Trina Fletcher

Trina Fletcher is an Assistant Professor at Florida International University (FIU) within the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED). Her research and work are centered heavily on increasing access and exposure to STEM education for low-income students and students of color. For her dissertation research, Trina conducted a case study analysis of African American girls and STEM education during out-of-school time (OST). Among her related publications are “From Interest to Decision in Cooperative Education,” “African American Women in Engineering Academe: A Comprehensive Literature Review through the Lens of Intersectionality” and “Ignored Potential: A Collaborative Roadmap for Increasing African American Women in Engineering.” She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University, a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (an HBCU in the Delta region of Arkansas), a Master’s in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a second Master’s in Engineering Management from George Washington University. Her industry experience includes completing the Global Operations Leadership Development program with Johnson & Johnson, a management position with Eaton Corporation and serving as the Director of Pre-college Programs for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Prior to FIU, Trina was an Assistant Professor and the Engineering Program Coordinator at UAPB. She is the author of several research and white papers focusing on women and girls of the African diaspora in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). Her areas of interest for research include: (1) K-12 STEM education with a special focus on summer learning; (2) engineering and computer science education at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs); and (3) Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM) and continuous process improvement in engineering/STEM education.