Contributors
Anthony DePass, Ph.D.
Coach, Organizer, and Presenter
Dr. Anthony DePass the Director of Understanding Interventions, and recently retired Professor of Biology at Long Island University, where he led several externally funded training and development programs including the LIU MBRS RISE (NIH), the LIU ADVANCE (NSF) programs, and LIU’s Noyce Teacher Scholarship program. His over 20 years of leadership experience as PI and Co-PI on grants and programs aimed at the development of talent at all levels for scientists towards a diversified scientific workforce also includes programs and activities on the national level. Dr. DePass served as PI of the American Society for Cell Biology’s T36 MARC grant while Chair of that organization’s Minorities Affairs Committee. In those capacities, Dr. DePass led the implementation of several training and career development activities spanning the undergraduate to the professional levels for participants from over 140 institutions.
Dr. DePass Co-Chaired the NRC committee on Interventions that Encourage Minorities to Pursue Research Careers and served on a similar committee that examined the status of Minority Women in Academia. These activities have since translated into annual conferences on Interventions that Broaden Participation in Science Careers for which Dr. DePass currently serves as PI and Director. These conferences serve as venues for the dissemination of scholarship and training related to Interventions leadership, research and evaluation.
The conferences and related resources, accessible through the website (understandinginterventions.org), are aimed at mutually informing communities of practice, evaluation, and scholarship. This work has had the benefits of funding from the NIH, NSF, HHMI, Sloan Foundation, and Education Testing Service. Dr. DePass was the lead author on assessment for the recently published Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education- A Call to Action. This work addressed the needed improvement of biology education to address 21st-century challenges.
He currently leads DePass Academic Consulting, a company that works with institutions in areas of program evaluation, strategic planning, grantsmanship training, grant writing, and professional development.
Chantelle macphee, Ph.D.
Coach and Presenter
Dr. MacPhee graduated with a Bachelors degree in English from the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada, followed up a year later with her Masters degree in English from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and completed her Ph.D. at The University of Glasgow in Scotland in English Literature. Her thesis dissertation was entitled, "All the World's a Stage": William Blake and William Shakespeare. Her dissertation explored Blake's major poetry with Shakespearean histories, tragedies and comedies. Her publications vary from articles on Blake and Shakespeare to Harry Potter. She has several papers in the Keats-Shelley library in Rome, Italy. Her current interests are in German and English Romanticism, Shakespeare, and Cultural Studies.
chantelle.macphee@saintleo.edu
Shaunta Outlaw
Organizer and Presenter
Shanta Outlaw is the program manager for the Understanding Interventions Conference and Programs. She is responsible for the planning, execution, and management of program and conference activities, including the annual meeting, satellite meetings, outreach, and training activities of UI.
As a proud native of Turkey, North Carolina—a very small, rural eastern North Carolina town—Shanta witnessed and overcame many challenges faced by people in underdeveloped areas. Such experiences ignited her strong interest in increasing STEM access and equity in pursuit of quality education for underprivileged individuals. She has since worked to translate this passion into her professional endeavors in teaching and higher education leadership and has further developed a passion for inclusion and equity within teaching and service practices in STEM education.
Shanta has been managing and directing student training and academic support programs for more than a decade. As program coordinator and manager of the Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) MBRS-RISE program, the ECSU Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program, the Long Island University, Brooklyn MBRS-RISE program, national science interventions conference, Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Science, and faculty development ADVANCE program, she has played a key role in the progression of STEM student’s academic and career experiences from secondary to post-doctoral levels.
As adjunct faculty, Shanta has taught and transformed general and advanced chemistry courses using research-based and process-oriented guided inquiry methods with an introduction to experimental design, responsible conduct of research, and effective oral and poster presentation to develop critical thinking and prepare students for advanced STEM careers.
outlaws@uthscsa.edu
https://www.facebook.com/understandinginterventions/community/
Zakiya wilson-kennedy, Ph.D.
Coach and Presenter
Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy is an Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the College of Science at Louisiana State University. Her latest collaborative publication, Growing Diverse STEM Communities: Methodology, Impact, and Evidence, officially made its debut after more than a year in production.
Wilson-Kennedy’s work began in the chemistry lab, but after establishing her career in higher education, she has since shifted her research path to focus on “the persistence of individuals from all backgrounds in STEM higher education, particularly with regard to faculty and student recruitment, retention, and success.”
With extramural support from agencies, like the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, and the U.S. Department of Education, Wilson-Kennedy has been able to design and implement more than 20 education projects that engage mentoring models that integrate identity theory and empowerment theory as a way to create and test structures that nurture self-efficacy and work, particularly for groups historically underrepresented in STEM.
Some of her projects include the creation of SCI-Lead—Student Champions for Inclusion—, a student council within the College of Science that assists students in developing professional, leadership, and communication skills, while also working to advance diversity and inclusion in academia. In Spring 2019, through her leadership, the College launched the “Inclusive Excellence” series to engage scientists with the highest level of credibility in their fields, who can also disrupt the common thoughts of what makes a campus diverse.
Additionally, her recently published work, Growing Diverse STEM Communities, comes on the heels of another one of her publications, Broadening Participation in STEM: Effective Methods, Practices, and Programs, which became available in February 2019.
“Here’s the reality: None of us navigate life with an absence of challenges,” Wilson-Kennedy said. “We all have challenges, but some folks who succeed do so because they have coaching; they have the mentorship; they have the space to bounce ideas.”
“And the challenges that don’t take you out? That’s what cultivates excellence and persistence.”
Learn more about the Winifred Burks-Houck Professional Leadership Award and Wilson-Kennedy’s most recently published work.
Joseph whittaker, Ph.D.
Coach and Presenter
Dr Joseph Whittaker currently serves as Vice President for Research and Economic Development/Associate Provost at Jackson State University. In this capacity, he has responsibility and oversight for Research, Sponsored Programs, Research Compliance, Technology Transfer and Commercialization, Federal Relations, and the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. He was previously Dean and Professor of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Morgan State University. Dr. Whittaker also served as Associate Director of the NASA GESTAR Program from 2011 to 2016 – a 5-year, $96M Cooperative Agreement from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Directorate. In addition, he developed and directed the Morgan State University Plant Biotechnology Research and Analytical Laboratory.
Prior to Morgan State University, Dr. Whittaker served in various capacities at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he led efforts in the design and construction the Neuroscience Institute, which became the prototype for 12 additional NIH-supported Specialized Neuroscience Programs established across the U.S. He holds several board and committee memberships in the public and private sectors, and served as the 73rd President of Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. He has over 100 publications and has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards.
Dr. Whittaker received his B.S. degree in Biology at Morgan State University, and the Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from Howard University. He subsequently joined the University of Tennessee Neuroscience Center of Excellence as a Neurobiology Postdoctoral Fellow where he pursued studies on chemical and electrical signaling mechanisms in the Basal Ganglia.
Cheryl Talley, Ph. D.
Coach and Presenter
Dr. Cheryl Talley examines factors that lead to lasting behavioral change, specifically those related to high academic achievement. In published studies and projects funded by the National Science Foundation, Dr. Talley and her colleagues have sought to reveal the role that affective factors such as academic identity and emotional regulation play in student success. With her training in affective neuroscience, Dr. Talley utilizes various cognitive strategies, including mindfulness training to help students develop strong academic identities and associated behaviors. Project Knowledge, the successful freshmen intervention that was developed at Virginia State University was based on a theoretical model created by Dr. Margaret Beale Spencer, the Phenomenological Variant of the Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) and is now being adapted for mentoring high school students.
Findings from Project Knowledge are also being used to inform interventions in other disciplines through collaboration with several departments at Virginia State as well as an international compendium focusing on values-based education, based in Singapore. In addition, Dr. Talley serves as a lead researcher in the newly formed HBCU STEM-Undergraduate Success Center. Co-lead by faculty from Morehouse College and Spelman College. The STEM-US Center will establish a network of over 50 HBCU’s to develop and disseminate effective STEM interventions at the college level. Future plans include using machine learning to improve student online learning and augment academic motivation, social emotional learning and values-based education. Through these collaborations and others, Dr. Talley has been associated with federally funded research projects totaling over $13,000,000 while at VSU.
Dr. Talley received her Ph.D. and Master’s Degrees in Psychobiology from the University of Virginia. She currently teaches Undergraduate courses (Physiological Psychology and Problems in Psychology) and has also taught graduate courses (Introduction to Neuroscience, Pro Seminar and Experimental Design and Data Analysis).
ctalley@vsu.edu
Leyte Winfield, Ph.D.
Coach, Organizer, and Presenter
Leyte L. Winfield is a full professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Spelman College, where she serves as Division Chair for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Her leadership experience extends across and beyond the academic environment. As chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Spelman College, Winfield led the department's efforts to broaden the curriculum to meet the ideals of a liberal arts education while simultaneously providing students with resources that promote improved engagement and performance in the majors. In addition to her role as department chair, her record of leadership has included service as interim associate provost of research, as well as directorships for programmatic efforts geared toward improving diversity in STEM.
A medicinal chemist, she has designed and synthesized compounds intended to address problems posed by existing cancer therapies. She has received six patents for compositions of mater covering more than 800 unique structural entities. Complementing her lab-based success, Dr. Winfield is leading NSF funds research related to the participation and success of underrepresented groups in STEM. Specifically, her work deals with characterizing how students of color demonstrate agency in pursuit of STEM careers and the ecosystems that nurture such agency. For these collaborative efforts, she has received more than $6.9 million. Dr. Winfield is chairing the internal steering committee for the newly established Center of Excellence for Women of Color in STEM at Spelman College. Funded by the Department of Defense, the Center buildings upon Spelman legacy for preparing women of African descent to excel in STEM careers. She is the lead editor of a book through ACS Publications entitled, Growing Diverse STEM Communities: Methodology, Impact, and Evidence. Dr. Winfield is a former coach and facilitator for the AAC&U PKAL STEM Leadership Institute and holds a post-graduate certificate in academic leadership from the Chicago School of Clinical Psychology.
In addition, she chairs the Minority Chemist Subdivision of the ACS Division of Professional Relations, is a member of the ACS Committee on Professional Training, serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Chemical Education, and serves on the leadership board OrganicERs, a learning community for the development and dissemination of organic chemistry pedagogies and learning resources.
Staff
Organizer
Cathy Baldwin
Program Coordinator
Understanding Interventions
boomerbaldwi@uthscsa.edu