TECAID Project Leadership Team

Over time, the TECAID Project Leadership Team has been comprised of three sub-groups working together in concert: the TECAID Principal Investigator (PI) Team; the Subject Matter Experts Team; and the External Evaluator. Below we provide details about the TECAID PI Team.

TECAID Leadership Team and External Evaluator (2014-2016)

Diane Matt (Original PI), Tom Perry (Original co-PI), Robbie Marks (Original Project Manager), Aisha Lawrey (co-PI), Liz Litzler (Evaluator), Klod Kokini (co-PI)
Not pictured: Gretal Leibnitz (Current PI)

Original TECAID PI Interview (40:00)

To learn about TECAID from our original PI’s, please listen to this engaging interview by Liz Litzler (TECAID Evaluator), with Diane Matt (original TECAID PI from WEPAN), Tom Perry (original ASME Co-PI), and Klod Kokini (original Purdue University College of Engineering Co-PI)

TECAID PI & co-PIs Interview Transcript PDF >

The TECAID Principal Investigator Team

The TECAID Principal Investigator (PI) Team envisioned, proposed, and secured National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for TECAID – a project that helps change leaders build inclusive Mechanical Engineering department cultures. Since 2014, the PI Team has been responsible for the successful leadership and management of TECAID.

In 2016-2017, the PI Team’s composition evolved. New members were on-boarded and the roles of several original members changed.

Gretal Leibnitz, Ph.D.

TECAID Co-PI (As of 2017)

Gretal Leibnitz serves as TECAID Co-PI and Project Director, and is Research & Grants Consultant for the Women in Engineering Proactive Network (WEPAN). Leibnitz has been involved in social justice, broadening participation, and institutional and organizational change efforts for the past 20+ years. She has worked in numerous organizational contexts ranging from non-profit, to private liberal arts and large public research-intensive academic institutions. Recently, Leibnitz helped initiate and lead a 5 year NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation project, a NSF GSE Engineering Inclusive Teaching (EIT): Faculty Professional Development project, and an NSF i-Corps-L project, and serves as the founding director of a national community of practice—the ADVANCE Implementation Mentors (AIM) Network. Leibnitz holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology.

Diane Matt, M.Sc.

TECAID PI (2014-17); Co-PI (2017)

Diane Matt originally served as PI for the TECAID project and executive director for is Research and Grants Advisor with the Women in Engineering Proactive Network (WEPAN). As the inaugural executive director of WEPAN, Matt has been an agent of change, spearheading numerous transformational grant-funded projects to help realize WEPAN's vision of sustainable, systemic inclusion in engineering. With 30 years of experience in membership association leadership, Matt holds B.A. and M.Sc. degrees in geology.

Thomas Perry, P.E.

TECAID Co-PI (2014-2016)

During TECAID’s initial years, Thomas Perry, P.E. served as Director of Engineering Education for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is now retired from that position and serves TECAID in an advisory role as an ASME volunteer.

Aisha Kenya Lawrey, M.P.A.

TECAID Co-PI

Aisha Kenya Lawrey, as of 2017, is Director of Engineering Education for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). She guides and supports the work of ASME in helping the shape the future of mechanical engineering and engineering technology education through ABET accreditation; the ME/MET department head and faculty communities; efforts toward increasing undergraduate simulation-design-build-innovation; greater exposure to industry standards/practice; more robust industry/university relations; and fostering more inclusive collaboration environments as framed by the ASME Engineering Education Vison2030 Advocacy Strategy. With 15 years of experience in engineering education, she holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering, a M.P.A. in Higher Education/Education Policy, and is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Engineering Education.

Klod Kokini, Ph.D.

TECAID Co-PI

Klod Kokini is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University. He is responsible for faculty recruiting, hiring, retention, development, climate, success, and recognition--as well as faculty and staff diversity and inclusion education. He holds B.S.M.E., M.S.M.E. and Ph.D. degrees. A Fellow of the ASME and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, he is also a member of the ASME Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Committee.

Robbie Marks, M.L.S.

TECAID Project Manager (2014-2017)

Robbie Marks, of Marks Information, specializes in gathering, evaluating, organizing, managing and sharing information. She holds a Master’s degree in Library Science and certification in Information Management.

Glen Kauffman

TECAID Project Manager (as of 2017)

Glen Kauffman provided administrative support for TECAID. She has over 15 years of experience as a Program Coordinator for international students in a university setting, with degrees in Education and Biology.

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"The growth I experienced over the year and a half is beyond measure.”
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– A. Morse, Michigan Technological University, formerly Texas Tech University

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"... TECAID's real benefit is not just in facilitating the achievement of a goal such as improving enrollment or retention in a given time frame, but in helping us become catalysts for change, one person at a time.”
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– N. Barr, Michigan Technological University

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"The biggest gain was perspective. Seemingly small victories can effect more change than we realize and all accomplishments should be appreciated. What appears to be a barrier might not be as insurmountable as it first appears and might even end up being a resource before all is said and done. Conflict doesn’t have to be a negative; on the contrary, it can help stimulate discussion and bring in viewpoints that hadn’t yet been considered.”

– R. Norris, University of Oklahoma

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"This was a fantastic experience. [TECAID] has not only played a critical role in shaping our culture change efforts, but it has also had a major personal impact on me. I now have tools that will help with every aspect of my professional and personal life.”

– G. Odegard, Michigan Technological University

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The TECAID Subject Matter Expert Team

Subject Matter Expert Team
Diana Kardia, Mark Chesler, Karen Williams

The Kardia Group consults to TECAID as the primary subject matter experts, providing professional development to the project leaders and participants in the area of change leadership in academic settings and serving as content matter experts in diversity and inclusion training. They designed and led TECAID workshops, clinic-ing, and data based feedback (to TECAID participants), and collaborated on the Virtual Learning Community, evaluation instruments, and the identification of relevant subject matter resources/tools.

Diana Kardia, Ph.D., TECAID Project Lead and Founder of The Kardia Group, specializes in diversity in academic environments, with an emphasis on STEM disciplines. She has over 5,000 hours of experience offering strategic advice to academic leaders and 20 years of direct experience with supporting academic departments, schools, and colleges on place-based change. She holds a B.S. and an M.A. in Statistics, a Ph.D. in Higher Education, and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies--all from the University of Michigan.

Mark Chesler, Ph.D., Arthur Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Michigan and a founding faculty member of the Program on Intergroup Relations, is an activist scholar conducting research, teaching, consulting and organizing on issues of social justice and personal/organizational change around race and gender equity. His publications include Faculty Identities and the Challenge of Diversity (Paradigm, 2013) and Challenging Racism in Higher Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).

Karen Williams, Consultant, brings experience as a coach and consultant working with mid-level faculty, department staff, and mid-to-upper level academic administrators through leadership assessment instruments and the assessment of staff, team, and organizational dynamics. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems at Fielding Graduate University.

Cindy Glover, Kardia Group Project Staff, supports the development of workshop materials and documents workshop activities.

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"Honestly, while diversity and inclusion was the common framing for "change" in our units and it was important to have a team change project, I felt like the professional development around change management is something that's not easily accessible for most [engineering] faculty. Thus, I'd say it comprised some of the most valuable aspects of TECAID. I will also say that TECAID would not be nearly so valuable if the quality of the facilitators was less than that of [our Subject Matter Experts].”

– K. Sharp, Oregon State University

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"The growth I experienced over the year and a half is beyond measure.”
– A. Morse, Michigan Technological University, formerly Texas Tech University

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TECAID External Evaluator

The University of Washington Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) is TECAID’s external evaluator.  In this role, they administered and analyzed longitudinal surveys of participants, and conducted observations and focus groups of participants and teams. Formative feedback was provided throughout the project and summative reports are provided annually.

Elizabeth Litzler, Ph.D., TECAID Lead External Evaluator

Elizabeth Litzler is Director of the University of Washington’s Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE). Dr. Litzler conducts program evaluations and social science research on improving the environment for people from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. With 13 years in this field, she holds a B.A. in Communication with specializations in Spanish and Women’s Studies and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology.

Em Affolter, Ph.D., TECAID Evaluation Research Assistant

Em Affolter is a Research Associate at CERSE who works on CERSE’s projects in program evaluation and resource development. Em earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Multicultural Education from the University of Washington, her M.A. in Multicultural Education from Prescott College, and her B.A. in Humanities and Spanish from Scripps College. Her dissertation explored the impact of a culturally responsive professional development intervention on teacher pedagogy. In addition to CERSE, Em concurrently works as Prescott College Associate Faculty in their Ph.D. program.

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