STATEN ISLAND, NY – Attention educators and parents of STEM-loving children: Deloitte, in collaboration with The Ella Project, has launched a virtual reading series of Deloitte-sponsored “Ella the Engineer” comic books alongside free, interactive toolkits.

The series promotes female leadership, inclusion, and diversity, and encourages young women to explore the exciting world of STEM, as stories unfold of of Ella the Engineer, a fearless young girl who uses science and technology to solve problems and save the day.

Together, the “Ella the Engineer” story time readings and toolkits provide a fully immersive educational experience, as parents continue to take on the role of at-home educators, according to the creator of the “Ella the Engineer” founder, Staten Islander Anthony Onesto, of Huguenot.

“We created ’Ella’ in 2014 when I noticed a huge gap in the number of women my company at the time, Razorfish, had in global technical roles,” said Onesto. “I wanted to recruit more women in tech, but also make an investment in the future.

“So, together with my daughters Nicolette and Ella (now 17 and 12, respectively) created a comic book called Ella the Engineer to entertain and show girls a tech hero. As our partnership continues into areas we didn’t even imagine, our goal remains to inspire future leaders.”

Deloitte’s collaboration with The Ella Project began in 2018 and the launch of the learning tools couldn’t come at a better time, now that blended and virtual learning are imminent this fall semester and parents take on the role of at-home educators.

Deloitte Development LLC