media Group if you are interested in an industry interview and a placement on EdCircuit.
Further Reading

1. Deseret News – Salt Lake company expands into online STEM programs for teachers, consumers
2. Juneau Empire – A new STEM collaboration has Juneau teachers working hand-in-hand with scientists
3. eSchool News – Where will STEM education be in 5 years?