Meet Dr. Iris Wagstaff: Navigating a Hostile Environment; The Magic of Professional Networks; and Being an Ally

Episode Summary
1) Navigating an environment that has not been made for you or to support you is difficult at best. It is left to you to figure out how best to exist in this world, unfortunately.
2) Professional networks ARE so important to helping Black women and other minority women in finding that balance and sense of self in this world
3) The work that Iris and others are doing is soooooooooooooo important, however they cannot do it alone. Allies are needed, but not the superficial, surface level ones that don't actually mean what they say or do anything outside of saying meaningless words. We need people who are going to be in this fight to change this environment for the long haul.
Dr. Iris Wagstaff Bio:
She is a scientist, educator, mentor, researcher and STEM advocate. She currently serves as a STEM Program Director in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department of AAAS where I manage a $15 Million Dollar portfolio focused on broadening participation in STEM, workforce development ,and inclusive technology and innovation ecosystems. She served as a 2015-2017 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the DOJ National Institute of Justice Office where I developed and led an agency-wide diversity and inclusion initiative. She is a native of Goldsboro, NC with a BS and MS in Chemistry from UNC-Greensboro and NC A&T State Universities respectively; and a PhD in Science Education from North Carolina State University. Iris worked as a research chemist at the Dow Chemical Company for 15 years leading analytical project teams and company-wide diversity initiatives. She has over 20 years of STEM outreach and advocacy developing informal science programs, mentoring, resourcing parents, leading k-12 STEM teacher professional development, and building strategic partnerships between industry, academia, and community organizations.
She is also a social scientist with a research focus on examining factors that predict science self-efficacy, science identity, and STEM career intent in underrepresented/under-served youth populations. She serves on the Boards of several organizations that include the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the Chemical Society of Washington (CSW), and Science, Engineering, and Math Links (SEM). She is an adjunct chemistry professor at UNC-Greensboro where she leads diversity and inclusion efforts to broaden participation in the chemical sciences. She has received several honors that include the 2019 DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance Award for Education, the 2019 AERA Science Teaching and Learning Research Award, the 2019 BEYA Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award, the 2018 NOBCChE Presidential Award for Mentoring, the 2017 Women of Color in STEM K-12 Promotion of Education Award, and a 2016 nomination for the NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math, Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iris-r-wagstaff-ph-d-57140717?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BhOrS0zRAQ6uPmifs2I0T%2FA%3D%3D

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