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About STEM Equity Alliance
Our Story
The STEM Equity Alliance was created in response to a clear and persistent gap in education systems: while student populations have become increasingly diverse, STEM opportunities, representation, and outcomes have not kept pace.
Too many students—especially those from historically underrepresented communities—continue to face barriers to high-quality STEM education, limiting both access and long-term opportunity. We exist to challenge that imbalance at its root, not just by improving instruction, but by strengthening the systems that shape it.
Our work is driven by a simple belief: when education systems are designed with equity, cultural responsiveness, and intentional opportunity-building at the center, students don’t just participate in STEM—they thrive in it and reshape its future.
Mission & Vision
Mission
We catalyze transformations by building capacity within educational systems to yield a culture of STEM equity.
Vision
A world where every student- regardless of background—has access to high-quality STEM education and the opportunity to thrive, innovate, and lead.
Equity is not an outcome- it is the foundation of effective STEM education systems.
Equity
We believe every student deserves access to high-quality STEM education, opportunity, and support regardless of background or circumstance.
Cultural Responsiveness
We value learning environments that recognize, respect, and reflect the lived experiences of every learner.
Systems Thinking
We approach change through aligned strategies, policies, and practices that create sustainable and measurable impact.
Collaboration
We believe meaningful progress happens through strong partnerships, shared vision, and collective action.
STEM Equity Team
Arthur Mitchell
Executive Director
Arthur Mitchell has over 30 years of experience opening doors for equity and access in STEM education, working across a variety of settings throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
His work focuses on helping organizations develop systems-based approaches where Belonging, Equity, and Justice become the ethos. He believes that community is a core partner in any work that is designed to produce lasting results and is key to an effective Participatory Innovation Ecosystem.
Arthur believes meaningful change begins with understanding students, expanding opportunity, and building educational environments where every learner can thrive.
Cheryl Rush Dix
Principal Director
An educator with Aerospace Engineering – Teaching – Program Administration career trajectories in roughly equal arcs, Cheryl Rush Dix is dedicated to establishing access and opportunity for STEM education.
Her tenure in a large urban Pennsylvania district included developing science initiatives to enhance district-wide, inquiry-based science education for 10,000+ PreK-12 students through major corporate grants, accomplishing a long-held district goal of shifting a struggling, 90% poverty, 90% minority school to 90% proficiency on the state science assessment.
A veteran program presenter for the Smithsonian Science Education Center, Baldrige examiner, and PA SMART Grant recipient, Cheryl currently serves STEM education and her community as a founding Trustee of Pennsylvania’s Erie County Community College, Fulbright Research Alumna, NSF project investigator, and board officer for Erie Water Works.
Board Members
Felicia Fullilove-Cashwell, Ph.D, Associate Director - American Association of Colleges and Universities
Dr. Stephen Jones, Associate Dean of SUCCESS and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Villanova University
David Hartney, Executive Director - First Hand Learning
Eric Moreland, Field Applications Engineer - ABB
Dr. Nicole Norfles, Director of Programs Practice and Innovation - Council for Opportunity in Education
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