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, Dr. Rankin 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.
Recognizing that she needed a healthy outlet for stress when she was a graduate student, Yolanda embarked on her journey to physical fitness. After completing the AFAA fitness instructor certification, she has taught a variety of fitness classes for more than 25 years, including cardio, step, water aerobics, strength, boot camp, and yoga. Yolanda firmly believes that physical fitness is an essential component of self-care.