Our Team Directors
In 2017, Drs Akin, Santillan, and Valentino came together with a shared interest in building a project to address the gender gap in STEM. With the support of the Bass Connections program at Duke, they merged their areas of expertise to create a program that supports girls and women in STEM. Seeing math as a gateway to STEM, they thought to improve middle school girls’ math confidence through fun, interactive, and interdisciplinary workshops. These workshops would be led by Duke undergraduate and graduate women in STEM, where the accompanying training, research, and discussions would also provide support to Duke women.
Assistant professor of practice
Dr. Akin is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the math department at Duke University. Her research is in geometric group theory.
Associate professor of practice
Dr. Santillan is an Associate Professor of Practice in Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. Her research interests include education, women in STEM, and nonlinear dynamics.
Learning Consultant
Dr. Crifo is a Learning Consultant at the Academic Resource Center at Duke University. She is passionate about making mathematics accessible to everyone.
Assistant professor of practice
Dr. Valentino is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Sociology Department at Ohio State University. She is a cultural sociologist of inequality and stratification.
Our Mentors
Every year, we have a new cohort of female undergraduates at Duke excited to plan, organize, and lead workshops in the spring semester. If you are interested in joining the program, make sure to check out the Bass Research Program to learn more and apply for the GEM team!
Mia Malden
Jackie Herzberg
Nadeska Montalvan
Leila Nelson
Talya Jeter
McKenna Vernon
Dani Welton
Bailey Patrick
Morgan Feist
Adrianna Diaz
Sarah Chang
Trinity Johnson
Chloe Derocher
