Showing 30 results for:
Black Women In STEM
Popular topics
All results
Jasmine Lee’s path into technology has been anything but conventional — and that’s exactly what makes it powerful. After earning her accounting degree in 2022 from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, she joined Accenture as an analyst, according to her LinkedIn. She has since been promoted to management consulting senior analyst. In an interview with AFROTECH™, she shared that she hopes to make healthcare systems more accessible through innovations, including generative AI. Her work aims to enhance pricing transparency, improve claims processing and maintain the human element in healthcare, ensuring technology serves people, not just processes. Her career journey is only part of the story. At the same time, Lee has built a leadership presence in Black Wings, a program within Rewriting the Code (RTC) that connects and uplifts more than 2,500 Black women pursuing STEM careers. After receiving a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis in 2023, Lee has leaned even further into her...
When Prairie View A&M University MBA student, Eno Oduok (Class of 2025), stepped onto the stage at the HBCU Founders Initiative’s (HBCUFI) 2025 Better Futures Competition earlier this summer, she carried more than just a pitch deck — she brought a vision for the future of energy and a belief in what HBCU founders can achieve when fully supported. Her startup, el powr, an AI-powered energy management platform, secured third place in the competition. Designed to help commercial buildings and school systems optimize energy consumption, reduce costs, and lower carbon emissions through a centralized hub, Oduok described it as the “Fitbit for commercial buildings,” in a press release shared with AFROTECH™. Winning the HBCUFI Better Futures Competition felt “empowering, energizing, no pun intended,” she told AFROTECH™. “HBCUFI is an organization that aligns with our values and our mission. It’s one of the few organizations worldwide that truly supports HBCU students, alumni and founders....
Resilience, determination, and a commitment to paving the way for future generations — all qualities that define Sharon Bowen, the first Black woman and person of color to chair the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024 , Bowen joined Uber’s Vice President of Operations and General Manager of North American Rides, Camiel Irving, to reflect on her trailblazing career spanning law, finance, and government, highlighting the power of mentorship, networking, and diversity in leadership. Watch the full session at AFROTECH™ Conference 2024. Bowen’s beginnings trace back to her childhood as the youngest of five children growing up in segregated Virginia, where she attended the same all-Black elementary school as her siblings. “And those teachers and my family and community sort of instilled the confidence in me, stress the importance of education to me,” Bowen said. “And it’s that background. I stand where I am today because of that background. So [I] always want to...
Stephanie Dinkins is merging AI and art for an exhibition in Brooklyn, NY. An “artist by birth,” Dinkins began with a display of her photography from a trip to Central America — a trip prompted by her interest in learning Spanish. This exhibit, held in Staten Island, would become her first. Fast forward to 2025, and she has launched an exhibit that is merging art and AI with the goal of creating a more equitable future. Dinkins told AFROTECH™ in an interview that she’s always been drawn to technology, and in 2014 a pivotal moment pushed her to deeply explore how the future is being shaped. She witnessed a humanoid robot on YouTube, called Bina48, being interviewed by reporters. The technology was launched by Hanson Robotics four years earlier based primarily on the personality and appearance of Bina Aspen Rothblatt, a Black woman, the company website mentioned. Dinkins reached out to the company, which permitted her to talk to the robot that was being trained through conversations...
Dr. Valerie Camille Jones Ford, an educator with over 25 years of dedicated service, was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame on June 20, becoming only the sixth Black woman to receive the honor. The induction joins a long list of accolades, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, recognition in the U.S. Congressional Record by the late Rep. John Lewis, and multiple honors from President Barack Obama for her work advancing equity and excellence in education. As a Black female leader in STEM education , Jones Ford is committed to using her platform to inspire underrepresented students to pursue similar paths. “I’m incredibly proud to be among such amazing educators, but it lets me know there’s still work to be done as far as bringing recognition, because I know there are so many teachers of color who deserve this platform,” Jones Ford told AFROTECH™. She said that she wanted to use her platform to share her experience and to bring...
For CeD Mixon, balancing user-centered design with data-driven product strategy is core to his approach. As a seasoned design leader, he collaborates closely with product managers, VPs, and cross-functional teams to keep the end goal sharply focused on the user. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024 , Mixon shared actionable insights on when to lead with design thinking and when to lean into product-led growth. The session offered practical frameworks to help engineers, designers, and solution architects align product development with both user experience and business goals. With over a decade of experience scaling companies from small startups to global platforms impacting millions, Mixon reflected on entering the tech industry at a time when he was often the only Black person in predominantly white spaces. Purchase your ticket to AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 now! View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH™ Conference (@afrotech.conference) “In the beginning, I wasn’t that...
Awnya Creque’s journey into tech was informed by her mother. The Williamsburg, VA, native, currently residing in Dallas, TX, recalled during an interview with AFROTECH™ where her unconventional entryway into technology began. Her mother had been a branch manager for Bank of America and was robbed at gun point. Creque was 12 years old at the time, and it sparked an interest for criminal justice. “Her whole life changed because she couldn’t sleep. She suffered from PTSD, had to take medication. And from that day forward, I was just like, ‘I wanna take bad people off the street or people who are changing people’s lives for the worst.’ And so that’s where I got my start in my passion for criminal justice. And I knew that I wanted to be an investigator and a police officer as a young teen,” Creque explained. She went on to attend the University of Maryland, earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 2009 and completed a one-year master’s program at Norfolk State University between...
As data remains the backbone of digital advertising and regulatory scrutiny continues to grow, technologists are uniquely positioned to influence the industry’s future. At AFROTECH™ 2024 , Juliette Stancil, senior assistant general counsel of data privacy at Intuit Inc. — the parent company of TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mailchimp, and Credit Karma — led a workshop tackling the intersection of digital advertising and data privacy. Stancil unpacked current challenges, evolving platform rules, and privacy-first innovations — equipping attendees with the insights needed to navigate and influence a rapidly shifting landscape. “I would encourage anyone to really read through privacy settings and the privacy policy of any of the places you tend to visit or where you ingest content,” Stancil shared early in the session. “And you might be surprised at the number of capabilities you have to set permissions around what gets collected and what gets used, particularly for marketing and advertising...
Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), once known primarily for powering video games, have evolved into the backbone of today’s most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems. At AFROTECH™ 2024 , Seyi (Shay) Ogebule, Ph.D., product lead at Intel and a seasoned expert in IoT and tech manufacturing, took the Cybersecurity Stage to share how GPUs are revolutionizing edge AI. “What powers AI? How does AI work? What’s behind the scenes?” Dr. Ogebule asked the audience. “So, I spent a lot of my career and my work over a decade-plus behind the scenes trying to create those specialized chips so that you can enjoy the benefits of AI.” Purchase your ticket to AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 now! During the panel, viewers learned about the latest breakthroughs in GPU technology, which is used to process massive volumes of data, and how such advancements are making general computing and AI more efficient, accessible, and impactful. As Ogebule explained, the growing demand for real-time, intelligent...
Aisha Bowe nearly failed high school but she never allowed her dreams to escape her, leading her into space. Choosing Her Own Path In high school, a guidance counselor suggested that Bowe, a first-generation Bahamian-American, consider a career in cosmetology, since school had not been her strong suit at the time. However, it was through her father — who passed away in 2025 — that she found encouragement to pursue mathematics and reject the limited path the counselor had envisioned for her. On the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas, Bowe acknowledges that the counselor’s restrictive views made her feel “demoralized,” so she chose not to apply to a four-year university and instead enrolled in a community college. Following a reality check, Bowe decided she wanted to become a NASA rocket scientist, a dream first envisioned by her father, who had initially moved to the United States to pursue this goal, notes Travel Noire. “I wanted to do...
By age 6, children already begin to associate boys with greater aptitude in STEM fields, including computer science and engineering, compared to girls. Such beliefs among girls tend to become deeply ingrained over time. The 74 reported these reports stem from an analysis conducted by the American Institutes for Research, released Monday. This comprehensive review examined nearly 100 studies across 33 countries. David Miller, the lead author and a senior researcher who launched the project five years ago, emphasized that without efforts to address such perceptions, girls may turn away from “fast-growing tech fields like artificial intelligence .” In elementary school, girls comprise about half of the students enrolled in foundational computer science courses. However, the participation drops to 44% in middle school and decreases to 33% in high school, according to The 74. Miller noted that these findings have significant implications for girls’ decisions regarding high school course...
Dr. Tiara Moore has created a community for Black marine scientists. She was born in Philadelphia, PA, and at 18 months, she and her grandmother moved to South Carolina after her mother was sent to spend time behind bars. “She moved us to get us basically out of harm’s way,” Dr. Moore explained to AFROTECH™. Dr. Moore grew up with her grandmother’s children in a modest household. She spent some of her days reading various books, nurturing her interest in education. She also credits “The Cosby Show” with inspiring her to become a doctor. Interest In Marine Biology And Environmental Science Dr. Moore attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, on a full-ride scholarship and majored in biology with the goal of becoming a pre-med student. However, the reality of being a doctor working in a standard practice settled in, and she decided to pivot to marine and environmental science. “I realized, probably not even a year or two in, that I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t really like the...
Three Black women are making history at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC. According to WXII-12 in Winston-Salem, NC, students Kristi Barnes, Maya Odom, and Breyana Robinson have been selected as recipients of the 2023 Astronaut Scholarship. The scholarship is offered by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 1984 by a group including the six surviving members of the “Mercury 7,” the U.S.’s first astronauts, per its website. The organization provides over 60 scholarships yearly. Additionally, this scholarship is “among the largest merit-based monetary scholarships” distributed to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate juniors and seniors.” Those who are recipients are supported with $15,000 and will receive mentorship and guidance from astronauts, top-tier executives, and industry leaders. “I was thankful to get the scholarship,” Odom, an aspiring...
Nowadays, people are more aware that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) are not simply the future. Arguably, both are the most important sectors driving economic growth and academic tracks today. From an professional standpoint, both STEM and STEAM are natural segues into the technology industry. With concerns around digital divides and achievement gaps, it is understandable that leaders in the Black community are pushing even harder to ensure that youth and adults, making career pivots have access to opportunity. More importantly, pointing to representation in the tech field gives prospective employees and students choosing academic paths a relatable and attainable goal. Which happens to be the perfect pivot into; currently, women make up 35% of the current tech workforce. This is such a significant improvement from the early 2000’s when women made up approximately 9%. In 2023, women held only...
