STEM Equity Conference

Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri is a noted scholar, author, and educator of science. During his lifetime, he has delivered over 14,000 invited lectures and presentations. He has contributed in profound ways to the promotion of active science teaching at all levels and is an advocate for advancing public stakeholders’ knowledge regarding the use of science and technology to serve society.

Dr. Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics, noted author, and highly sought out national and international speaker. Her research interests include studying how different approaches to teaching impact student learning. She is particularly interested in supporting teachers in their efforts to employ equitable and effective teaching practices. She is currently working at the local and national levels to increase an awareness of the importance of data science in all school subjects.

Jackie Means founded the Wilmington Urban STEM Initiative in order to empower girls at the local and national levels to pursue STEM education and careers. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at the University of Delaware. In her role as “STEM Queen” Jackie positively impacts thousands of young girls by encouraging them to challenge traditional stereotypes about the role of females in STEM.

Luke Rhine is director of Career and Technical Education and STEM Initiatives at the Delaware Department of Education. In this role, he leads the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the statewide system of CTE in Delaware’s secondary and postsecondary institutions and STEM initiatives in K-12. Luke is integrally involved developing and implementing educational policy. Luke has received several state and national awards for educational leadership and was a Fulbright scholar.

Daniel Suchenski is the Executive Director of the Delaware STEM Council. In this role, he is responsible for oversight and management of all day-to-day functions and services of the STEM Council and serves as the primary liaison to the Governor’s Office, Department of Education, Institutes of Higher Education and businesses to further the mission of the organization. He is passionate about creating systems level improvements in the quality of STEM experiences for all of Delaware’s youth.

Tonyea Mead is a 37-year veteran of education. She currently serves as the Education Associate for Science. During her career, she has served as an elementary, middle, high school teacher, building administrator, district science specialist, and science methods professor.  She has won several state and national awards including a Fulbright Teacher Award, Teacher of the Year for her building, Environmental Teacher of the Year, Presidential Award for Excellence in Science- State Finalist, and U.S. Dept. of Education Star Teacher recipient.  

Lakia J. Belcher is currently the Director of Education and Strategic Outreach at FAME Inc. She received a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Wilmington University and a B.A. in English from Wesley College, Dover Delaware. Lakia is a duly certified educator of English/Language arts (SPEC.Ed, General education). Lakia is a strong advocate of hands-on problem solving and inquiry based learning. Her professional interests focus on equitable inclusive learning opportunities, common core readiness and career preparedness.

Ryan Harrington is an Associate Director at the Delaware Data Innovation Lab (DDIL) where he focuses on developing data science projects for social good. Previously, Ryan was the lead data scientist at CompassRed Data Labs, a data science and analytics consulting firm where his focus was on developing models using a combination of statistical methods and machine learning techniques. Outside of work, he co-founded and co-organized Open Data Delaware, an organization dedicated to improving data transparency within government institutions and applying data and technology to solve civic problems. Prior to his work as a data scientist, he was a high school math teacher at Glasgow High School and spent time building Delaware’s entrepreneurial ecosystem at 1313 Innovation.

Hiral Antala is Mechanical Engineer, MBA, PMP, and IT Project Manager with Christiana Care. She also serves as the Co-chair of the Women’s Employee Network ERG at the hospital. She has been in the IT Healthcare setting for 20+ years and says there has never been a dull moment. She has an extensive professional experience leading healthcare projects in infrastructure, construction, and planning, EMR implementation and now population health. In 2020, Hiral lead various pandemic related projects which involved caregiver and department relocations, virtual team readiness set ups, setting up COVID testing and Ambulatory care centers and finally the community and caregiver vaccination projects. Her career journey amplifies the possibility and flexibility that a STEM education and mindset can bring in one’s life. Hiral’ s other passions involve working with young adults including her volunteer parent work with Odyssey of the Mind.

Rahmeika Jones is an Academic Program Manager for FAME Inc., She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies from Neumann University.She is CPR/AED Certified, has an Administration of Medication Certification, and is certified as an Early Childhood Administrator by the State of Delaware, Department of Education. After receiving her degrees she worked at Head Start in Delaware as a teacher, a resource teacher, and finally as the Center Manager. Working for FAME, Inc., Ms. Jones oversees the expansion and coordination of all the academic programming. This includes developing and coordinating activities to publicize programs, maintaining records, providing statistical information to the Director of Education, and ensures that all program aspects are reevaluated with faculty input as necessary in order to provide the best impact on youth and the community.