An alumna of WCCUSD schools, Dr. Shantina Jackson has been a STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics) education leader in the Bay Area for over 15 years. Her work with the community began in West Contra Costa, where she taught high school and middle school mathematics in Richmond and El Cerrito, respectively. For nearly a decade, Dr. Jackson worked to eliminate barriers for students of color in STEM at the Level Playing Field Institute, where she held various leadership roles, including Director of Education Programs, Director of Alumni Relations, and Residential Director. Presently, as Associate Director of Community and School Engagement at Girls Who Code, Dr. Jackson drives community partnership, diversity, and inclusion, and scales computer science programs at the national level, working to close the gender gap in technology and engineering. Dr. Jackson earned her PhD and Master’s in Education at UC Berkeley, and her undergraduate degree in African-American Studies from UCLA. Her research interests focus on the intersections of race, gender, and African-American educational thought.