Yvette has worked directly with undergraduate scholars in engineering and the arts and sciences. She is currently the director of the Pitt EXCEL program, an undergraduate diversity program within the Swanson School Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Through her career, Yvette has held several roles in higher education at various universities and has worked with diversity, equity, and inclusion based programs in the Pittsburgh metropolitan community. She has earned various diversity awards at Shippensburg University and the University of Pittsburgh for her community engagement among the undergraduate scholars, staff, faculty, and community stakeholders. Yvette received her bachelor of science in secondary education sociology/history from Shippensburg University, master of science in gerontology from Shippensburg University, and she is completing her doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pittsburgh. Her doctoral work focuses on understanding the importance of staff of color, the work they do, and the racial microaggressions, racial campus climate, and racial battle fatigue experienced among staff of color working to protect their undergraduate scholars in engineering. What Yvette is most proud of and what she credits is her faith and being able to walk in her gift. Yvette has been blessed to influence the lives of so many that would not have had such opportunities without experiencing her programs. As a servant leader Yvette believes mediocrity is not an option.
