Speakers

Xueli Wang is the Barbara and Glenn Thompson Endowed Professor in Educational Leadership and a Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With a focus on STEM education and community colleges, Dr. Wang’s research is aimed at identifying practices, structures, and policies toward transformative change for optimal educational opportunities and equitable outcomes. In collaboration with a number of community and technical colleges, her NSF-funded longitudinal, mixed methods projects have investigated beginning two-year college students’ pathways and success, particularly in STEM fields, as well as how faculty development translates into teaching practices that subsequently shape students’ experiences and outcomes. Her book “On My Own” (Harvard Education Press, published April 2020): https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/on-my-own is grounded in longitudinal, mixed methods research, this book unravels inequities in access to transfer, particularly in STEM fields of study, and illuminates policy and practices toward cultivating equitable STEM transfer pathways.

Valerie Sundby serves as the Director of Transfer Education at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. In this role, she provides leadership for statewide transfer initiatives as well as oversight of bachelor’s degree programs. Prior to coming to the SBCTC, Valerie was an instructional dean at South Puget Sound Community College and Clover Park Technical College. She holds both a doctorate and a masters degree in educational leadership and a bachelor’s degree in cell biology.

Kaatje Kraft (she/her) teaches introductory geology classes at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, WA. Her research interests are in student motivation and interest as it pertains to introductory science courses. In particular, how research on motivation and interest can help to create environments in which all students feel like they can belong and feel connected to the geosciences. Kaatje is working to integrate aspects of anti-racism and decolonization discussions into her introductory geology/oceanography classrooms.

Eric Baer (He/Him) is an instructor at Highline College who teaches a wide variety of geoscience courses. He is fhe PI on the SAGE 2YC project to support geoscience and STEM education in two-year colleges and was PI on The Math You Need When You Need It, a project to develop and test online quantitative support modules for introductory geoscience students. He has a particular interest in developing a community of community college faculty to exchange information and ideas about the wide variety of roles that we fill.