TAF Presents: This is The Work Trish Millines Dziko | Dr. Sheila Edwards-Lange | Keisha Scarlett

Trish Millines Dziko cofounded TAF in 1996 after spending 15 years as a developer, designer and manager in the high tech industry. A native of New Jersey who attended Monmouth College (now Monmouth University) on a basketball scholarship, she graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in 1979 at a time when few people of color and few women were entering the field. Her successful career brought her to Microsoft in the late-1980s, just as the pioneering software company was set to become a worldwide brand. Over the next decade of tremendous growth, she saw very little change in the high tech industry: women and people of color remained grossly underrepresented. After careful research she traced the root of the problem to the lack of access to rigorous, relevant technology training in our public schools, particularly those in traditionally underserved communities of color. Trish left Microsoft in 1996, the same year she founded TAF. Trish has led the growth of TAF into a statewide leader in STEM education, operating TAF Academy, increasing the number of teachers of color through the Martinez Fellowship, and partnering with public schools to transform them into academic environments that will promote the highest level of student learning. Trish and her spouse Jill Hull Dziko live on Vashon Island and are the proud parents of 4 children. -- Dr. Edwards Lange has a wide range of experience in higher education administration and has been a leading advocate for diversity and inclusion throughout her career. She started her tenure at Seattle Central in August of 2015 as interim president, and was named to the permanent position in May of 2016. Prior to this, she served as vice president for Minority Affairs and vice provost for Diversity at the University of Washington (UW). In these roles, she was responsible for increasing diversity and working with senior leadership to improve the campus climate and retention of diverse students, faculty and staff. As a result of her work, the entire UW community is now engaged in making the campus more inclusive and welcoming for people of all backgrounds. -- Keisha Scarlett is the Executive Director of Organizational Development & Equity for Seattle Public schools and a former principal in the Seattle Public Schools. Prior to becoming a school administrator, she was a mentor for Seattle School’s novice secondary mathematics and science teachers and a middle school mathematics coach. She is currently weeks away from completing a doctoral program and previously received her master's degree in education from Heritage University and her administration credentials from University of Washington. Scarlett has had the opportunity to receive professional development training from National Urban Alliance consultants in an ongoing project with the Seattle Schools Literacy Initiative. Scarlett is a representative of the NSF-funded project, Lenses on Learning: Research-Based Mathematics Professional Development for K–12 Principals, Teacher Leaders, and District Leaders. Continued Reading: Seeds of a Black Woman written by Zithri Ahmed Saleem here: http://bit.ly/MedSKT Social Media: Techaccess.org www.facebook.com/stembytaf/ Twitter: @stembytaf www.instagram.com/stembytaf/ Trish Millines Dziko [e-mail] Facebook/Twitteer: @TrishDziko http://www.trishdziko.com/ Dr. Sheila Edwards-Lange: Twitter: @EdwardsLange Email: [e-mail] Keisha Scarlett Twitter: @scarlettfevah Email: [e-mail] Phone: [phone] Zithri Saleem: http://zithri.com Twitter: @ZithriSaleem http://linkedin.com/in/zithrisaleem Mayowa Aina: http://MayowaAina.com twitter: @mayowaaina_ http:// linkedin.com/in/mayowaaina/ Domonique Meeks: DomoniqueMeeks.com Twitter: @domoniquemeeks http://facebook.com/domoniquelmeeks/ http://instagram.com/domoniquemeeks http://linkedin.com/in/domonique-meeks-01542320/ Music Credit: Ampfire