Vemitra Alexander, Ph.D., is a Program Specialist for NASA’s Office of STEM (OSTEM) Engagement at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Previously, she was an Education Specialist for NASA’s OSTEM Educator Development Program.
Prior to joining the team at NASA, Dr. Alexander was the Director of Educational Outreach and Support Programs in the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University where she developed and managed K-12 STEM programs, community outreach activities, and established collaborations with university and industry partners. Her research interests include STEM engagement, URM students’ persistence and retention in STEM, as well as STEM education and outreach.
She has been an active member of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) since 2015. Dr. Alexander currently serves as an executive board member for both the Minorities in Engineering Division (MIND) and Pre-College Engineering Education (PCEE) divisions to help members within the organization build expertise and capacity in engineering education and practice.
Sharnnia Artis, Ph.D. is the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at George Mason University (Mason). Dr. Artis has over 20 years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. She plans, guides, and advises Mason’s leadership on diversity, equity, inclusion, and affirmative action matters and anti-racism activities and works to enhance and embed these values into all aspects of university operations.
Dr. Artis is a University Affiliate Faculty in the College of Engineering and Computing with research and teaching interests centered on the use of socio-technical systems to improve STEM diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Her research focuses on student success, with an emphasis on students from underrepresented groups in STEM.
She has authored or co-authored over 50 refereed manuscripts in technical journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. Dr. Artis previously served as Assistant Dean of Access and Inclusion in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine.