Planning Committee Member

Heather Metcalf, PhD, is the Director of Research for the Women in Engineering ProActiveNetwork (WEPAN). She serves as an investigator on several NSF-funded initiatives including the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network, which focuses on gender equity in academic STEM through an inclusive, intentional, and intersectional lens; Amplifying the Alliance to CatalyzeChange for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS+), which cultivates gender equity across all of the activities of STEM professional societies; the ADVANCE and INCLUDES I-Corps Inclusion Collective, which aims to create more equitable and inclusive I-Corps programs; the New Jersey Equity in Commercialization Collective, which works with technology transfer offices and investors across the state of New Jersey to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive commercialization ecosystem; and the Commemorating 20 Years of ADVANCE: Design Thinking Sessions for a Digital Exhibit and Archive project. She is also PI for the WEPAN Accelerator, an entrepreneurship accelerator program for women in engineering funded by theSmall Business Administration.

Prior to joining WEPAN, Dr. Metcalf did her postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona as part of their NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant and was Chief Research Officer at the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Dr. Metcalf has undergraduate degrees in applied mathematics and computer science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and gender studies from theUniversity of Arizona, and a doctorate in higher education, science, and technology policy from the University of Arizona. 

Dr. Metcalf uses her interdisciplinary background to engage in research, policy, and programmatic efforts related to inclusive organizational cultures, individual and organizational change, and career pathways and experiences inSTEM fields across all sectors. She holds a patent on anti-bias training materials for effective search and hiring processes and created the first accelerator program for women in STEM. She has appeared on a range of media channels, including Public Radio International, The Atlantic, TheGuardian, National Public Radio, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of HigherEducation, Scientific American, Nature, and Forbes, among others.