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Principal Investigator/Project Director
Salish Kootenai College
Steve Dupuis holds a Doctorate in Management with an emphasis in Information Systems and Technology from the University of Phoenix. He also earned a Master’s Degree in Technology Management from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Steve is currently the PI on the LSAMP – NSF International Center of Excellence, along with Co-PI and Project Director of the All Nations LSAMP program. Prior to this, Steve was the Co-PI and Project Director for two NSF awards, one to design, develop, and implement a Secondary Mathematics Education BS degree program and the other to design, develop, and implement an Information Technology BS degree program. He designed and implemented the short-term Costa Rica International Research Experience (CRIRE) and has been assisting with Faculty workshops in Panama and Brazil.
Co-Principal Investigator
Jackson State University
Martha Mondoa-Tchounwou, PhD., is the Director of Student Support Services in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET), and the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation (LSMAMP) Program Manager. Dr. Tchounwou also teaches first year students how to navigate and transition from high school to college. Through collaborations, she has placed more than 400 students in summer programs around the country both nationally and internationally. She has mentored and provided students with opportunities to develop the necessary skills needed to become effective, efficient critical thinkers for the 21st century workforce. In 2013, Dr. Tchounwou launched and implemented the inaugural CSET Scholars Academy at Jackson State University where students initiate community learning, tutoring, mentoring and peer-to-peer learning activities. The CSET Scholars Academy embodies and is a hub for student creativity and engagement. In 2018, Dr. Tchounwou piloted the first Girls STEM Summer Enrichment Program in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at Jackson State University. Funding for the Girls STEM Academy is supported through a grant with Lockheed Martin. The program focuses on the development of high school girl’s interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. (STEM). Dr. Martha Tchounwou is a champion in the delivery of educating minority students in the STEM field. Her dissertation centered on the under-representation of minority Faculty in STEM. She has published and presented at many conferences as well as served as judge at the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minority Students, the U.S. Department of Transportation and others. A 15+ year employee at Jackson State University, Dr. Tchounwou is the Principal Investigator for the Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Program.
Co-Principal Investigator
Louisiana State University
Zakiya S. Wilson-Kennedy, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Research in Chemistry Education and the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion within the College of Science at Louisiana State University (LSU). Dr. Wilson-Kennedy’s research investigates the persistence of individuals from all backgrounds in STEM higher education and careers, particularly with regard to faculty and student recruitment, retention and success. With extramural support from NSF, NIH, USDoEd, and philanthropic agencies, she has designed and implemented over 20 education projects, which have employed mentoring models that integrate identity theory and empowerment theory to create and test development structures that cultivate self-efficacy and agency, particularly for groups historically underrepresented in STEM. Her education research has published in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Science Education and Technology and the Journal of Chemical Education. She was primary editor of a recent book, “Broadening Participation in STEM: Effective Methods, Practices, and Programs, within the Diversity in Higher Education Series published by Emerald. Dr. Wilson-Kennedy served as the principal investigator for the 2014 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) organizational recognition for the LSU Office of Strategic Initiatives, and has received additional national and local honors for her work in broadening participation, diversity and STEM education. She is a charter member of the Society of STEM Women of Color and the Metropolitan Baton Rouge Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Co-Principal Investigator
University of Illinois Chicago
Ms. Yates serves as the Director for Programs for the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine Office of Graduate Diversity Programs. In this role she works as the site coordinator and director for the NSF LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate at UIC and provides student and academic support for graduate students in the biomedical sciences. Ms. Yates earned a Master of Arts in Human Development Counseling at the University of Illinois and is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in Counselor Education at the University of Florida. Ms. Yates’ research interests include diversity in higher education, graduate retention, attrition and time to degree for ethnic minorities and others underrepresented in STEM graduate education. Her doctoral research focus is a success model analysis of the completion of doctoral degrees by African American students. Ms. Yates is now aligned academically with the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For 18 years, Ms. Yates has worked in the area of recruitment and retention for minorities and others underrepresented in graduate and professional education. She is a nationally certified professional counselor and has worked in mental health, marriage and family, and addictions counseling for the past 29 years.
Co-Principal Investigator
Jackson State University
Glake Hill’s research focuses on computational chemistry, developing tools that will provide accurate information about relatively large systems. Using Quantum Monte Carlo methods, Localization methods, basis set extrapolation methods and other innovative techniques, accurate calculations can be performed on systems that are computationally difficult. Dr. Hill has published several articles on computational chemistry.
Program Manager
Salish Kootenai College