Hiring Experienced Researchers to Optimize Ecosystems in STEM (HEROES) program is an innovative national initiative designed to expand research capacity at American colleges and universities by hiring former & transitioning federal research scientists as HEROES fellows at QEM.
Meet the HEROES Fellows
Christopher Atchison
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- STEM Education
- Broadening Participation
- Geology
State/Region of Service
OK/ KY/ IN
Quincy Brown
Previous Agency
White House and NSF
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Education
- Space
- Policy
State/Region of Service
DC/ MD
Frances Carter-Johnson
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Policy Research
- Evaluation
- Data Analytics and Infrastructure
State/Region of Service
VA/ WV
Toni Dancstep
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Informal STEM
- Learning
- Research
State/Region of Service
CA
Emily Davis
Previous Agency
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Program Management
- Professional Development
- Workshop Facilitation
State/Region of Service
MD/ PA
Gregory Davis
Previous Agency
Commerce and Defense
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Defense Acquistion Security
State/Region of Service
VA
Karen Ford-Jackson
Previous Agency
U.S. Department of Education
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Analyze
- Organize
- Evaluate
State/Region of Service
VA/ WV
Toya Frank
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- STEM Education
- Mixed methods
- Equity
State/Region of Service
DC/ VA
Chaz Gipson
Previous Agency
Department of Education
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Proposal Competitiveness
- Capacity Building Evidence-Aligned Design
State/Region of Service
GA/ TN
Yulia Goreva
Previous Agency
NASA-JPL
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Planetary
- Space Sciences
State/Region of Service
CA
Carrie Hall
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- STEM Education
- Biology
- Broadening Participation
State/Region of Service
AR/ OK
Naomi Hall-Byers
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Methodology
- Interdisciplinarity
- Outcomes
State/Region of Service
NC/ SC
Joseph Isaac
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- STEM
- Education
- Connector
State/Region of Service
DE/ MD
Shadei Jones-Laird
Previous Agency
Naval Sea Systems Command
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Systems Engineering
- Workforce Development Programs
- Naval Engineering
State/Region of Service
AL/ GA
Jehnae Linkins
Previous Agency
Department of Defense
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Centered STEM Design
- Academia-to-Federal Translation
- Research Capacity Building
State/Region of Service
SC
Bradley Lusk
Previous Agency
USAID, DoS, NRL
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Biotechnology
- STEM
- scicom
State/Region of Service
AZ/ NM
Amaka Nwankwo
Previous Agency
USAID
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Epidemiology/Data Science
- Global Health
- Infectious Diseased
State/Region of Service
NJ
Sharmini Pitter Boghos
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Diplomacy
- Education
- Quantum
State/Region of Service
IL/ MO
Tori Rhoulac Smith
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Expanding opportunity in higher education
State/Region of Service
NC/ MS
David Richards
Previous Agency
Department of Education
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Postsecondary Education Statistics
State/Region of Service
DC/ MD/ PA
Jennifer Riehl
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation(NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Environmental science-policy integration,
- Forest and wildland fire science
- Collaborative research
State/Region of Service
NJ/ PA
James Smith
Previous Agency
National Security Agency
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- AI/ML
- Visualization
- 3D Graphics
State/Region of Service
TX
Ramsey Smith
Previous Agency
Department of State
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Innovation
- Space
- Chemistry
State/Region of Service
NC
Josh Trapani
Previous Agency
National Science Foundation(NSF)
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Science policy
- Higher education
- Geoscience
State /Region of Service
CO/ UT
Kenneth Wright
Previous Agency
NASA
Three Words That Define My Expertise
- Technology
- Strategy
- Innovation
State/Region of Service
MI