Excellence in STEM with Dr. Jasmine Berry

By IEEE Computer Society Team on

February 17, 2023

Dr. Jasmine Berry Encourage active participation from individuals across social boundaries by providing opportunities for them to share their perspectives and experiences in a meaningful way. This may involve preserving safe spaces for discussion and feedback, such as focus groups or town hall meetings, and providing training and support for individuals to effectively vocalize their concerns. Everyone should be encouraged to join, not solely those from marginalized groups, to foster transparent and authentic interactions. With introspection, strategic pathways can be devised to eventually establish policies and procedures for reporting incidents of discrimination with the assurance of full support from the computer science and engineering communities.

Allocate resources and equitable support through mentorship. While tokenism can be addressed in the beginning stages of the hiring process, we should assist equity-seeking populations with support systems tailored to their needs. This might include offering mentorship programs, development opportunities, and providing access to relatable advisers that can guide them in navigating the community. The end goal is to have practices in place for all to have a voice in decision-making and to promote visibility that is not just performative.

More About Dr. Jasmine Berry

Dr. Jasmine Berry is a Computing Innovations Fellow & Neuro-AI Research Scientist at the University of Michigan’s Laboratory for Progress. She works to model the aspects of human cognition for computational machines and robotics using artificial intelligence. She received her B.S. degree in Computer Science from Norfolk State University. Then she pursued Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. Her interests also span using AI for applications in biotech, healthcare, and bridging the educational resource gap for K-12 students in STEM.

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