Cultivating STEM Resilience and Reflection: A Growing Partnership Between WYEN and PEAR
Updated: 3 days ago
About the Wyoming Enrichment Network (WYEN)
The Wyoming Enrichment Network (WYEN) is a statewide intermediary dedicated to bridging that gap between Wyoming’s out-of-school programs and the communities they uplift, ensuring that all youth in Wyoming have access to high-quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities. By bringing together organizations, leaders, and institutions across the state, WYEN strengthens youth programs that promote academic success, health and wellness, and positive youth development. The network serves as a hub for advocacy, professional learning, and resource-sharing to ensure all young people — especially those in rural and underserved communities — can thrive.
One of WYEN’s signature programs is the Wyoming Summer Mentors, a prestigious leadership opportunity that recruits undergraduate students from the University of Wyoming to serve as STEM education facilitators across the state for the summer and future workforce leaders. As part of this program, mentors receive coaching, hands-on experience with youth, and robust training in resilience and youth development.
Partnering with PEAR to Enrich Youth Leadership and Mental Wellness
Since 2019, the Wyoming Enrichment Network has partnered with PEAR (Partnerships in Education and Resilience) to integrate a developmental, strength-based approach into their youth leadership programming. PEAR, an organization grounded in research from Harvard University and McLean Hospital, helps youth-serving institutions build environments that promote resilience, belonging, and reflective practice.
The collaboration began when Michelle Sullivan, WYEN Director, invited Jamaal Williams, the Director of Training at PEAR, to present the Clover Model of Youth Development during a co-organized youth development conference in 2019. Impressed by the model’s combination of depth, relevance, and understandability for youth professionals, WYEN re-
engaged PEAR in 2022 to introduce the Clover Model to their Summer Mentors, creating a foundation of social-emotional understanding for future educators and leaders. As Michelle explains,
“The Clover Model has become a frame through
which we can think about our broader
work in the state.”
Building the Foundation: A Multi-Year Journey of Growth
PEAR and WYEN launched an evolving, multi-year collaboration that has brought the Clover Model into the heart of the Summer Mentorship experience:
2023: Inaugural Clover training for University of Wyoming Summer Mentors, facilitated virtually by Jamaal Williams. Fellows explored the four elements of youth thriving — Active Engagement, Assertiveness, Belonging, and Reflection — and how to apply them in their own leadership and mentoring roles, bridging the connections between social-emotional development and STEM education.
2024:
Virtual Clover training for a new cohort of Fellows.
In-person end-of-fellowship reflection workshop focused on translating experiences into lifelong leadership skills.
Ongoing coaching and thought partnership to strengthen the design and implementation of the Fellowship experience.
2025:
In-person orientation retreat co-facilitated by WYEN and PEAR, where Fellows built community and engaged deeply with the Clover Model from the outset.
Continued virtual training, reflection, and coaching for WYEN leadership to further align the Fellowship’s developmental goals with state-level STEM education priorities.
Strategic Thinking and Organizational Impact
In 2025, WYEN underwent a major rebranding process to better reflect the field of out of school time youth development. PEAR served as a strategic thought partner during this transition, offering coaching, reflection tools, and facilitation support rooted in youth development principles.
Throughout the rebranding process, WYEN and PEAR collaborated to:
Explore how the Clover Model could shape WYEN’s evolving identity.
Strengthen internal team reflection and cohesion.
Connect with other youth-serving organizations across Wyoming, extending the Clover philosophy statewide.
This partnership has helped WYEN integrate developmental science into both individual leadership growth (through the Summer Mentors) and organizational innovation (through the rebrand and partnerships). One Wyoming Summer Mentors participant shared,
“After our weekly sessions, I feel empowered and like I'm ready to tackle the week. Overall, the Wyoming Summer Mentors has made me a better person for all the families I serve!”
For PEAR, this collaboration serves as a model for developing statewide systems of support in order to create large-scale impact.
Looking Ahead
The WYEN-PEAR partnership continues to evolve as a dynamic example of statewide systems change through developmental practice. What began as a single conference workshop has matured into an ongoing collaboration that now spans:
Annual mentor training and reflection
Strategic coaching and thought partnership with WYEN staff and leadership
Connections to a growing ecosystem of out-of-school time leaders across the state
With each year, WYEN’s work with PEAR deepens, ensuring that Wyoming’s youth leaders and educators are grounded in resilience, reflection, and purpose — ready to transform communities from the inside out.
