Registration Link: tinyurl.com/BlackWomenPhD
Join us as we celebrate Women’s History Month in conversation with Dr. Dominiqua Griffin (Founder & CEO of Black Women PhDs) and a panel of Clarkson Alumni – Dr. Melissa Richards (’04, ’06, ’21), Joanina Gicobi (’15), and Bria Cole M.Ed. (’16). We will explore their doctoral journeys, their experiences, and what advice they would share with their younger selves.
Black Women PhDs® is a digital network for current and future Black Women with doctoral degrees. Their vision is to motivate and encourage Black Girls and Women to obtain doctoral degrees and enter and succeed in spaces that may not have been created for them. They assist Black Women by providing the tools, resources, and exposure to opportunities with our informal digital network. They celebrate Black Women and affirm they will be successful during and after the doctoral process.
PANELISTS: Dr. Melissa Richards (Class of 2004, 2006, 2021) – Professor Melissa C. Richards currently holds a faculty appointment with the Institute for STEM Education at Clarkson University where her title is Instructor, Director of the Horizons Programs, and Director of the Robotics Outreach Program. She is currently in the final stage to obtain a Doctorate of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, where her research focus is in the field of theoretical rock mechanics. Upon her graduation this Spring, she will be the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson in its 125-year history.
Joanina Gicobi (Class of 2015) – Joanina Gicobi is a third-year Immunology Ph.D. candidate at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She is originally from Kenya and has been in the US for almost 10 years. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Biology and Psychology, with a Minor in Chemistry from Clarkson University, and after that worked as a Research Technician in the lab of Dr. Jerome Ritz at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. This is where she realized that she enjoys research and thus enrolled in graduate school. At Mayo Clinic, She is doing her thesis in the lab of Dr. Dong where she is focused on figuring out the best tumor-killing T-cells that a patient needs to have so that they can respond to immunotherapy.
Bria Cole. M.Ed (Class of 2016) – Bria Cole, M.Ed is the Training and Professional Development Coordinator for Clarkson University’s Chief Inclusion Office. She focuses on inclusion inequity across university departments with staff and faculty, and among student groups. She will begin her Ph.D. journey this Fall in the Howard University Higher Education Leadership & Policy Studies program. Her research will include inquiry into how to improve college retention and persistence for African American women, focusing on policy, access to resources, and effectiveness of programming. She received her Bachelors of Science in Communications from Clarkson University (‘16) and received her Master’s of Education in Higher Education Administration (‘20) from Georgia Southern University.
GUEST SPEAKER BIO: Dr. Dominiqua M. Griffin, NCC, is the founder and CEO of Black Women PhDs, LLC, a small business that bridges the formal and informal spaces for Black Women along their doctoral journey. She works full-time as a tenure track Assistant Professor of School Counseling at California State University, Fresno. She is the Program Coordinator for the Master’s in School Counseling and PPS Credential programs. She focuses on school counseling, multiculturalism, and international education to advance school counseling systems domestically and internationally. Her research focuses on Barbados school counseling and understanding their roles and challenges. Dr. Griffin’s research extends to school-family-community partnerships. She earned her Dual-Title Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, and Comparative and International Education at Pennsylvania State University. She worked previously as a school counselor in Washington, D.C., where she earned her Master’s from Howard University and her B.A. from SUNY University at Buffalo. This Bronx native received several awards for her research and continues to serve her community.