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Dr. Jessye Talley is currently an Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the School of Engineering at Morgan State University where she leads the Risk, Optimization, Management, Evaluation (R.O.M.E) Lab. Her research focuses on applying operations research methods to address supply chain management as well as utilizing qualitative methods for engineering education. Her current work has been funded by the National Science Foundation.  She co-founded Sisters Scholars to promote health and wellness during the doctorate and in academia. It is her desire to see more students complete the doctoral process and make it to the finish line.

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Dr. Saundra Johnson Austin has dedicated her career to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging of elementary, middle, and high school students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. Her research is grounded in the effective implementation of STEM curricula in urban middle schools. She has published and presented on STEM education and organizational change. Dr. Johnson Austin earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, and Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California.

At the University of South Florida (USF) she leads the project coordination for the National Science Foundation Florida Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (FL-AGEP), a $2.4M award to Florida A&M University (with a subaward to USF and Virginia Tech), Bethune-Cookman University, Florida International, and Florida Memorial University. Also, Dr. Johnson Austin is the project coordinator and Co-Principal Investigator for the USF Project Racism In School Exclusionary Suspensions (RISES), a $30k grant awarded to explore the suspensions of African American middle and high school students in Hillsborough and Pinellas County Florida.

Dr. Johnson Austin held positions as: math faculty at Academy Prep Center of Tampa; executive director of Curated PathwaysTM to Innovation; senior vice president for operations at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.; president and CEO of St. Michael’s High School; executive vice president of the Community Partnership for Lifelong Learning; executive director of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science; and Minority Engineering Program director at The Pennsylvania State University. She began her career as a cost engineering at Bechtel Power Corporation. In 2007 she founded Charis Consulting Group, LLC.

Dr. Johnson Austin was recognized by numerous organizations for her work in promoting equity and access to STEM education. Her most notable award is the 2015 Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in Civil and Environmental Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. In addition, she was awarded the 2004-2005 Selected Professions Fellowship by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Dr. Johnson Austin was awarded in 2007 the Strengthening Our Communities Inaugural Community Educational Leadership Award at the 2nd Annual Celebrate Literacy Conference. In 1998, she was recognized with the National Society of Black Engineers’ (NSBE) Inaugural Golden Torch Award for Minority Engineering Program Director of the Year and the Outstanding Contribution by a Minority Engineering Program Administrator Award by the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA).

She is a member of various STEM organizations including the United States White House endorsed initiative under the Obama Administration, Algebra by 7th Grade, and advisory committee member for the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s ‘Zero Barriers in STEM Education.’ Dr. Johnson Austin is currently the President of the American Association of University Women Tampa, Inc., consultant to the board for the Caribbean Community Association of Tampa, and Treasurer for the Northeast STEM Starter Academy of Mount Vernon, NY.

Dr. Johnson Austin is a member of the editorial review board for the Caribbean Educational Research Journal (CERJ). She also served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation’s CS for All Pathways, HBCU-Up, INCLUDES Conference and INCLUDES Launch Pilot.

She enjoys doing yoga, spending time on the beach, and mentoring young girls and women in STEM studies and careers.

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