Iris R. Wagstaff

AAAS STEM Program Director, NSF S-STEM PI

Dr. Iris R. Wagstaff is a scientist, educator, mentor, researcher and STEM advocate. She currently serves as a STEM Program Director in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department of AAAS where she manages programs a ~$20 Million Dollar portfolio focused on broadening participation in STEM, workforce development and inclusive innovation at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. She served as a 2015-2017 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the DOJ National Institute of Justice Office where she led an agency-wide diversity and inclusion initiative. She is a native of Goldsboro, NC with a BS and MS in Chemistry from UNC-Greensboro and NC A&T State Universities respectively; and a PhD in Science Education from North Carolina State University. She worked as a research chemist at the Dow Chemical Company for 15 years where she led analytical project teams and company-wide diversity initiatives. She has over 20 years of STEM outreach and advocacy developing strategic partnerships between industry, academia, and community organizations.

Iris is also a social scientist with a research focus on examining factors that predict science self-efficacy, science identity, and STEM career intent in students. She serves on the Boards of several organizations that include the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the Chemical Society of Washington (CSW), and Science, Engineering, and Math Links (SEM). She also serves as an adjunct chemistry professor at UNC-Greensboro. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Wagstaff STEM Solutions, an education and diversity consulting company. She has received several honors that include the 2020 DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance Education Award, the 2019 BEYA Science Trailblazer Award, and the 2018 NOBCChE Presidential Award for Mentoring.

Neela White

Project Director, ISEED, AAAS

Neela White is a Project Director in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Her portfolio of work at AAAS include managing the AAAS HBCU Making & Innovation initiatives, and working on the AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador Program, and the AAAS Marion Milligan-Mason Awards for Women.  She has served as an external evaluator for multiple projects including the NSF INCLUDES Early STEM Engagement for Minority Males (eSEM) project and the Verizon Innovative Learning Summer Program for Minority Males at Morgan State University. She has also served as a Program Associate for the AAAS District of Columbia program. Her areas of focus have been within the sectors of invention; innovation; entrepreneurship;  HBCUs, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education; Maker movement; international research collaboration; and diversity, equity and inclusion in science.

Allison Gonzalez

Senior Program Associate, ISEED, AAAS

Allison Gonzalez is a program associate in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department of AAAS. She assists on a variety of programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels with a focus on broadening participation in STEM. A few of these programs include the S-STEM Initiative, Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, Emerging Researchers National Conference, and L’Oréal For Women in Science Fellowship Program. Allison received her Bachelor of Science in Geology and Economics at the College of William and Mary in 2019.