Lella Violet Halloum
2024 IVLP Impact Award Project: Full STEAM Ahead: Spark, Connect, RiseUnited Kingdom
Lella Violet Halloum works at IBM, where she orchestrates global student outreach and community development for underrepresented communities through learner-led, cross-sector collaborations in the STEAM industry. Lella Violet empowers learners through initiatives, including coding camps, hackathons, and mentorship programs. She also assists in determining the strategy of the IBM Z Student Ambassador program, which impacts 250 ambassadors worldwide and provides networking opportunities towards a globally inclusive and equitable digital transformation.
An award-winning Digital Changemaker, Lella Violet’s efforts transcend sectors as she collaborates with IBM and other industry giants, global governments, United Nations entities, and grassroots digital inclusion charities. She is a self-described thought leader committed to fostering an inclusive digital future. Lella Violet was featured in the global “Let’s Create” advertisement campaign as a pioneering leader who creatively uses technology to drive change.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Full STEAM Ahead: Spark, Connect, Rise
The project fosters STEAM awareness, collaboration, and replicable models for ongoing engagement in underserved communities. STEAM education opportunities are not evenly distributed across the United Kingdom, with geographically designated cold spots facing limited access to quality STEAM programs. Lella Violet’s project will bridge this opportunity gap through community- level high-impact engagements. Five workshops and various meetings across the United Kingdom's STEAM cold spots, culminating in a final roundtable discussion, will promote the exchange of ideas, experiences and proposed collective action for system- level change.
Lella is still in the planning stages of her project, but she has established partnerships several important organizations in the field, both in the US and the UK.Her partners have offered resources to support her in different aspects of her project, including access to a wider network and the delivery of workshops. Lella will spend this month circulating a one-page summary and proposal for her project to target beneficiary groups. She plans to deliver her five workshops and roundtable discussions over the next two months.
“My [IVLP Impact Award] project will not only inspire and excite underprivileged youth… [it will] also contribute to building more cognitively diverse, community-oriented foundations for a more unified and inclusive strategy for STEAM engagement.” – Lella Violet Halloum
IVLP Exchange Experience
Lella Violet participated in the IVLP Project: Promoting Inclusivity in STEAM organized by the U.S. Department of State and Mississippi Consortium for International Development, in partnership with Global Ties Sacramento, WorldDenver, WorldBoston, and World Affairs Council – Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky.
Lella Violet’s exchange experience led to the development of her project: “[On my IVLP], I saw the power of collaboration and innovation firsthand. My IVLP Impact Award project is the start of a long-term plan to turn cold spots into hotspots of equitable opportunity, where the next generation has the opportunity to unleash their true potential through the catalytic power of technology. The time for change is now, and my IVLP experience is just the beginning of this transformative journey.”
U.S. Communities Visited
Sacramento, CA; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; Cincinnati, OH