Brandon Bakka is a doctoral candidate at the University of at Austin pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering with a certificate in engineering education. He received a BS in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. Brandon is conducting research on the modes of resistance LGBTQIA+ students utilize in response to the climate in STEM departments. He is also running a LGBTQIA+ focus reading group for STEM students to further connect them with their identity, and is passionate about understanding and dismantling the systems in engineering that marginalize students. LinkedIn-https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-bakka-21b054125/

Madeleine Jennings is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at Arizona State University – Polytechnic Campus, pursuing a PhD in Engineering Education Systems and Design and a MS in Human Systems Engineering. They received a BS in Manufacturing Engineering from Texas State University – San Marcos. Madeleine’s research interests include investigating and improving the experiences of invisible identities in engineering, such as LGBTQIA+ engineering and ex-engineering students. They are also interested in examining and critiquing the engineering and engineering education institution to determine how its current structure can serve to marginalize certain communities.

Héctor Rodríguez (he/him/el) is committed to fostering a culture of support and empowerment for LGBTQ+ students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. Héctor is currently pursuing a PhD in Engineering Education at Purdue University, with a focus on the culture of engineering and the experiences of LGBTQ+ students in STEM. Before attending Purdue for a PhD, Héctor obtained his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, focusing on Computer Architecture. Héctor has worked on a variety of research projects, from computer engineering, engineering student identities, to the values that inform students’ choice of engineering major. He is driven by the tension between human/social concerns and technological focus traditional to engineering approaches. Héctor currently works as an instructor in Purdue’s first-year engineering program where he passionately teaches, advocates for students, and fosters inclusive and compassionate online learning environments during the pandemic in his global classroom.

His research in engineering education investigates the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual engineering undergraduate students studying at a Hispanic Serving Institution in Florida. His research focuses on the intersections between these student’s ethnic, cultural, racial, engineering, and gender identities as they proceed through their engineering pathways.

Shannon Clancy is a Ph.D student in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Her current research focuses on front-end design practices, specifically the development of divergent thinking tools, idea generation, and ways in how we engage with and perceive engineering problems and use creativity in engineering.

Her passions include human centered design, student mentorship and teaching, sense of belonging, and equity within engineering, especially for women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and people of color. She is currently an officer in the Graduate Society of Women Engineers at UM, members of the College of Engineering DEI Student Advisory board and the Mechanical Engineering DEI student committee, as well as an active member in UM’s Graduate oSTEM chapter. Her values and strengths lie in empathetic leadership, transparent communication, and striving to always understand and learn more in all aspects of life, especially other perspectives, stories, and what makes each person unique.

Anna Pasek graduated this winter from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a degree in Environmental Engineering and minors in Urban Studies in addition to Sustainable Engineering. She will be attending the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning in the fall to start a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, hoping to focus in affordable  housing and climate resiliency. This summer, she’s working with the City of Ann Arbor’s Transportation Engineering Department, and has previous experience in grassroots organizing, blockchain, and composting research. In her free time, she enjoys playing rugby and writing prose.

Jerry A. Yang is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at Stanford University pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a MA in Education. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin with a certificate in LGBTQ+/Sexualities Studies. Jerry is currently researching novel two-dimensional materials for conventional and quantum computing applications. In addition, Jerry’s research interests include diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in engineering higher education, the intersections of sociology, feminist, and queer theory and their applications to diversity/equity/inclusion issues in engineering, and mixed-methods study designs for conducting education research.