Dr. Saundra Johnson Austin dedicated her career to promoting equity for African American youth and women in STEM. At the University of South Florida, she leads project coordination for the Florida Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (FL-AGEP) and Project Racism In School Exclusionary Suspensions (RISES).

Dr. Johnson Austin held positions as math faculty at Academy Prep Center of Tampa; executive director of Curated Pathways, TM to Innovation; senior vice president for operations at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc.; president and CEO of St. Michael’s High School; executive vice president of the Community Partnership for Lifelong Learning; executive director of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science; and Minority Engineering Program director at The Pennsylvania State University. She began her career as a cost engineer at Bechtel Power Corporation. She also founded Charis Consulting Group, LLC.

Numerous organizations recognized Dr. Johnson Austin for promoting equity and STEM education access. Her most notable award is Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in Civil and Environmental Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of various STEM organizations, including the United States White House, endorsed the initiative, Algebra by 7th Grade, and is an advisory committee member for the Smithsonian Science Education Center’s ‘Zero Barriers in STEM Education.’

She earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and an Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California.