Our Board of Directors

Dr. Sheena Erete is a researcher, educator, designer, and community advocate, whose research focuses on co-designing socio-cultural technologies, practices, and policies with community residents to amplify their local efforts. Her work has addressed topics such as community safety, education, civic engagement, and health. She publishes in top academic and practitioner venues and her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and numerous other state and philanthropic organizations. Dr. Erete is a Professor in the College of Information at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Associate Director of Research for the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM), and the founding director of the Community Research, Equity, and Design (CREED) Collective. 

Sandra K. Johnson is the CEO, SKJ Visioneering, LLC, a technology consulting company. She is also a Senior Executive Fellow at The Digital Economist. In addition, she is an Independent Director at Regional Management Corporation and Pan-American Life Insurance Company. Dr. Johnson is the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in computer engineering. Her 26-year IBM career included serving as the CTO, IBM Central, East and West Africa, and CTO, IBM Global Small and Medium Businesses. She has a background in high performance computing and is a Master Inventor with over 45 pending and issued patents and over 80 technical publications. She has authored five books, including her memoir, Soft Power for the Journey: The Life of a STEM Trailblazer. Dr. Johnson earned B.S. (summa cum laude) and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering, from Southern University and Stanford University, respectively, and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University. She is a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Dr. Yolanda A. Rankin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Emory University. A recipient of the NSF Early Career Award, Dr. Rankin’s research interests include applying Black feminist epistemologies as critical frameworks for designing technology with marginalized populations and developing intersectional methods for broadening participation in K-16 computing education. In addition, she is a McKnight Fellow and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, having published more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, including journal articles and conference papers presented at top tier ACM and IEEE conferences. Prior to academia, she accumulated more than fifteen years of industry experience while employed at IBM Research Lab – Almaden in San Jose, CA and Lucent Technologies Bell Labs in Naperville, IL. Dr. Rankin completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Northwestern University, her M.A. in Computer Science at Kent State University, and her B.S. in Mathematics at Tougaloo College, a historically Black liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi.

Aisha J. Robinson, Ed.S. is an accomplished education and nonprofit leader with more than 20 years of experience designing, implementing, and leading programs that expand access, opportunity, and achievement for diverse learners and communities. Her expertise spans K–12 education, STEM and computer science education, special education leadership, program management, strategic planning, and workforce development.  Aisha currently serves in leadership roles supporting educational and nonprofit initiatives focused on empowering underrepresented populations in technology and education. Throughout her career, she has successfully managed large-scale programs, developed strategic partnerships, secured and administered grant-funded initiatives, and led cross-functional teams to achieve measurable outcomes. She is particularly passionate about creating pathways for Black women and girls to thrive in computing, technology, and leadership.