As director of the Brilliant and Beautiful Foundation Science, Math, Research, and Technology Scholars program, Dr. Iris Wagstaff leads science workshops that engage middle school girls of color.
The workshops include hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities, a parent workshop that provides tools and resources to assist families with supporting children in STEM, interaction with volunteers who are female scientists of color, and a STEM fair.
Dr. Wagstaff previously worked as a Research Chemist for 15 years.
While a research chemist at Rohm and Haas (now Dow Chemical), she mentored undergraduate and graduate interns, and served on several company initiatives to recruit students who are underrepresented in STEM such as females, African Americans, Hispanics, and persons with disabilities.
She also served on the Rohm and Haas-National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Undergraduate Research Award Committee that supported six student interns who made presentations at the NOBCChE (National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) conference.
Iris has been a national member of NOBCChE since 1993 and has served in several capacities in the Greensboro, NC, Atlanta Metro and Delaware Valley chapters.
Dr. Wagstaff was awarded the Women of Color Magazine and Women of Color STEM Conference K-12 Promotion of Education Award at the 22nd annual WoC STEM Conference in Detroit, October 2017.
Also as a research chemist at Rohm and Haas, Iris served as the Super Saturday Science Academy Coordinator for the Delaware Valley Chapter of NOBCChE headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. In this capacity she developed and taught hands-on, inquiry-based, culturally relevant science activities for 5th– 8th graders, managed and trained volunteer STEM staff, developed student learning assessments and conducted workshops for parents to help encourage their children in STEM.
Iris is passionate about science and science education. Her educational outreach in the community has had a lasting effect on future scientists. She has over 20 years of STEM outreach in the community developing informal science programs, mentoring, and serving as a role model for underrepresented students in chemistry and chemical engineering.
Her experience as a science educator spans from K-12 to undergraduate and graduate. She has also worked with K-12 science teachers to develop science curricula that enhanced teachers’ content knowledge and provided engaging and innovative lessons for students.
As a science advocate, she has supported students in STEM by mentoring, tutoring, and providing advice about careers in the chemical industry. She has worked for many years developing and managing programs employing hands-on science activities that
have real-world applications.
Dr. Wagstaff is a STEM Program Director in the Education and Human Resources Department of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Most recently she served as 2015-2017 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in the Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences.