We build pipelines for high school and college students who are the first in their families to attend college, or who come from low-income households, and we set them up for success navigating a scientific career.
FLi Sci was founded by Gabriel Reyes in June 2020, during the most disruptive months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The need was not new — but its visibility suddenly was. As a graduate student at Teachers College and an intern with The Opportunity Network, Gabriel designed a virtual summer research program for students whose in-person pathways into science had just disappeared.
The program worked. And in its success, something became impossible to ignore: not only were there too few scientists who had grown up in financially scarce environments — there were also almost no resources dedicated to changing that. In places where access to research, mentorship, and scientific community is scarce or nonexistent, the gap is a closed door.
FLi Sci exists to build that door open. We serve high school and college students from low-income backgrounds, or who are the first in their families to attend college, and we create the bridges — cohorts, mentorship, research, community — that make a scientific career feel possible, then real.
To support the scientific development of students who identify as first-generation and/or low-income, by providing opportunities that foster the integral skills necessary to pursue science — professionally or academically.
We envision a future where FLi Sci no longer has to exist — because entry into science is equitable and accessible to everyone, without regard to race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status.
Our staff share the backgrounds of the scholars we serve. Representation is not a slogan — it's the operating assumption of the organization.
Scientific training should be demanding. It should also be humane. We refuse to treat those two commitments as being in tension.
We invest in students furthest from scientific opportunity — not the ones nearest to it. Our metric is doors opened, not names recognized.
A scholar's success is not the end point. Alumni return as fellows, mentors, and board members — the pipeline loops back on itself.
Our staff share the lived experiences of the students we serve — we're committed to making science more inclusive by creating real professional opportunities for those who need them.
First-generation college graduate. Brown (BA, Cognitive Neuroscience), Columbia (MA, Neuroscience & Education), Stanford (PhD candidate, Knight-Hennessy Scholar). Echoing Green & Roddenberry Fellow.
Plant specialist with a background in youth education, agriculture, and plant pharmacology. Dual BA (Psychology & International Studies), University of New Mexico.
Operational backbone of the organization — keeps the work moving and the community connected.
Third-year medical student at the University of Miami, originally from Nigeria. Aspiring OB-GYN, experienced tutor, dedicated to expanding research access.
First-generation student completing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. Research spans youth mental health, ADHD, and measure development.
Doctoral student in Community Health and Health Behavior at the University at Buffalo. BA & MPH, Cornell. Researches structural inequities in youth mental health.
PhD candidate in Political Science at Michigan State. Helps scholars explore social-science research, develop data literacy, and build confidence as future scholars.
Director of STEM initiatives at the Center for College Access and Success of Northeastern Illinois University. Two-term president of the Illinois TRIO association.
PhD in Education, Stanford. Research focuses on retention and professional attainment for underrepresented groups across the STEM career pipeline.
Public-health leader bringing a systems-level perspective to the science pipeline and the policy environment that shapes it.
STEM educator and advocate for access programs at Northeastern Illinois University.
Leader of institutional diversity strategy at one of the nation's premier public research universities.
Our Youth Advisory Board keeps the organization accountable to the students it serves — composed of current scholars and alumni including Cleo Ibrahim, Emily S. Hernandez-Guzman, and Andres Large.
Three tracks, one mission — explore how our scholars move from curiosity to scientific career.