Everyone should know Katherine Johnson, Shirley Ann Jackson, and Mae Jemison (and if you don’t, here’s your chance to learn!), but Black women in STEM continue to shape the future every day. From pioneering vaccine development to revolutionizing AI and space exploration, these modern-day innovators are breaking barriers and redefining what’s possible. Meet the Black STEM workplace icons making waves right now—leaders, researchers, and engineers whose work is shaping the world we live in.

Chinasa T. Okolo, Ph. D.

First name: Chee-nah-sah | Last Name: Oh-koh-loh

Chinasa T. Okolo, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized researcher, strategist, and policy advisor on AI governance in the Global South. Dr. Okolo is a Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a recent Computer Science Ph.D. graduate from Cornell University. Her research examines how African governments can facilitate effective AI and data governance, investigates the socioeconomic impact of data work in the Global South, and analyzes datafication and algorithmic marginalization in Africa. Dr. Okolo advises numerous multilateral institutions, national governments, corporations, and nonprofits on issues related to AI, digital inclusion, and socioeconomic development.

Dr. Okolo also serves as a Drafting Member of the Nigerian National AI Strategy, a Consulting Expert to the African Union AI Continental Strategy, an Expert Contributing Writer to the International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI, and the Editor-in-Chief of ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society. Dr. Okolo has been featured in TechCrunch and provided commentary to leading platforms such as the MIT Technology Review, New York Times, VICE, Scientific American, and The Washington Post. Dr. Okolo was recently named as one of the world’s most influential people in AI by TIME and her research has also been covered widely in media outlets and published at top-tier venues in human-computer interaction and sociotechnical computing. Learn more about Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo at www.chinasatokolo.com.

Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire, Ph. D.

Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire is a research fellow and the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center (VRC). She received a B.S. in Biological Sciences, with a secondary major in Sociology, in 2008 from the University of Maryland–Baltimore County, where she was a Meyerhoff Scholar and an NIH undergraduate scholar. She then enrolled at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she obtained her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 2014.

A viral immunologist by training, Corbett uses her expertise to propel novel vaccine development for pandemic preparedness. Appointed to the VRC in 2014, her work focuses on developing novel coronavirus vaccines, including mRNA-1273, a leading candidate vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19. In response to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, the vaccine concept incorporated in mRNA-1273 was designed by Corbett’s team from viral sequence data and rapidly deployed to industry partner, Moderna, Inc., for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Phase 1 clinical trial, which unprecedently began only 66 days from the viral sequence release. Following promising results in animal models and humans, mRNA-1273 is currently in Phase 3 clinical trial. Alongside mRNA-1273, Corbett’s team boasts a portfolio that also includes universal coronavirus vaccine concepts and novel therapeutic antibodies.

Additionally, Corbett spent several years working on a universal influenza vaccine, which is slated for Phase 1 clinical trial. In all, she has 15 years of expertise studying dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus and coronaviruses. Along with her research activities, Corbett is an active member of the NIH Fellows Committee and avid advocator of STEM education and vaccine awareness in the community. Combining her research goals with her knack for mentoring, Corbett aims to become an independent principal investigator.

Bianca Jones Marlin, Ph. D.

Bianca Jones Marlin, PhD is a neuroscientist and the Herbert and Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Cell Research in the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience at Columbia University and the Zuckerman Institute and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Freeman Hrabowski Scholar. Her research investigates how organisms unlock innate behaviors at appropriate times, and how learned information is passed to subsequent generations via transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Dr. Marlin’s experimental approach combines neural imaging, behavior, and molecular genetics to uncover the mechanisms by which learning and emotion are biologically transmitted from neurons of the parent to neurons of their offspring. The resulting insights into how learned behavior in the parent can become innate behavior in the offspring promise to make a profound impact on societal brain health, mental well-being, and parenting.

Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia, Dr. Marlin completed her postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Nobel Laureate, Dr. Richard Axel, where she investigated how trauma experienced by parents affects the brain structure and sensory experience of their future offspring. Dr. Marlin received her PhD from New York University working in the lab of Dr. Robert Froemke, where she examined how the brain adapts to care for a newborn— specifically the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in maternal behavior. She has dual bachelor degrees in biology and adolescent education from St. John’s University.

Dr. Marlin’s work has been recognized with several awards and honors, including: Popular Science Magazine’s Brilliant 10, the STAT Wunderkind Award, the Allen Institute’s Next Generation Leaders Council, the Donald B. Lindsley Prize in Behavioral Neuroscience, and Discover Magazine’s Top 100 Stories. Her research and perspectives have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, Discover Magazine, and Forbes, among others.

Jedidah Isler, Ph.D.

Dr. Jedidah Isler is an astrophysicist, educator, futurist, policy-maker, and strategist dedicated to using science and technology as a tool for social justice. A proud double-HBCU graduate (NSU & Fisk!), she became the first African American woman to complete her Ph.D. in astrophysics at Yale University. She continued her award-winning research on hyperactive supermassive black holes on the faculty at Dartmouth College before turning her attention to science policy and joining the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP).

At OSTP, she was Principal Assistant Director, where she served as the interim deputy director for the Science & Society division. There she helped advance numerous science & technology policy initiatives, including equitable engagement, STEM education, open science, research security, and R&D infrastructure.

She is also the founder and former executive director of the STEM en Route to Change (SeRCH) Foundation, Inc., whose signature program, VanguardSTEM, is thriving with a new generation of women of color scientists and leaders.

She has worked extensively with schools, universities, nonprofit organizations, and planetariums across the country to inspire and advance a more equitable future where anyone can participate in, contribute to, and benefit from science and technology. She lives in the DMV with her amazing family.

Ayanna Howard, Ph.D.

Accomplished roboticist, entrepreneur and educator Ayanna Howard, PhD, became dean of The Ohio State University College of Engineering on March 1, 2021. Previously she was chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing, as well as founder and director of the Human-Automation Systems Lab (HumAnS).

Her career spans higher education, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the private sector. Dr. Howard is the founder and president of the board of directors of Zyrobotics, a Georgia Tech spin-off company that develops mobile therapy and educational products for children with special needs. Zyrobotics products are based on Dr. Howard’s research.

Among many accolades, Forbes named Dr. Howard to its America's Top 50 Women In Tech list. In 2021, the Association for Computing Machinery named her the ACM Athena Lecturer in recognition of fundamental contributions to the development of accessible human-robotic systems and artificial intelligence, along with forging new paths to broaden participation in computing. In 2022, she was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and was appointed to the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC).

She is the first woman to lead the College of Engineering. Nationally, only 17% of engineering deans or directors across the country are female, according to the Society of Women Engineers. She also is the college’s second Black dean. George Mason University President Gregory Washington served as interim dean from 2008 to 2011. Throughout her career, Dr. Howard has been active in helping to diversify the engineering profession for women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals with disabilities.

Dr. Howard earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Brown University, her master’s degree and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and her MBA from Claremont Graduate University.

Ready to Become the Next STEM Trailblazer?
The trailblazing women in this blog changed history—and you could be next. Whether you’re launching your career or looking for your next opportunity, AdaMarie’s job board is the place to find roles that match your talent and ambition.

✨ Explore opportunities. Apply today.