Kim's Corner - December 2019

A CGEST Affiliate, Dr. Jakita Thomas, and her colleague, Dr. Yolanda Rankin, recently published an article about intersectionality and human computer interaction (HCI). To a large extent, their piece encourages readers to understand the history of intersectionality. I fully agree with the authors. Researchers run the risk of using intersectionality in troubling and overly simplistic ways when they don’t recognize its history, publications, initiatives, and programs.

As 2019 comes to a close, this Kim’s Corner is a review of our 12-month history. The aim is to do more than simply list our achievements. Rather, like Thomas and Rankin’s call to action for HCI research and intersectionality, I want to highlight our work and coordinated efforts to reach beyond the “buzzwords” of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The three strands upholding the CGEST platform represents some of our activities.

Research Strand: It is important for us to generate new knowledge and support those wishing to co-create information in culturally responsive ways. Our mission is to make an impact with and for girls/women of color in Arizona and beyond. As a consequence:

We hosted 6 undergraduate interns from ASU, Bennington College, and Smith College; 5 graduate research assistants; welcomed a new postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Tara Nkrumah; and were delighted to have Dr. Jessica Solyom join as the first Associate Director. All of these individuals represent different disciplines e.g. computer science, political science, justice studies, educational leadership.
The Center’s virtual writing group met 12 times. From this activity, two articles have been accepted for publication; one book length manuscript sent to press; one book prospectus submitted; and 4 peer-reviewed journal articles are under review.
Three new grant proposals were submitted. The results of two current, federally funded CGEST projects are in the stages of final analysis.

Capacity Building Strand: Integral to intersectionality is critical praxis. CGEST develops programs that nurture girls/women of color to become technosocial change agents. This mission requires authentic partnerships with individuals from various geographic regions, disciplines, and backgrounds. We are delighted that this year we:

Are developing a new COMPUGIRLS curriculum thanks to a new grant from the National Science Foundation’s AISL program. In collaboration with Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, professors at Carnegie Mellon (Dr. Erin Walker), University of Pittsburgh (Dr. Amy Ogan), and I are co-developing a curriculum that introduces a news strand of technology to girls: culturally responsive social programmable robotics. The aim is to explore the educational impact of social robots in informal learning environments among middle school girls in under-resourced areas.
CGEST hosted nearly 270 high school students, 540 parents, and a dozen teachers all from rural and urban districts and offered our newest culturally responsive curriculum, CompuPower as an in-school course. This course not only introduces youth to careers in STEM they may wish to pursue in college, we are also working on ensuring the course offers CTE credits.
Revised and collaborated with Dr. Patricia Garcia a culturally responsive expressive circuitry course for more than 60 middle and high school girls in California, Arizona, and Michigan. Not only were the participants introduced the latest in computers and electronics, they also had an opportunity to express themselves.

Advocacy Strand: Too often girls/women of color are mentored but not sponsored. CGEST works with various decision makers to ensure sponsorship occurs regularly and sustainably. Sometimes, this requires us to provide information or access spaces to co-construct systems maps. To these ends, CGEST has:

Established a listserv of more than 4000 partners.
Organized and facilitated individual and group presentations with venture capitalists, tech founders, professional football players, professors of health solutions, and at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, etc.
Worked with 20 leading business women in Hawaii, professors at Hawai’I Pacific University, ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, and Kapor Foundation to co-plan an innovative summit for a 2020 solutions-oriented conference that brings Native Hawaiian youth, sponsors, and industry practitioners together to outline a vision for further opening up sustainable pathways to STEM for girls of color over the next ten years.

It is our intention to make true movement to race-gender STEM disparity in the next decade.. The time is ripe to cease focusing on the problem but to articulate and support empirically based solutions. As we write the next decade’s history with our thoughts and deeds, we look forward to working with you.

Together, let us ensure the women leaders of tomorrow will remember us as their culturally responsive sponsors today.