Contact:
Stephani Page
page@equityinstem.org
WASHINGTON, DC, June 14, 2021 – The ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network announces Virginia Rhodes as the new Project Director, Ashley Garcia as the new Marketing and Communications Manager, and Elizabeth Scire as the new Operations and Database Associate.
The ARC Network is funded by a multiyear grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860. The ARC Network seeks to achieve intersectional gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The ARC Network draws on the efforts of ADVANCE, the NSF’s program addressing systemic inequities in academic STEM, and produces new perspectives, methods and interventions with an intersectional, intentional and inclusive lens. The ARC Network transitioned to the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) as its home organization in February 2021.
“We are thrilled to have Virginia, Ashley, and Elizabeth join our team!” said Dr. Heather Metcalf, WEPAN Director of Research and Constituent Relations and principal investigator of the ARC Network initiative. “They will be valuable collaborators as we continue to implement our sustainability plans.”
As the Project Director, Virginia Rhodes, M.S. is responsible for the strategic management of the ARC Network. She will also provide leadership and direction for day-to-day operations of the ARC Network to ensure that goals and objectives are accomplished within the prescribed time frame and funding parameters. Rhodes brings with her extensive experience in project coordination and research on STEM higher education. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame in 2017 and completed her Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in 2019. Prior to joining the ARC Network, Rhodes was the Project Coordinator for IUPUI’s NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant as well as a research associate at the STEM Education Innovation and Research Institute.
Ashley Garcia, J.D has joined the team as the Marketing and Communications Manager for ARC Network, its home organization WEPAN, and another WEPAN initiative, ACCESS+. Garcia is responsible for marketing and communications strategy development and implementation. Garcia brings nine years of experience in marketing and communications. Prior to joining the ARC Network, she was the account manager for the Office to Advance Women, Equity & Diversity (AWED), planning and executing communications strategies for AWED and FIU ADVANCE, FIU’s National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation project. Garcia has undergraduate degrees in international studies and religious studies from the University of Miami, a juris doctorate degree from the George Washington University Law School, and is currently completing a master’s degree in global strategic communications from Florida International University (FIU).
Elizabeth Scire, M.P.A has joined the team as the Operations and Database Associate. Scire’s role will include operational, administrative, and database management activities for WEPAN and ARC Network. Scire brings a decade of experience in education and nonprofit administration. Prior to joining WEPAN, she served as the Membership and Operations Associate for the Association for Women in Science. Scire holds a bachelor’s degree in Physical Geography and Environmental Studies and Masters of Public Administration with concentration in Nonprofit, Public, and Organizational Management from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
“The synergy that the ACCESS+ and ARC Network initiatives bring to WEPAN expand our network and resources allowing us to leverage additional research and best practices to foster an environment of equity and inclusion in engineering. The addition of these new staff will round out our team and allow us to not only move forward in an efficient and collaborative manner, but also develop and implement a plan to sustain the work we are doing,” says Sims.
WEPAN is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990. Recognized as the leading champion in North America for leveraging research and best practices to propel the inclusion of women in the field of engineering, WEPAN advocates to fully embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion to meet the demands of today’s innovation and performance-driven business culture. Dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering higher education and workplaces, WEPAN connects people, research, and practice to increase participation, retention and success of women and other under-represented groups in engineering from college to executive leadership.
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About the ARC Network: Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program, Award HRD-1740860, the ARC Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. As the STEM equity brain trust, the ARC Network recognizes the achievements made so far while producing new perspectives, methods and interventions with an intersectional, intentional and inclusive lens. Learn more about the ARC Network at www.equityinstem.org and on social media using #EquityInSTEM.
About ACCESS+: The Amplifying the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS+) Initiative, funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Partnership grant #2017953, aspires to leverage STEM professional societies to accelerate systemic STEM culture-change to advance gender diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
About WEPAN: WEPAN is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990. Recognized as the leading champion in North America for leveraging research and best practices to propel the inclusion of women in the field of engineering, WEPAN advocates to fully embrace diversity, equity and inclusion to meet the demands of today’s innovation and performance-driven business culture. Dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering higher education and workplaces, WEPAN connects people, research, and practice to increase participation, retention and success of women and other under-represented groups in engineering from college to executive leadership. To learn more, visit www.wepan.org.
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