Impact Report
2024-25
Letter from our Executive Director
I am Proud to present the 2024-25 Willie Mae Rock Camp Impact Report!
In our 21st year, Willie Mae Rock Camp cemented our commitment to expanding STEM programming and to building an intergenerational community of students, teachers, artists, and alumni.
When I was appointed Executive Director in 2020, Willie Mae began expanding from its origins as a summer rock camp to include a more expansive program roster that weaves together music and technology, preparing students for an increasingly tech-focused future. During the past year, we’ve demonstrated this expansion by serving over 600 girls and gender-expansive youth in programs that not only taught music skills but also physics, coding, engineering, filmmaking, graphic design, and more.
Building on the success of our pilot program last year, we welcomed our second Alumni Fellows cohort. Our Alumni Fellows program allows us to provide continued support to Willie Mae students even after they graduate from our youth programs. It’s an honor to watch them grow into confident and innovative artists (and even, sometimes, become Willie Mae teaching artists or staff).
This year, we also deepened our emphasis on intergenerationality as highlighted in our June 2025 event, Future Sounds Mixtape, at the National Sawdust venue in Brooklyn. During this multimedia experience, students performed alongside teaching artists and mentors. The concert showcased how Willie Mae Rock Camp creates opportunities for our students to connect with artists and musicians of all ages and brought them together for a unique, creative, and unforgettable night.
I am extremely grateful to everyone in the Willie Mae Rock Camp community who has supported us this year—whether you’ve been here from the beginning or just joined us. We couldn’t do this work without you.
LaFrae Sci, Executive Director
About
Willie Mae Rock Camp
Willie Mae Rock Camp integrates music, technology, and STEM to empower girls and gender-expansive youth ages 10-17 across NYC with the skills and confidence to thrive as creative leaders in a tech-driven future.
We open new possibilities for girls and gender-expansive youth to express themselves while building creative and tech-based skills—with a focus on youth of color. Through the language of music, our students increase their understanding of technology and their confidence to create with it. These transferable skills help prepare them to thrive as creators and innovators in a world being rapidly transformed by digital and analog technologies.
Led by a team of professional musicians and artists, we reach hundreds of girls and gender-expansive youth annually through tuition-free programming in schools, community sites, and our Brooklyn Sound Lab.
2024-25 BY THE NUMBERS
2024-25 BY THE NUMBERS
Our Impact
2
Alumni fellows
639
Girls and gender-expansive youth ages 10-17 served
71%
Of students reported increased understanding of creative tech
89%
Of students reported increased ability to express themselves
Our Students
88%
People of color
75%
Low-income
Our Reach
10
Program sites throughout NYC
In-school music education
Community programming site
Willie Mae Music Lab
Youth
Programs
Community Workshops
We conducted community-based workshops throughout NYC giving 174 students increased access to arts and tech education.
AfterSchool Digital Mentorship
38 students participated in our afterschool digital mentorship program, which teaches STEM and creative skills through electronic music and digital arts.
In-School Music Education Programs
We served 445 students through school-day music education programs bringing contemporary music production tools into the classroom at five schools.
Summer and School Break Camps
We served 48 students through full-day summer and school break camps teaching the fundamentals of producing music and multimedia art with creative tech.
2024-2025 Highlights
Willie mae at national sawdust
In June 2025, Willie Mae Rock Camp presented Future Sounds Mixtape, an intergenerational performance. Students from our advanced digital mentorship afterschool series shared a 20-channel audio piece they composed, recorded, and edited along with dynamic visuals that they created using Hydra, a live-coding application. Students also performed live with teaching artists, who are all professional musicians, including composed and improvised work.
Alumni Fellows
This year, we welcomed our second cohort of fellows: Thea King and Aadi McKain! Our fellows received support and mentorship to develop their artistic skills and create new, original works that they later performed live. We also launched a new website section to promote the fellowship to interested alumni and to showcase our fellows—past and present—and their work.
Soul Sonic Science Summit
Our second Soul Sonic Science Summit was an Intergalactic Ice Cream Social! Our students explored the science behind ice cream, discovering how its physics connects to the vast patterns and mysteries of the universe, and then made their own batch of vanilla from scratch! Students also learned about cosmology from special guest Dr. Stephon Alexander and then created their own unique intergalactic ice cream truck jingles.
Student
Work Spotlight
2024-2025 Financials
*Financial statements not yet audited
Revenue: $1.18 M
FOUNDATIONS - 74%
GOVERNMENT - 10%
CORPORATE - 7%
INDIVIDUALS - 6%
IN-KIND - 2%
EARNED REVENUE - 1%
ExpenseS: $1.12 M
MANAGEMENT & GENERAL - 26%
PROGRAM SERVICES - 67%
FUNDRAISING - 7%
Our 2024-25 Partners
Altman Foundation
Blackened Records
Chompi Club
Dream Machine Experience Inc.
F&G
Find Your Light Foundation
Frank and Ruth E. Caruso Foundation
The Henry Bowman Backer Memorial Fund
The Hyde and Watson Foundation
Law Rocks
Marshall
Mellon Foundation
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council
New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature
Office of the Brooklyn Borough President
The Patrina Foundation
Reverb
Tides Foundation Advancing Girls Fund
Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation
