Dr. Ashley Huderson, STEM and CS Equity Fellow with the U.S. Department of Education*, joins us live in the WE23 Diverse Podcast Studio to share about building STEM education and career pathways for individuals in underrepresented communities.
In conversation with Karen Horting, Executive Director and CEO of SWE, Dr Huderson details policies and programs that increase STEM access and exposure, such as the “YOU Belong in STEM” initiative.
She also reflects on the best advice from her father, the gifts that come with failure, and why students don’t need straight A’s to achieve success.
Listen to the episode on SWE’s website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.
*Dr. Huderson is currently on sabbatical.
Speaker: Dr. Ashley Huderson, STEM and CS Equity Fellow, U.S. Department of Education
Dr. Ashley Huderson is a STEM policy expert, researcher, entrepreneur, author, TEDx speaker, and professor. Dr. Huderson has extensive experience as a skilled facilitator, leader, academic trainer, and STEM curriculum designer and advocate. She has over 15 years of STEM outreach and advocacy in the community developing informal science programs and mentoring STEM majors.
She has published over 12 peer reviewed articles, including two book chapters on Urban STEM education and counter spaces for minority women in STEM.
She has also been the recipient of several awards and honors including the 2019 McD #35 Alum of the Year award, the 2020 BEYA Modern-Day Technology Leader award and the 2020 UNCF WIAC Grace Walker Phillips Leadership Award.
Dr. Huderson is a native of New Orleans, La., and completed her undergraduate training at Spelman College (2006), a certificate in Health Policy (2012) and doctoral work at Meharry Medical College (2013) and an MBA from Georgetown University (2023).
Her post-doctoral work included a fellowship at Georgetown University Lombardi Cancer Center’s Office of Health Disparities and Minority Research (2015) and a 2015-2017 American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science and Technology Policy (AAAS S&T) Fellow in the Engineering Education and Centers’ division (EEC) at the National Science Foundation.
Host: Karen Horting, Executive Director and CEO, Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Karen Horting, CAE, is the executive director and CEO for the Society of Women Engineers, a position she has held since Dec. 31, 2013.
With more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and fund development, Horting was most recently the SWE deputy executive director.
In this capacity, she was responsible for all fund development activities for the organization, including corporate membership and SWE’s Corporate Partnership Council and more traditional philanthropy such as foundation and government grants, individual gifts, and bequests.
She also oversaw many of the Society’s programs and services, including professional development, K-12 outreach, the annual conference, and SWE’s international expansion.
She currently serves on the Leadership Circle of the 50K Coalition, the FIRST Robotics Board of Directors, the STEM Ed Coalition Board of Directors, Engineering CAS Diversity Advisory Board, and the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board (DAAB).
