Full Name
Sonal Dekhane
Job Title
Program Director
Company
National Science Foundation CREST HBCU-RISE
Speaker Bio
Dr. Sonal Dekhane currently serves as a rotating Program Director at the National Science Foundation. At NSF, she contributes to three programs: Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology HBCU Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (CREST HBCU-RISE), Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), and Racial Equity in STEM Education (EHR Racial Equity). Her home institution is Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), where she serves as a Professor and Department Chair of Information Technology. In her 15-year academic career, she has focused her efforts on improving computing education, and broadening participation in STEM. At GGC, she created several sustainable programs to support the recruitment and retention of women and other historically excluded groups in computing. Her work also led to the creation of several open education resources, greatly improving access to affordable education for hundreds of students each semester. In her leadership roles at GGC, including Chair and interim Dean, she led cross-campus collaborative efforts to promote institutional inclusive excellence and gender equity among STEM faculty. For her service, leadership, and student engagement she received numerous awards, including WIT Woman of the Year – STEAM Education Award. To learn more about Dr. Dekhane and to connect with her, see: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonal-dekhane
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