About Us

Apriel K Hodari holds a PhD in physics from Hampton University and served as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow with the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is an expert in STEM education research, equity and workforce diversity and the culture of STEM disciplines. Dr. Hodari was a 2016-17 Fulbright Scholar at Queen Mary, University of London, and is a Principal Investigator with Eureka Scientific, Inc. Her research focuses on the cultures of STEM disciplines, explored through the lived experiences of successful women of color in STEM fields. She served as PI for the project Computing Beyond the Double Bind: Women of Color in Computing Education and Careers, Co-PI for Engineering Beyond the Double Bind: Women of Color in Engineering Education and Careers, and External Evaluator for College Institutional Factors on the Success of Women and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Majors.

Dr. Eleanor Sayre coordinates Alder Science Education Association's (AlderSEA) research strands: usability research into effective online professional development materials, fundamental research into student learning, synthesis research into best practices for research-based teaching, and research coordination with outside researchers. Dr. Sayre has over 60 peer-reviewed publications in discipline-based education research, primarily in physics. She is a Professor of Physics at Kansas State University, the Research Director of PhysPort.org, and a co-Director of the Professional development for Emerging Education Researchers (PEER) program.

Dr. Jaimie Miller-Friedmann completed her doctorate in science education at the University of Oxford. Before moving to Oxford to complete her PhD, she worked as a Science Education Specialist doing research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She also worked as a classroom teacher, adjunct lecturer, and laboratory scientist. Dr. Miller-Friedmann's research interests include gender equity in academic science and the ways in which gender identity affects the formation of professional identities. She is also interested in intersectionality, especially as it applies to gender and other protected characteristics, as well as critical theory, educational theory, post colonialism, poststructuralism, and third wave feminism.

Shayna completed her Bachelor of Arts in Global History, with a focus on Latin America, at George Mason University. She also studied Spanish and spent a summer abroad in Granada, Spain to study the language, culture, and Spanish interpretation of the colonial period. Her undergraduate research focused on the centrality of human rights during Argentina's last transition to democracy in the 1980s. Shayna also took courses in African American history which ground her understanding of the present disparities in higher education.

For questions about CWCS projects, please contact Shayna at cwcsresearch@gmail.com.

Ariel S Keene is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She majored in Sociology with minors in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and African and African Diaspora Studies. She was brought onto this project by Dr. Angela Johnson because of her experience in social research among marginalized groups. Ms. Keene studied abroad in the fall of 2018 at Queen Mary University of London, where she furthered her contributions to this project by conducting interviews with students about belonging.

​She decided to focus on the experience of black women in fields where they are extremely underrepresented, such as STEM, and analyze how it impacts their mental wellness. Ms. Keene hopes to discover how these women engage in self-care to examine the powerful resilience of black women in society.

Rose N Young is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Physics and Mathematics with a minor in Educational Studies. She was an Undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Angela Johnson, also of St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

​As well as contributing to the central CWCS research, Ms. Young also studied the experiences of undergraduate students in Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science who parent. As a parent herself, she is excited to continue to learn about effective support structures for Physics students who share her experience.