Featured Speakers

Shelly Jones, Central Connecticut State University
Culturally Relevant Mathematics Tasks: The Heart of an Equitable Mathematics Education Experience
Sunday, June 25, 1:15 p.m.

Dr. Shelly M. Jones teaches undergraduate and graduate mathematics content, curriculum and STEM courses. A 30-year educator, she spent nine years in K-12 education and two decades as a professional development provider. You can see her CCSU TEDxTalk on YouTube, where she talks about culturally relevant pedagogy in mathematics. She is the author of Women Who Count: Honoring African American Women Mathematicians and co-author of Engaging in Culturally Relevant Math Tasks: Fostering Hope. Dr. Jones is president of the Benjamin Banneker Association, serves on the Executive Committee of the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences and is a Board Member of NCSM and on the Education Advisory Board of Mathkind. Her accomplishments have earned her recognition by Mathematically Gifted & Black as a Black History Month Honoree.

 

 

Rachel Levy, North Carolina State University
Making Good on the Promise of Data Science for Everyone
Monday, June 26, 4:45 p.m.

At the Data Science Academy at NC State University, Levy directs a team that works to operationalize the idea that data science is for everyone. The center prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion in the ways we conduct our programs every day. Over the course of her career, Levy has been privileged to experience a number of interesting education-related jobs including as a policy fellow in the U.S. Senate, deputy director of a non-profit, dean of a high school, associate dean of a college and director of a summer program. Working to support the professional development of educators across these arenas has been one of the most rewarding aspects of these positions for her. Levy also has a love for writing, including blogging, textbooks, career guides, teacher education materials, and writing for American Scientist. One blog, Grandma got STEM, went viral, which led to a wild ride of press engagements, including National Public Radio and Slate Magazine. She is a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, where she has done most of her professional volunteer service. She is a member of the 30th class of Leadership NC after being away from her home state for 15 years in California and Washington, DC. Levy enjoys time outside of work with family and friends, out on the water, riding bikes, dancing, making music and enjoying a meal together.

 

 

Moon Duchin, Tufts University
Modeling Democracy
Wednesday, June 28, 4:45 p.m.

Moon Duchin is a professor of mathematics at Tufts University and was one of the faculty founders of the interdisciplinary Science, Technology, and Society Program. She runs the MGGG Redistricting Lab as one of the research groups at Tisch College of Civic Life. Duchin's areas of mathematical expertise are in geometric group theory, low-dimensional topology, and dynamics. Her applied research program is in data science for civil rights, where her Lab has become a leading voice in the national efforts to better understand census data, redistricting, and electoral systems. Duchin's co-edited volume (with Olivia Walch) called Political Geometry was published in 2021. The Lab built the Districtr public mapping tool that was used around the country in the redistricting cycle in 2021-22 by line-drawers and community groups. More than 130 localities have used Districtr to collect official public input, including New York City and the state of Michigan. A second major project of the Lab is the GerryChain software packages that harness the mathematics of Markov chains to build high-quality ensembles of alternative districting plans, helping people explore the range of possibility in redistricting. This has enabled ensemble analysis that featured in redistricting litigation in Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and more. Other major research and software development areas for the Lab include differential privacy in the Census, ranked choice voting, race and polarization analysis, and the future of the Voting Rights Act.