As part of our commitment to building the capacity of current ITEST projects and increasing cultural and geographical representation of future ITEST projects and the populations served, STELAR has convened a group of five nationally recognized experts to serve as our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Advisors. These advisors will work in partnership with STELAR to help centralize equity in our work as a center and to anticipate the long-term needs for the ITEST program.
Megan Bang (Northwestern University, Professor of the Learning Sciences, School of Education and Social Policy) (Ojibwe and Italian descent) is a Professor of the Learning Sciences and Director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research. Dr. Bang studies dynamics of culture, learning, and development broadly with a specific focus on the complexities of navigating multiple meaning systems in creating and implementing more effective and just learning environments in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education. She focuses on reasoning and decision-making about complex socio-ecological systems in ways that intersect with culture, power, and historicity. Central to this work are dimensions of identity, equity and community engagement. She works closely with Indigenous communities. She conducts research in both schools and informal settings across the life course. She has taught in and conducted research in teacher education as well as leadership preparation programs. Dr. Bang currently serves on the Board of Science Education at the National Academy of Sciences and is a member of the National Academy of Education.
Jerrod A. Henderson (University of Houston, Assistant Professor, Cullen College of Engineering) (“Dr. J”) is an Assistant Professor in the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston (UH). He began his higher education pursuits at Morehouse College and North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, where he earned degrees in both Chemistry and Chemical Engineering as a part of the Atlanta University Center’s Dual Degree in Engineering Program. While in college, he was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, which afforded him the opportunity to intern at NASA Langley. He also earned distinction as a Phi Beta Kappa member and an American Chemical Society Scholar. Dr. Henderson completed his Ph.D. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his time as a graduate student, he was a NASA Harriet G. Jenkins Graduate Fellow and mentor for the Summer Research Opportunities Program. Dr. Henderson has dedicated his career to increasing the number of students who are in pathways to pursue STEM careers. He believes that exposing students to STEM early will have a lasting impact on their lives and academic pursuits. He is the co-founder of the St. Elmo Brady STEM Academy (SEBA). SEBA is an educational intervention aimed at exposing underrepresented fourth and fifth-grade students and their families to hands-on STEM experiences. Henderson is the immediate past Director of the Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies, a program aimed at increasing engineering student achievement, engagement, and graduation rates. His research interests are in engineering student success among underrepresented students, especially African American males. He was most recently recognized by INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine as an Inspiring STEM Leader, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (LAS) Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and Career Communications Group with a Black Engineer of the Year Award for college-level promotion of engineering education. Most recently, in 2023, he earned the National Science Foundation CAREER Award to advance his work that centers the engineering identities of Black men in engineering.
Gloria Ladson-Billings (University of Wisconsin, Emerita Faculty, Department of Educational Policy Studies) is the former Kellner Family Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and faculty affiliate in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the Hagler Institute of Texas A&M University. She was the 2005-2006 president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Ladson-Billings’ research examines the pedagogical practices of teachers who are successful with African American students. She also investigates Critical Race Theory applications to education. She is the author of the critically acclaimed books The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children and Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms, and numerous journal articles and book chapters. She is the former editor of the American Educational Research Journal and a member of several editorial boards. Her work has won numerous scholarly awards including the H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, the NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Palmer O. Johnson outstanding research award. During the 2003-2004 academic year, she was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. In fall of 2004, she received the George and Louise Spindler Award from the Council on Anthropology and Education for significant and ongoing contributions to the field of educational anthropology. She holds honorary degrees from Umeå University (Umeå Sweden), University of Massachusetts-Lowell, the University of Alicante (Alicante, Spain), the Erickson Institute (Chicago), and Morgan State University (Baltimore). She is a 2018 recipient of the AERA Distinguished Research Award, and she was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2018.
Chris Meyer (Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Coeur d'Alene, Director, Department of Education) As the Director of Education for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Dr. Meyer is engaged in networking with colleges, businesses, and governmental organizations to improve and increase educational opportunities to Tribal members and the communities on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. In this role, she supervises 17 different grant and tribally funded programs, including Tribal Youth Enhancement, Tribal Adult Vocational Training, Tribal Scholarship, Tribal Institute Building Fund, Adult Education, Employee Assistance Program, Higher Education, Johnson O’Malley, Career and Technical Education, Work Investment Act, Work Investment Act Youth Program, State and Tribal Education Partnership, ReEntry Program, and two Native Youth Community Projects, in addition to a partnership with University of Idaho for the Voices to Hear Project. Previously, Dr. Meyer served as Elementary Principal for Coeur d'Alene Tribal School and Associate Professor at Whitworth College. She is on the Advisory Committee for: Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Lewis-Clark State College, North Idaho College, University of Idaho, Washington State University, and Washington State University Spokane. Dr. Meyer holds a PhD in Education and a Masters in Special Education from the University of Idaho.
Mia Shaw (New York University, Assistant Professor, Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology at the Steinhardt School of Culture) Mia Shaw is an Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow in the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She earned a PhD in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was advised by Dr. Yasmin Kafai. In addition, Mia earned an MEd in Curriculum & Instruction from University of Nevada-Las Vegas and BAH in Human Biology (with a focus in Adolescent Development) from Stanford University. Mia’s focus on designing and evaluating justice-oriented, constructionist STEAM learning environments was shaped dramatically by her experiences teaching middle school science in Las Vegas and as a program coordinator for a STEM-focused nonprofit organization serving girls of Color in Oakland. Before joining NYU, Mia was awarded the 2022 Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to complete her dissertation study, which examined the design and implementation of a workshop where nondominant, high-school-aged youth designed interactive quilt patches that reimagined or “restor(y)ed” dominant narratives about computing technologies. Her research draws from Black Feminist and Womanist theories to conceptualize using creative, interdisciplinary technologies to support identity authorship and speculative literacy and design practices among Black and Brown youth. In addition to research, Mia is an illustrator and comic artist who has used her art to support educational research.