Elyse Okwu currently serves as the Pickering Program Manager for Recruitment and Compliance. Elyse has worked in various capacities to lead programs across diverse industries, private, non-profit, and academia, to help increase access to equitable education and to diversify spaces in STEM. She most recently led and supported different programs at the Computing Research Association that focused on increasing the success and participation of underrepresented groups in computing research.

Elyse, also worked as a Research Associate at Arizona State University to examine factors of persistence for women in STEM doctoral programs nationwide. At the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, she worked with INVESTING NOW to expose young women to engineering. Elyse is passionate about working with underserved populations to ensure that access and equity are attainable in their quest for education in STEM and other areas.

Elyse holds a Master of Education from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor’s in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University. She is an HBCU enthusiast who believes in helping students to “find a way or make one” in higher education. Elyse is the proud mother of a sweet toddler son and their happy place is the beach.