The keynote speaker at Friday’s Leading Voices Summer Seminar was Colin Parris, Ph.D., who is the senior vice president and chief technology officer of GE Digital. Dr. Parris received the top award at the 2023 BEYA (Becoming Everything You Are) Conference, which took place during Black History Month in February. Take a listen.

The BEYA Leading Voices Summer Seminar is a virtual one-day summit that aims to promote innovation and diverse and inclusive research ecosystems through partnerships between historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tech companies, and institutions.

The seminar features informative discussions moderated by Dr. Victor McCrary, vice president for research at the University of the District of Columbia, and distinguished speakers such as Nate Crews, CEO of Business Transformation Consulting Services, Dr. Wayne Gersie, vice president for diversity and inclusion at Michigan Technological University, and Dr. Isaac Porche, national security analysis mission area executive at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

The seminar covered topics such as the CHIPS & Science Act, research partnerships between HBCUs and predominantly white institutions, and HBCUs and space research.

Viewers can gain insights into the current status and future opportunities for HBCUs to produce STEM graduates from underrepresented communities and explore authentic partnerships with PWIs.

The BEYA Leading Voices Summer Seminar was hosted virtually on the BEYASTEMDTX and STEM City USA platforms, providing an interactive environment for attendees to connect with speakers and explore groundbreaking work at HBCUs.