Congratulations to the Executive Director of the Leadership Alliance, Dr. Medeva Ghee, who has been selected as one of INSIGHT into Diversity magazine’s 2017 Leaders in STEM in recognition of her dedication to supporting underrepresented groups in STEM. The Leadership Alliance is a national consortium of over 30 institutions that works together to build underrepresented students into outstanding leaders and role models in academia, business and the public sectors. Through the Alliance, Dr. Ghee worked with institutional partners to develop new programs with an emphasis on supporting underrepresented groups. For example, the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) program connects students from minority serving institutions with mentors and projects at leading research institutions during the summer after the freshmen year, building confidence and research skills early in these students’ matriculation. Other Leadership Alliance programs, like the SYnergistic Network to Enhance Research that Grows Innovation (SYNERGI) initiative, aim to support STEM researchers as they move through their graduate studies and negotiate professional careers.

“Exposure is key to opportunity and success. I am proud to be part of an organization that nurtures talent from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds and empowers young scholars to pursue research careers in academia, the public and private sectors. It is important, now more than ever, that diverse perspectives contribute to the national discourse and speak truth to power. ” – Dr. Medeva Ghee