BEYA37 STEM Leading Voices Program

VOICES LEADING

The Root of Innovation

Innovation happens when we cultivate the expansive STEM research taking place on our college campuses that ultimately becomes part of our nation’s industrial fabric and our daily lives. We sow. We reap. We grow. Nowhere is this more evident than in the multicultural richness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. HBCUs have a long legacy of research innovation that provides answers to pivotal questions and provides solutions to problems. An evening with BEYA’s Leading Voices celebrates STEM Innovators, experts in their fields who deliver thought-provoking TechTalks that enlighten and challenge conventional thinking.

HOSTS:

Dr. Victor McCrary

Vice President for Research, University of the District of Columbia

Angela Stribling

Sponsor Remarks:

Tammy Turner Director Global Service Technical Operations, Abbott

BEYA Leading Voices Tech Talk

TECH TALK PRESENTERS

Dr. James L. Moore, III Assistant Director, STEM-ED Directorate, National Science Foundation

f TITLE: TBD

As a member of the executive leadership team at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Dr. James L. Moore III is the Assistant Director for the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU). With an annual budget of over $1 Billion and personnel oversight for nearly 200 employees, he serves as the senior leader for EDU, which supports science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects focusing on K-12 education, undergraduate and graduate education, workforce, and human resource development, and learning in formal and informal settings. Prior to his NSF appointment, Dr. Moore served, for over five years, as the university’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion, chief diversity officer, and leader of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (one of the nation’s oldest, largest, and most comprehensive office of its kind) at The Ohio State University. From 2015 to 2017, he served as a program director for Broadening Participation in Engineering in the Directorate for Engineering at NSF, and, during that time, he was one of the program directors who helped launch the highly acclaimed, cross-directorate, NSF INCLUDES, a $100 million plus national broadening participation in STEM initiative. From 2011 to 2015, he was an associate provost for diversity and inclusion at The Ohio State University, where he managed numerous nationally acclaimed programs and units.

Dr. Shery Welsh Director, Air Force Office of Scientific Research

f TITLE: FLOODING THE US WITH DIVERSE STEM TALENT

Dr. Shery Welsh, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Director, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Arlington, Virginia. In this role, she leads the management of the Department of the Air Force’s global basic research investment as part of the Air Force Research Laboratory. AFOSR has a staff of 200 scientists, engineers and administrators in Arlington and foreign technology offices in London, UK, Tokyo, Japan, Santiago, Chile, São Paulo, Brazil, and Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Welsh ensures the success of a $500 million a year basic research investment portfolio and the transition of resulting discoveries to other components of the Air Force Research Laboratory, defense industries and other Defense Department components. The AFOSR’s annual investment in basic research is distributed among roughly 300 academic institutions worldwide, 100 industry-based contracts, and more than 250 internal AFRL research efforts.

Dr. Welsh brings over 35 years of experience from the DoD as a federal employee for the Department of the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. In her previous role, she served as the Director, Science & Technology, for the Missile Defense Agency. She sought out cutting-edge technology from across the world within industry, DoD, and the National Laboratories to advance state-of-the-art technologies to benefit the warfighter. Other assignments in the Missile Defense Agency include Chief Engineer for the Airborne Laser Program, Director of Target and Countermeasure Requirements, Chief Scientist for the Interceptor Knowledge Center, and Chief Engineer for the Advanced Technology Program Office. Dr. Welsh’s first 20 years working for the Air Force afforded her the opportunity to work many programs such as the F22, C-130U Gunship, C-17, Joint Strike Fighter, F-16, B-2, Airborne Laser, and the Wide-body Aerial Sensor Platform.

Mr. Craig Gravitz

Lead, Project Accelerator Transition Innovation Office, ARPA-H

f TITLE: TBD

Craig Gravitz is currently designing and implementing ARPA-H’s commercialization and transition strategy. Craig is a licensed attorney who has served various roles in government, primarily in the Department of Defense. He has been a contracting officer, negotiating and awarding many high-dollar value, complex contracts. More recently, he designed and ran a rapid prototyping team that launched many capabilities, spanning from 3D modeling, cybersecurity, on-demand manufacturing, and novel R&D procurement approaches. His team at ARPA-H is using the lessons learned from rapid prototyping—including application of lean launch, humancentered design, and agile capability deployment.

Ms. LaTrease Garrison

Chief Operating Officer, American Chemical Society

f TITLE: CATALYTIC EFFORTS TO BUILD A DIVERSE STEM WORKFORCE

LaTrease E. Garrison, the Chief Operating Officer of the American Chemical Society, received her BS in chemistry from Howard University and completed her MBA degree at Strayer University where her research focused on succession planning for the non‐profit organization. She received her certificate in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University. She joined ACS in 1992 as a Program Assistant for Chemical & Engineering News magazine. In 1996 she moved to the Education Division where she held several positions including Senior Program Manager of Undergraduate Programs. In 2005 Ms. Garrison was appointed to the position of Special Assistant to the Director of the Education Division. She previously served as the Assistant Director of the Member Communities/ Department of Volunteer Support and Director of the Administrative and Programmatic Technology group and the Professional Advancement Team. LaTrease was the Executive Vice President for Education from 2016—2020 and Executive Vice President for ACS Education, Membership and Scientific Advancement from 2020‐2022. She has served as staff liaison to various ACS Committees and Task Forces and is a trained facilitator for courses within the ACS Leadership Development System. In her current role LaTrease provides strategic direction and oversight for the Washington Information Technology unit; the Office of Philanthropy; ACS Membership; ACS Education; ACS Scientific Advancement;

Meetings and Events; and global society engagement. LaTrease is a Co‐Principal Investigator, NSF INCLUDES Alliance: Inclusive Graduate Education Network (NSF 1834545) where the ACS Bridge Project was established to increase the number of underrepresented students receiving PhDs in the chemical sciences. LaTrease has been married to D’Vell Garrison for over 25 years, and they are the proud parents of three children. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the American Chemical Society, the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers and an active volunteer at her church. (LaTrease E. Garrison Leading Learning Advisor – Leading Learning Symposium)

Dr. Lawrence Potter Provost & Chief Academic Officer, University of the District of Columbia

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Lawrence T. Potter, Jr., Ph.D., was appointed Chief Academic Officer at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) in February 2019, where he provides leadership for academic colleges and schools, graduate, and professional education, continuing education, workforce development, research and sponsored programs, university libraries, and teaching and learning.

Dr. Potter has an impressive nearly thirty-year career in higher education as an academic leader—moving successfully through the professorial ranks (assistant professor, associate professor, and professor); serving

as a department chair, associate dean, and college dean at two Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs; HBCU and HSI), two-time inaugural chief diversity officer (CDO), and Director/Principal Investigator on extramurallyfunded grants and contracts totaling more than $20M to support his teaching innovations, research activities, and students success initiatives. His professional experiences at diverse types of U.S. higher education institutions (public/private, liberal arts/comprehensive/ research-intensive, urban/rural/regional, HBCU/HSI/ PWI) have made him a highly sought-after speaker and expert on matters related to college access, student success and retention initiatives, faculty development and advancement, academic and strategic planning, institutional climate and culture (equity, inclusion, and belonging), international educational partnerships, curricular innovation, and entrepreneurial growth, as well as fundraising/friends-raising.

Dr. Potter graduated magna cum laude with a triple major in English, philosophy, and religion from Stillman College. He earned a master’s and Ph.D. in English literature and literary criticism, with distinction, from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

CLOSING REMARKS

Dr. Victor McCrary

Conference Co-Hosts

Conference Co-Sponsors

The Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Official Airline Official Retail Partner