Ashanti Johnson, Executive Director of IBP; MS PHD'S Director

apyrtle@ibparticipation.org

Dr. Ashanti Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Oceanography at the University of South Florida (USF) and the Executive Director of the Institute of Broadening Participation. She received her Ph.D. (1999) in Oceanography from Texas A&M University. In addition to conducting aquatic radiogeochemistry research, Dr. Johnson also engages in scholarly activities designed to facilitate research and professional development experiences for underrepresented minority students. She serves as the Director of the Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science Initiative, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation USF Bridge to the Doctorate Program and the Alfred Sloan Foundation's Minority Ph.D. Program in the USF College of Marine Science. This fall she will also receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in recognition of her professional development and diversity-related activities.

Sandra Thomas, Senior Administrator

sthomas@ibparticipation.org

Sandy is the former Executive Director of IBP and now serves as a senior staff member focusing on directing the NSF supported Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Project as well as general operations. Formerly she was the Vice President for Programs at a small non-profit educational organization on the coast of Maine. Prior to that she developed and directed two fellowship programs based at the University of Michigan. One was sponsored by USAID for graduate students who served overseas on two year assignments and the other was an interdisciplinary fellowship program supported by the MacArthur Foundation. She has over twenty five years of experience in the administration of science and education projects. Her experience includes all aspects of project management and student recruitment and retention. She played a central role in developing a successful multi-institutional IGERT proposal in 1999 which was renewed in 2005.

Susie Valaitis, Associate Director

svalaitis@ibparticipation.org

Susie Valaitis, Associate Director, has over ten years of experience in nonprofit administration, project development and implementation, community development, and website and materials design and implementation. She has worked for five yearswith IBP to support students in STEM pathways and to increase participation at all levels of STEM education. She previously served as Executive Directorof Medomak Valley Land Trust, a land conservation organization, and before that she provided community services and development to residents of Maine's year-round island communities. She holds a BA in English and American Literature from Brown University as well as a Certificate in Mediation from the University of Southern Maine.

Liv Detrick, Assistant Director

ldetrick@ibparticipation.org

Liv is responsible for grants writing for IBP, and routinely participates in presentations to constituents and funders. She produces GIS maps for distribution and use in recruitment activities, and is responsible for programming and maintaining IBP's family of database-driven websites. Liv has a BS in Environmental Studies from Mount Holyoke College and an MS in Geography from Penn State University.

Chris Cash, Student Assistance Programs Director

ccash@ibparticipation.org

Chris is the Director of Student Assistance Programs for IBP. Chris identifies and assists promising students in locating and applying to undergraduate summer research and graduate programs at colleges and universities throughout the United States. She has worked for the last several years in the area of marine fisheries education and outreach. She was formerly a marine officer and fellowship coordinator at the Island Institute, a non-profit educational organization located in mid-coast Maine. Chris continues to stay involved with Maine marine projects and initiatives.

Rebecca Fowler, Student Assistance Programs Manager

rfowler@ibparticipation.org

Rebecca joined IBP in 2008 and works in outreach and student recruitment efforts. Rebecca has a BA in Anthropology from Skidmore College and an MS in Educational Leadership and Policy from Portland State University. She has broad experience in program development, project coordination and communications strategies. She has a background in research science and science education, and previously worked as a teacher and administrator of environmental science programs in Oregon.

Leslie Fuller, Resources Coordinator

lfuller@ibparticipation.org

Leslie Fuller joined the Institute for Broadening Participation in 2004. She is responsible for researching inquiries directed to IBP and responding to students, faculty and staff with requested information. She also works with IBP STEM programs to increase connectivity and networking within and between those programs. Leslie's background is in Library Science. She was formerly the Circulation Librarian at the University Museum Library in Philadelphia, Catalog Assistant at the G.W. Blunt White Library at the Mystic Seaport Museum, and the coordinator of the Island Libraries Program on the coast of Maine. She held the position of Resource Specialist at the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine for nine years. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Allyson Fauver, Policy Analyst, Media Specialist

afauver@ibparticipation.org

Allyson Fauver has worked with IBP since its inception as INRP in 2002. Currently, she presents to constituents on graduate funding and manages IBP's photo archive. She holds a BA in International Development Studies from Marlboro College, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law with a focus in natural resources and energy policy.

Christopher Brehme, Research Scientist

cbrehme@keene.edu

Chris Brehme holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University at Buffalo, SUNY. His research explores the role of geospatial technologies in shaping human-environmental interactions within natural resource-based communities. He has led projects that established GIS capacity in small communities, modeled human modifications of estuarine environments, and integrated fisheries and oceanographic data to promote marine science education.

Dana Saywell, Content Systems Manager

dsaywell@ibparticipation.org

Dana is responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining relational databases to support IBPs dynamic, content driven web portals. Working with the Database Programmer and the System Analyst, she supports the development of IBPs Microsoft Access database. Dana has worked with IBP over the past 3 years as the organization has built an extensive content management infrastructure for gathering, storing and exchanging information. Dana has thorough knowledge of the web design and development process and works in tandem with the Web Developer to implement projects. Additionally she works closely with the Program Managers to understand content needs and context for web and database development projects. Dana earned her MS in Agriculture Development from the University of Reading as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. She is based in Tennessee and telecommutes from her farm office.

Cynthia Charles, Database Specialist

ccharles@ibparticipation.org

Cynthia has collected, monitored and organized student data for the IGERT National Recruitment Program and the Institute for Broadening Participation for the past six years. Experienced in Microsoft Access, she monitors and improves data accuracy, quality and consistency.

David Siegfried, Content Systems Administrator

dsiegfried@ibparticipation.org

David has over seven years of experience leading cross-functional teams and managing IT and software projects in non-profit and for-profit settings. He has experience managing operations with a staff of 25, designing content management systems for individual and corporate web clients, and has recently been involved in several volunteer community building projects.

Charlie Witherell, Database Programmer

cwitherell@ibparticipation.org

Charlie has 34 years of experience at IBM designing, implementing and managing online networking systems ranging from small banks and manufacturers to large insurance companies, airlines, and defense industries. As a Senior IT Specialist in IBM's Consulting Practice, he was responsible for the network and systems management implementations at several very large companies. These implementations managed everything from Mainframes and servers to UNIX workstations and desktop PCs.

Lois Ricciardi, MS PHD'S Coordinator

pdp@msphds.org

Lois provides administrative and logistical management for the Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success (MS PHD'S) program - an NSF funded initiative to provide professional development activities for underrepresented groups in Earth System Sciences. She also works for the University of South Florida College of Marine Science in human resources and the Florida Humanities Council as an independent contractor assisting with development of summer workshops for K-12 teachers. Lois holds a degree in English with a major in professional and technical writing and a minor in literature.

Vivian Whitney, MS PHD'S Evaluator and Professional Development Specialist

vwhitney@ibparticipation.org

Dr. Vivian Williamson Whitney is an evaluator for the Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science (MS PHD'S) program. She is also the director of the Institute for Environmental Sciences Education and a grants research specialist at East Central University. Additionally, she serves on the education advisory committee for the University of Hawaii at the university's Center for Microbial Oceanography Research and Education. Whitney is certified as a research administrator by the Research Administrators Certification Council. She is a certified trainer in total quality management, school development, site-based management, leadership development and family and individual counseling.

Whitney holds a bachelor's degree in general studies-human development from the University of Texas-Dallas, a master's degree in African American studies/modern European studies from Southern Methodist University and a doctor of education degree in higher education administration and supervision from the University of Houston.

Warner Ithier Guzman, Ph.D.Candidate & MS PHD'S Professional Development Program Assistant Coordinator

withierg@mail.usf.edu

I'm a PhD Candidate at the Univ. of South Florida-College of Marine Science. I have been part of the MSPHDS program since 2003 when I was a participant on the Pilot Program. My background and education is in Biology and Environmental Science from the Inter-American Univ. of Puerto Rico. I have been an employee for the Univ. of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus for the past 10 years through the Occupational & Environmental Health Office. I enjoy working with students and watching their evolution in science to the professional world.

LaTanya Turner, MS PHD'S Assistant Project Coordinator

lturner@ibparticipation.org

LaTanya provides administrative and logistical management support for the Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success (MS PHD'S) program -- an NSF funded initiative to provide professional development activities for underrepresented groups in Earth System Sciences. LaTanya has ten plus years in event planning and also currently works as an Executive Meetings Specialist within Starwood Hotels. LaTanya hold a BS in Horticulture and a minor in Business Administration from Texas A & M University.

DiOnetta Jones, Associate Dean and Director, Office of Minority Education, Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education

DiOnetta Jones is the Associate Dean and Director of the Office of Minority Education, Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to this appointment, she was the Director of Diversity Programs for the College of Engineering at Cornell University. She previously served as Director of Education, Training and Outreach at The National Consorti... » Read More

Leslie Lerea, Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Director of SPIRE

Leslie S. Lerea is Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Director of the SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Pharmacology at UNC Chapel Hill. She completed postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University and Duke University where she stayed on as a research faculty member in the department of medicine... » Read More

Stefan Pakulski, Community, Economic, and Organizational Development

Stefan Pakulski currently Chief Executive Officer for the Kennebec Council of Governments and town of Readfield, has over twenty years of experience as an economic advisor in community, economic, and organizational development in the U.S. and overseas. He has worked with small businesses and non-profit organizations on start-up and expansion projects in Indonesia and Egypt and with Peace Corps i... » Read More

Keivan Stassun, Combining scholarly practices in research, teaching, and outreach

Keivan Stassun is Associate Professor of Astronomy at Vanderbilt University, with an adjunct position at Fisk University. Dr. Stassun serves as chair of the American Astronomical Society's Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy. He is also co-director of a new NASA-funded initiative to increase the number of minorities in astronomy and space science. This new program (FASST: Fisk A... » Read More