JESSICA A. HARRIS aka AUNTIE JESS

Brief bio:

I am the Owner and Founder of Jessica A. Harris, LLC.  My consulting firm specializes in the areas of education and outreach, diversity, equity and inclusion, Adult Mental Health First Aid instructor, and mentoring through Auntie Jess programming. I provide coaching and mentoring through my Auntie Jess Programming. My mission is to inspire, empower, and support Black and Brown to not just survive but to THRIVE in STEM.

Full bio:

My name is Jessica A. Harris, pronouns are she/her/hers, I bring over a decade of experience in STEM education and public outreach. I have supported students to achieve educational outcomes at Space Telescope Science Institute as the Education Outreach Specialist and Director of the Space Astronomy Summer Program (SASP). My students dearly call me Auntie Jess.

In addition, I led public advocacy initiatives to drive change in programming efforts at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) as the STEAM Education Program Development Officer and site lead for the National Astronomy Consortium (NAC). Most recently, I was the Program Director for the Clark Scholars Program at the University of Virginia (UVA) in the Engineering School in Charlottesville.

I am the Owner and Founder of Jessica A. Harris, LLC, a consulting firm focused on three pillars:

• Diversity, racial equity, and inclusion

• Education and public outreach

• Auntie Jess Mentoring Program

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I am currently the Chair of the Human Rights Commission in the City of Charlottesville and serve as an outside expert on the National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) Advisory Council. I am a proud alumna of two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). I obtained my B.S. in physics from Grambling State University and an M.A. in physics from Fisk University as part of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge Program.