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Dr. Jerrod A. Henderson (“Dr. J”) is an Instructional Associate Professor in the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston. He has dedicated his career to increasing the number of students who are in the pipeline to pursue STEM careers. He believes that exposing students to STEM early will have a lasting impact upon their lives and academic pursuits. He is a co-founder of the St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy (SEBA). SEBA is an educational intervention aimed at exposing underrepresented fourth and fifth grade students to hands-on, inquiry based STEM experiments and activities.

Henderson is a part of the William A. Brookshire Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and he was recently appointed by the Dean of the College as the Director of the Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies (PROMES), a program aimed at increasing engineering student achievement, engagement, and retention. His research interests are in engineering identity formation and persistence among underrepresented students, especially Black males. He was most recently recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine as an Inspiring STEM Leader Award recipient. He was also recently awarded a Young Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Illinois’ College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (2019); and the Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award, by career communications group as a part of the 34th Black Engineer of the Year STEM Conference (2020).

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Dr. Erik M. Hines is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems at the Florida State University as well as the coordinator of the Counselor Education Program and School Counseling Track. Dr. Hines prepares graduate students to be professional school counselors. Dr. Hines’s research agenda centers around: (a) college and career readiness for Black males; (b) parental involvement and its impact on academic achievement for students of color; and (c) improving and increasing postsecondary opportunities for first generation, low-income, and students of color (particularly Black males). Additionally, his research interests include career exploration in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for students of color. Dr. Hines has secured research funding to study the college readiness and persistence of Black males to improve their academic and career outcomes. Further, Dr. Hines has worked on several grants aimed at increasing awareness of STEM careers for students of color and rural students. He has over 30 publications and secured over $1,000,000.00 in extramural and internal funding. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Counseling and Development, Professional School Counseling, The High School Journal, and Urban Education. Equally important, Dr. Hines is an ACA Fellow and received the Al Dye award for co-editing the special issue, Group Work with African Americans Children and Adolescents published in the Journal for Specialist in Group Work. Dr. Hines received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park in Counselor Education with a concentration in Urban School Counseling. Finally, he has worked as a counselor in various K-12 settings and for the Ronald E McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.

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My name is Jared Davis and I am currently a junior mechanical engineering major at the University of Houston. For the past year, I have been conducting research in relation to increasing participation of Black males in graduate engineering programs. I enjoy this work very much and hope that it is helpful for many students like myself!

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My name is Tyron Slack and I am a doctoral student in the Combined Counseling Psychology and School Psychology program at Florida State University. I am from New Orleans, Louisiana. I received my B.A. in Psychology at Southeastern Louisiana University and my Master's of Social Work degree at Florida State University. My clinical and research interests include African American student academic success, resilience, and mental health.

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