Women of Underrepresented Groups Track

The Women of Underrepresented Groups (WURG) Track focuses on issues related to women from the following traditionally underrepresented groups: African American, Hispanic, Native American, and People with Disabilities. These groups share the common aspect that one must understand and appreciate the cultural aspects of the group to truly be inclusive. It is recognized, however, that each group has different cultural aspects.

The WURG track will highlight the unique aspects about each culture as well as the common issues faced with respect to women in computing. The track content is focused on undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and professionals.

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The WURG sessions on Thursday, October 4th are:

DEVELOPING WOMEN THROUGH CAREER GAP ANALYSIS AND MENTORING

Thursday, October 4th, Session 6 – 10:00am – 11:00am (BCC:Ballroom II)

Presenter: Carol Evanoff (Lockheed Martin)

Abstract: Carol will facilitate a workshop on how to use a structured approach to soliciting mentors, clearly identifying capabilities, identifying gaps(what’s missing in your experience/education), how to solicit help in filling in or mitigating those gaps, and understanding selection panels and how they operate. This will allow the women/minorities to be more competitive for promotions and win job selections. Additionally, this workshop will help managers and mentors who want to develop women of underrepresented groups as well as EEO/AA Managers who want to create programs to help level the playing field for women of underrepresented groups.

Biography:

Carol Evanoff is a renowned strategic planner, coach and mentor across the aerospace/defense industry, education arenas and professional organizations. 30+ years of engineering and leadership experience in industry focused on strategic planning, individual empowerment and professional development. She is a published author with over 1,042 successful mentees. She retired in January 2011 from the Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific where she was the Lockheed Martin Resident Director leading 430 employees. Carol is the Chairperson of the Puget Sound Regional Council Defense Cluster, President Elect for Puget Sound Naval Base Association and Advisory Board member for Olympic College 4 year program in Engineering.

RECRUITING AND RETAINING WOMEN FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

Thursday, October 4th, Session 7 – 11:30am – 12:30pm (BCC:Ballroom II)

Moderator: Jamika D. Burge (Information Systems Worldwide)

Panelists: Maria Alvarez (Microsoft), Janet Rutledge (UMBC), Stephanie Ludi (Rochester Institute of Technology), Linda Werner (University of California Santa Cruz)

Abstract: The general lack of diversity in computing is well-known (National Academies, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”; NSF National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, 2011). What is not well-understood, however, are reasons – grounded in empirical research – that account for the diminished numbers of underrepresented girls and women who wish to pursue computing careers (Ong and Hodari, “Beyond the Double Bind: Women of Color in STEM”). This panel will provide rich and useful discussion for what it means to actively increase the numbers and participation of women from underrepresented groups. Specifically, panelists will share successful inclusion/intervention strategies, which can also help other organizations provide support for this special population.

Biographies:

	Jamika D. Burge is a Senior Behavioral Computer Scientist at Information Systems Worldwide (Arlington, VA), a company that provides technical and research services to the US Government and other customers. She holds a PhD in computer science, and her research interests lie in HCI, in the intersection of behavioral methodology and technology use. She was a postdoc in the College of IST at Penn State (2007-2009), where she worked with John M. Carroll on wireless informatics initiatives for non-profit organizations. She has several publications in books and conferences, and is a member of ACM and the CDC (The Coalition to Diversify Computing), where she currently co-directs the Collaborative Research for Undergraduates (CREU) program.
	Maria Alvarez joined Microsoft in June 2011 as a chief of staff of the Microsoft Advertising Research and Development group leading the transformation office. She serves as the right hand of the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Advertising Research and Development and advisor on issues regarding culture, process, and leadership. Most recently, she was appointed to be the Privacy program lead across the Microsoft Online Services division including compliance, strategy and outreach. Alvarez has a B.S. in Information Technology as well as an M.S. in Computer Science from California State Polytechnic University. She is bilingual in both Spanish and English.
	Dr. Janet C. Rutledge serves as the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and a faculty member in the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department. Before coming to UMBC she served as the Program Director at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Rutledge received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She received the M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Rutledge has held several committee positions in the IEEE, and serves as a member of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Board of Trustees.
	Stephanie Ludi is an associate professor in the Department of Software Engineering. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Arizona State University in 2003. Her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science are from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In addition to teaching, Stephanie also serves as Graduate Program Director for the Software Engineering Department and is active in both research and outreach. Her research includes the design and development of systems that are accessible to the visually impaired. Dr. Ludi actively seeks interested undergraduate who are members of underrepresented groups.
	Linda Werner has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and is an Adjunct Professor in Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz and faculty member since 1985. Dr. Werner was the PI on an NSF-funded project on the retention of female university students in computer science that stands as the scientific basis for defining pair programming as a ‘best practice’ by NCWIT. Dr. Werner has extensive experience as an educator and researcher at the UC, Santa Cruz, community college, high school, and middle high school levels.

WOMEN OF COLOR/WOMEN OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS LUNCH

Thursday, October 4th, Lunch – 12:30pm – 2:00pm (Hilton Baltimore Hotel:Key Ballroom 7-8)

Keynote Speaker: Chieko Asakawa (IBM Japan)

Biography:

Chieko Asakawa helps the visually impaired enjoy technological advancement in interface and multimedia content. Her groundbreaking work in digital Braille and voice browsers are not only helping the blind community in Japan, but made available in the U.S. Europe and throughout Asia.Chieko is also a 2011 Women of Vision Leadership award winner and continues to provide breakthough technologies at IBM, where she joined in 1985 and became an IBM Fellow in 2009. Her work has been vital to the disability community and tackles accessibility issues through continued research. We are very happy to have Chieko join us this year’s special track.

SPEED MENTORING

Thursday, October 4th, Session 3 – 2:00pm – 3:15pm (BCC:Ballroom II)

Abstract: Jump start your career by asking those questions you’ve always wanted to ask. The speed mentoring session will allow participants to meet professionals in the industry/academia and find their next mentor, career path, research partner, and more. The sessions are structured and focused on particular area. Participants should come prepared with a list of questions or discussion topics. These informal meetings have proven to be very effective and beneficial for all who participate.

WHERE ARE WE ON COMPUTING AMONG GIRLS OF COLOR IN K-12?

Thursday, October 4th, Session 8 – 3:45pm – 4:45pm (BCC:Ballroom II)

Moderator: Jakita O. Thomas (Spelman College)

Panelists: Barbara Ericson (Georgia Institute of Technology), Andrea Lawrence (Spelman College), Kimberly Scott Ph.D (Arizona State University), Quincy Brown (Bowie State University)

Abstract: While enrollment among Computer Science (CS) undergraduates in the United States increased by 10 percent, and the percentage of women (overall) who earned bachelor’s degrees in CS increased from 11.3 percent to 13.8 percent, the percentage of minority students who earned bachelor’s degrees in CS did not increase, remaining at 10.3 percent (Taulbee Survey, 2010). Research studies suggest students form opinions about whether they enjoy science or non-science subjects as early as middle school and make course selections based on their interests of preparing for college (Hardnett, 2007). This is especially true for girls (Stone & Church, 1984). This panel is for undergraduate students, graduate students, teachers (K-12), researchers, faculty members, industry workers, and anyone else interested in not only increasing the representation of women of color in CS, but also in shaping how CS engages girls and women of color during K-12.

Biographies:

	Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Thomas’s research interests include exploring the development of Computational Algorithmic Thinking (CAT), promoting access to healthcare information and services for under-served populations, reasoning using expert cases, scientific reasoning, complex cognitive skills learning, and computer-supported collaborative learning. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Information Science with a minor in Mathematics from Spelman College in 1999. In 2006, Dr. Thomas was conferred a Ph.D. in Computer Science with a specialization in the Learning Sciences and Technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, where she was a Presidential Fellow, National Physical Science Consortium Fellow, tutor, mentor, and Research Assistant. Prior to her current position at Spelman College, Dr. Thomas was a Research Staff Member in the Service Design group at IBM Research – Almaden in San Jose, CA. Dr. Thomas is a member of the Cognitive Science Society, International Society of the Learning Sciences, Association of Computing Machinery, African-American Ph.Ds in CS, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
	Barbara Ericson is the Director of Computing Outreach for the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. She has worked to increase the quantity and quality of secondary computing teachers and the quantity and diversity of computing students since 2004. She is also on the executive committee for the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT)’s K-12 Alliance. She has a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Wayne State University. She and her husband, Dr. Mark Guzdial, were the winners of the 2010 Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Computing Educator Award. She is also an author of four books on Media Computation.
	Andrea Lawrence is Associate Professor and Chair of Computer Science at Spelman College, an historically Black college for women in Atlanta, GA. Andrea Lawrence received her B.S. degree in mathematics from Purdue University, and her Ph.D. in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She teaches a wide variety of courses and supervises independent study projects in the areas of human computer interaction and remote sensing related to Antarctic ice. One of her main interests is increasing the number of minority students and women who pursue graduate degrees in computer science. Thus, she has been involved in a number of mentoring activities including the Academic Alliance of NCWIT and the STARS Alliance. She is immediate past president of the Association of Departments of Computer Science/Engineering at Minority Institutions (ADMI).
	Dr. Quincy Brown, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Bowie State University. Her areas of interest include: K-12 STEM Education, Computer Science Education, Broadening the Participation of Underrepresented Minorities in Computing, Mobile Learning and Mobile Device Human Computer Interaction Intelligent Tutoring Systems. As a graduate student she was a NSF GK-12 Fellow and worked to provide STEM education to middle school students in Philadelphia public schools. Upon joining the faculty at Bowie State University she founded Girls Who Will, a summer program for middle and high school girls. Each summer approximately 30 girls engage in computer science education activities including game design, mobile application development, robotics, and career mentoring.

COPING AND MENTORING MECHANISMS FOR WOMEN OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

Thursday, October 4th, Session 9 – 5:15pm – 6:15pm (BCC:Ballroom II)

Moderator: Rose Robinson (Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology)

Panelists: Jakita Owensby Thomas (Spelman College), Monica Martinez-Canales (Intel), Shiri Azenkot (University of Washington), Sandra Begay Campbell (Sandia National Labs)

Abstract: Women of underrepresented minority groups (Black/African Americans, Latinas/Hispanics, Native Americans and persons with disabilities) are vastly underrepresented in computing. Being a women and a minority places unduly challenges in education and the workplace. Women in underrepresented groups often contend with the “double minority” label and the strong negative perceptions influenced by race and ethnicity in educational institutions and corporations. To increase recruitment, retain and advance women of traditional underrepresented groups in computing fields, this panel aims to recommend coping and mentoring mechanisms that addresses cultural and ethnic biases, engagement practices and empowerment strategies for professional development.

Biographies:

	Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. Her research interests include exploring the development of Computational Algorithmic Thinking (CAT), promoting access to healthcare information and services for under-served populations, reasoning using expert cases, scientific reasoning, complex cognitive skills learning, and computer-supported collaborative learning. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Information Science from Spelman College in 1999. In 2006, Dr. Thomas received a Ph.D. in Computer Science with a specialization Learning Sciences and Technology from Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia.
	Dr. Monica Martinez-Canales is a Principal Engineer at Intel Corporation. She manages Strategic Initiatives and Validation Business Intelligence & Analytics programs within the Platform Validation Engineering Division. Because of the multiple and diverse market segment products, platforms, and systems that Intel delivers every year, Monica’s current interests are in enterprise operations research, big data (velocity, volume, variety, variability, viscosity), big computation (search, learning algorithms, and supply chain algorithms), and crowd-sourcing. Monica has numerous published peer-reviewed journal articles. She holds a PhD in Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University and a BS in Mathematics from Stanford University.
	Shiri Azenkot is a third-year PhD student in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, advised by Richard Ladner and Jacob Wobbrock. Her research interests include accessibility and mobile computing. Shiri’s dissertation work involves new nonvisual interaction techniques on smartphones and tablets. Before graduate school, she received a MS from the University of Washington and a BA from Pomona College, both in computer science. Before graduate school, Shiri worked in the Bay Area for a few years.
	Sandra Begay-Campbell is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories and is a former Regent (Trustee) for the University of New Mexico. Sandra leads Sandia’s technical efforts to assist Native American tribes with their renewable energy developments. Sandra received a Bachelor of Science – Civil Engineering degree from the University of New Mexico and earned a Master of Science – Structural Engineering degree from Stanford University. Sandra is a recent recipient of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s Life-time Achievement Award; and numerous other awards.

Women of Underrepresented Groups (WURG) Committee:

Valerie Taylor, CMD-IT/Texas A&M University (Chair)

Jamika D. Burge, Information Systems Worldwide/The Coalition to Diversify Computing

Mirkeya Cappellan, Sogeti USA/Pace University

Brianna Blaser, AccessComputing/University of Washington

Kimberly McLeod, CMD-IT

Sihle Wilson, Florida A&M University

Danielle Cummings, Texas A&M University/Black Women in Computing

Adrianna Compagnoni, Stevens Institute of Technology

Rosa Enciso, Microsoft

Dilma Silva, Qualcomm Research/Latinas in Computing

Nayda Santiago, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Lizdabel Morales, University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Rose Robinson, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (Co-Chair)

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