The Power of Black Women in STEM | Dr. Ashley Huderson | TEDxUStreetWomen

The U.S. consistently lacks professionals in the STEM workforce and struggles with diversifying the STEM workforce. Specifically, the U.S. continues to lack Black women in STEM. So why do we need more diversity and more Black women in STEM? Research has consistently shown that companies need diversity of thought to develop innovative solutions to tomorrow’s problems and diverse teams tend to outperform homogenous teams. When we examine many of the successes in STEM in the past and recent years, Black women are often at the forefront. This TedxTalk will explore the social, political ad economic impacts to the world if we continue to undervalue the presence of Black Women in STEM. Dr. Ashley Huderson is a STEM policy expert, researcher, entrepreneur, author, and professor, with over 15 years’ experience as STEM mentor and advocate. 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 is the recipient of several awards and honors and has served as a member of several STEM based committees and boards. Currently, Dr. Huderson works in the Office of the US Deputy Secretary of Education as a STEM and CS Equity Policy Fellow. She is working to develop and implement a STEM and CS strategy that advances the Deputy Secretary’s vision for education in America and supports the strategic goals and priorities of the Department. Dr. Huderson holds a BS in Chemistry from Spelman College, a certificate in Health Policy, Ph.D in Biomedical Research from Meharry Medical College, & an MBA from Georgetown University. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx