12 Influential Women of Color in STEM
- CGEST Staff
- Dec 20, 2021
- 5 min read
By: Grace Connolly
With the holiday season upon us, Christmas music has taken over the radio waves – one song being “The 12 Days of Christmas.” To help get into the holiday spirit and learn about some amazing women, here are 12 influential women of color in STEM. Happy Holidays!

1. Katherine Johnson
You may recognize her name from the hit movie Hidden Figures, Katherine Johnson was an African American mathematician who worked at NASA. Originally a schoolteacher, Johnson started as a “computer” at NASA – someone who helped solve difficult math problems before actual computers were invented - before becoming a team member for different projects. Her mathematical skill helped in planning trajectories for space travel, eventually helping to put people on the moon!
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/who-was-katherine-johnson-k4

2. Angella Dorothea Ferguson
Angella Dorothea Ferguson is responsible for much of our knowledge about sickle cell disease after noticing that many young African American children suffered from this disease. Ferguson helped develop blood tests for infants and other methods of diagnosis for young children with sickle cell disease. Her work helped form the clinical guidelines for diagnosing sickle cell disease as well as providing more research about sickle cell disease in African Americans.

3. Evelyn Boyd Granville
One of the first African American women to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from an American University, Evelyn Boyd was a teacher and applied mathematician. She worked for IBM on space programs as well as assisting with trajectories and other analyses on the Apollo program and so much more. Granville wanted to improve math education at all levels and taught all grade levels, from kindergarten to college-level courses. She said that some of her greatest accomplishments were: “First of all, showing that women can do mathematics… Being an African American woman, letting people know that we have brains too."

4. Ashanti Johnson
The first black woman to be a chemical oceanographer and now a public speaker for activism in STEM, Ashanti Johnson wants to be a support system for minorities in STEM so that no one has to feel alone in their field. While a professor at the University of South Florida, she created a program to do just that – supporting students of color to achieve their degrees. Currently, as an associate professor at Fort Valley State University, Johnson continues her work with a professional development and mentorship program.

5. Adriana Ocampo
Adriana Ocampo was born in Colombia and raised in Argentina. Her love for space began at a young age and was furthered by her volunteering and job at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Ocampo went on to study planetary geology and her work led to the discovery of the Chicxulub impact crater – the impact site of the asteroid that wiped out most of life on earth 65 million years ago. She has also worked on several space missions, such as the Galileo mission that went to Jupiter and Europa. Fun fact: the asteroid - 177120 Ocampo Uría – is named after Ocampo!

6. Stephanie Castillo
Born in Venezuela, Stephanie Castillo is a chemist and doctorate of Science Communication as well as the founder of Phuture Doctors. Phuture Doctors is a program aimed to showcase diverse careers and professionals in STEM, highlighting “scientists from all intersections of life” to those who may not see themselves represented in media. Castillo hopes that Phuture Doctors can help increase interest and motivation in STEM and help bring more representation to STEM.

7. Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian-born woman in space. With over 30 days of logged time in space, Chawla loved planes and the thought of flying from a young age. She achieved her dream of flight by becoming an aerospace engineer and eventually an astronaut and certified flight instructor. However, Chawla tragically lost her life in the disaster of the Columbia mission in 2003. Chawla was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004 and a peak of a mountain range on Mars was named Chawla Hill in her memory.

8. Josephine Santiago-Bond
Born in the Philippines, Josephine Santiago-Bond traveled to the US for work after college and spent a summer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Her time at the space center eventually led to a permanent position at NASA, working on lunar missions, LADEE and RESOLVE. Santiago-Bond values the importance of outreach and exposure of STEM to young kids and volunteers to educate kids about NASA.

9. Aisha Bowe
Aisha Bowe is an aerospace engineer for NASA as well as the founder of STEMBoard. STEMBoard is a tech company intended to help with STEM exposure to students. In collaborating with historically black colleges, Bowe has created activities like Lingo, an at-home coding kit, to help get students more involved with STEM. She hopes to encourage more young women and people of color to be a part of the STEM field. Source: https://www.hourdetroit.com/science-topics/stemboard-founder-aisha-bowe-on-diversity-nasa-her-michigan-ties/ Photo Source: https://www.ebony.com/life/black-women-technology-nasa/

10. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson
Aerospace engineer and instrument manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Aprille Ericsson-Jackson serves as a mentor for students interested in aerospace and mechanical engineering. Ericsson-Jackson was the first African American woman to receive her mechanical engineering Ph.D. from Howard University. She served on a robotics group at the Flight Center and worked on satellite designs for space crafts as well as continued to advocate for minorities in STEM.

11. Joy Buolamwini
Computer science and art come together with Joy Buolamiwini. Called “the poet of code,” Buolamiwini uses her research to uncover the racial and gender bias of AI services in order to make technology more equitable, founding the Algorithmic Justice League to do so. She serves as an advisor to US officials in discussions of the harms of AI. Buolamwini’s spoken word poem and video, “AI, Ain’t I A Woman?”, showcases numerous AI’s failure to recognize famous black women.
Source: https://poetofcode.com/about/

12. Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to travel in space. An inductee of both the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame, Jemison was inspired by the Apollo missions as well the “African American actress Nichelle Nichols who played Lieutenant Uhura on the Star Trek television show.” After her work with the Peace Corps, she became a NASA astronaut and soon became the first African American woman to go to space after her mission with the Endeavor. After her time at NASA, she created the Jemison Group to help encourage change in science, technology, and society as well as creating an international space camp called The Earth We Share to get young kids interested in space.
Written By: Grace Connolly
Grace Connolly is working towards receiving her Bachelor of Science in Physics at Arizona State University and Barrett the Honors College. She has an interest in astronomy and hopes to one day help conduct research on stars and galaxies. Along with space, Grace also has a passion for music and has played the flute for over nine years. Recently, at ASU, Grace has delved further into women and gender studies and wants to help make a difference for women in STEM like herself. As a Barrett Scholar, Grace is looking forward to learning more about diversity and inclusion for women in STEM and assisting in research with the CGEST team. Outside of school, Grace loves to spend time with her friends and family, – including her two pugs and one cat – watch movies, and bullet journal.
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