2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

“Everybody Gotta Eat” and Insights on Leadership and Resilient Identity from Black Engineers

Presented at Inclusive Leadership: A Panel Discussion

This study explores how language, phrases, and colloquialisms serve as identity-shaping structures for early-career Black engineers in the meaning-making of their leadership experiences. It is critical in engineering that we center the authentic voices of historically minoritized groups in engineering, such as Black engineers. In engineering, the representation of Black engineers has remained stagnantly low. As such, research regarding the experiences of Black engineers has historically viewed Black engineering students from a deficit framing. In this study, Black engineers' authentic voices are centered, and their stories describe their unique experiences in leadership. This study will utilize Esteban-Guitart and Moll's Funds of Identity framework and Ross et al.'s Resilient Identity framework as conceptual lenses for the research. These frameworks were selected to provide insight into how early-career Black engineering leaders conceptualize their racial, professional, and leadership identities. This study will focus on the stories of early-career Black engineers engaged in leadership roles, highlighting specific phrases in Black language used to describe those experiences. Focusing on early-career engineers allows the study participants to reflect on their most recent engineering education experiences and how that has shaped their leadership trajectory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants and lasted between 60-90 minutes. Each interview was audio-recorded. Three significant findings were illuminated through the stories of the participants. The first finding, "it takes a village," explains the importance of community-driven leadership and responsibility. The second finding, "the struggle is real," describes the complexities that the participants encountered navigating their leadership journey with marginalized identities. Lastly, "protecting your peace," describes how Black engineers create boundaries in response to attacks on their identity in their leadership roles. The narratives that early-career Black engineers shared about navigating leadership sheds light on the unique challenges and experiences that Black engineers have in their professional pathways. Through understanding their experiences, engineering education can shape engineering leadership and leadership development to be culturally relevant and accessible.

Authors

Dr. Katreena Thomas http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1376-3299 Clemson University [biography]

Katreena Thomas currently serves as a postdoctoral researcher at Clemson University through the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) eFellows postdoctoral fellowship. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Engineering Education Systems Design. During her doctoral education, she was a member of the Coley Shifting Perceptions, Attitudes, and Cultures in Engineering (SPACE) Lab research group. She also served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Intern for the Journal of Engineering Education. Her research interests include broadening participation in engineering, engineering leadership, and marginalized student experiences in engineering. Her dissertation explored the experiences of early-career Black engineers in leadership. She received her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and her M.S. in Human Systems Engineering from Arizona State University. Before starting her graduate studies, she worked in the tech industry in the operations field. Katreena is committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity and hopes that her work will impact the culture and environment of the engineering education ecosystem.
Dr. Brooke Charae Coley Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus [biography]

Dr. Brooke Coley, an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Arizona State University, is a pioneering force in disrupting the status quo of engineering to create a more equitable and inclusive field where all individuals can thrive. As the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Research Advancing Racial Equity, Justice, and Sociotechnical Innovation Centered in Engineering (RARE JUSTICE), Dr. Coley leads transformative efforts to challenge systemic barriers and promote equity in academia. Her research focuses on amplifying the lived experiences of racially minoritized scholars, dismantling anti-Blackness in STEM, graduate student education, and fostering awareness of, and ultimately, accountability for, the lived realities of individuals navigating STEM through immersive virtual reality experiences. Collaborating with mental health experts, she also is intentional to integrate a head-on focus on the implications for wellness and wholeness in academic environments. Dr. Coley's transparent and culturally responsive approaches, coupled with her dedication and fortitude, have positioned her as a recognized leader in the field. Since 2017, she has secured millions of dollars in grant funding from the National Science Foundation, employing critical qualitative and arts-based methodologies in her work. She received the Wickenden Award and Betty Vetter Award in 2024 and was named a Virtual Visiting Scholar by the ARC Network in 2023. Launching from the Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh oriented to the challenges of navigating STEM as an underrepresented and minoritized scholar, she continues to lead change and advocate for institutional transformation and accountability through novel applications and approaches.

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