STEM Grant

My name is Grant Butler and I am a graduate assistant and doctoral student in the Educational Leadership Department here at West Chester. My involvement stemmed from a desire to use my curiosity and research skills to aid an endeavor I believed in. Having role models that you can relate to in life are intrinsically inspiring and can holistically grow a more representative population in the STEM fields. Outside of academia, I am a proud father and husband living in Media. I am a musician and can't make it though the day without playing guitar or piano. I love to read and be outside. I also have a small woodworking company and do several craft shows a year to sell my pieces. I teach during the day at a local private school in Bryn Mawr. 

I am Professor Laura Pyott, project statistician and member of the Department of Mathematics at West Chester University. The quote “You have to see it to be it” is attributed to one of my heroes, Billie Jean King. I wholeheartedly believe that for those in underrepresented groups to achieve success in STEM fields that they need to see successful STEM women and people of color. Both gender and racial inequities in STEM hamper creativity, innovation, and discovery. LAUnCH at WCU aims to solve the inequities in our STEM faculty and create an environment that fosters diversity and welcomes those from underrepresented groups. Outside of WCU, I am an avid cyclist and hope to somebody open a bike shop that caters to and is fully staffed by women. 

Hello! My name is Cheryl Neale-McFall and my background is in Counseling Psychology, Consultation, and Supervision. I currently serve as the Associate Provost for Research and Creative Activity and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a recent panel member for the Women’s Leadership Conference at Harvard University. I am passionate about supporting faculty, students, and my community, and focus my research on women in leadership roles, job satisfaction, the impact of mentoring, and needs of student-parents. I am honored to collaborate with this talented and committed group on the ADVANCED grant to improve transparency, increase opportunities, and promote impact for current and future STEM faculty and students. At home, I am a busy wife and mom of two young kids, both of whom play competitive sports, and two pups who love chewing up the sports gear! Favorite quote: “I come in peace, but I mean business.” - Janelle Monae 

I am Dr. Manuela Ramalho, an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at West Chester University. I am currently involved in the communication and information team of the LAUnCH project. My motivation for participating in the LAUnCH project stems from my belief in the importance of fostering diversity and equity in STEM fields. As a first-generation college student, Latina woman in STEM, parent in science, and immigrant, I am passionate about creating a more inclusive scientific community. I believe that quality science is achieved through the collaboration of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Outside of academia, I enjoy advocating for diversity and inclusion in STEM and spending time with my family in the nature looking for ants! I believe that science should be accessible to everyone, and I am committed to promoting this idea through my work on the LAUnCH project. 

I am Dr. Lisa Marano. I serve as PI for the NSF ADVANCE LAUnCH STEM Faculty at WCU team, Professor of Mathematics, and former Associate Dean for the College of the Sciences and Mathematics. With a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, I've actively engaged in initiatives and scholarship, particularly focusing on the intersection of Mathematics and Social Justice. Through my teaching, I utilize mathematics and statistics to highlight biases and address societal issues like the Flint water crisis and predatory lending. I've led Math and Social Justice Workshops, spoken at national conferences, organized an international conference, and managed programs like the ASAP! summer program, aimed at broadening participation in Actuarial Science. Now, I am shifting focus to STEM faculty; our project will identify barriers that create inequities for women and faculty who are historically excluded or minoritized in STEM fields at WCU and develop a research-based, data-driven five-year strategic plan for faculty equity in STEM. When at home, I enjoy spending time with my partner Chet and son Kyle, traveling, cooking, dragon boat racing, visiting craft breweries, and finding new restaurants. 

Hi! I am Nicole Ramo, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. I serve as a co-lead on the grant’s Information Team. While I have been previously involved in efforts related to student equity (both as a student and faculty member), I was excited to be a part of the LAUnCH project to support equity for faculty. As a relatively new faculty member at WCU, I was also looking to learn more about the structures and policies that support, or hinder, WCU’s female and under-represented minority STEM faculty. I see the LAUnCH work as a critical first step in improving the recruitment, retention, satisfaction, and success of diverse faculty at WCU. Throughout this work, I try to keep the following quote by Heather McGee top of mine: “I’m fundamentally a hopeful person, because I know that decisions made the world as it is and that better decisions can change it. Nothing about our situation is inevitable or immutable, but you can’t solve a problem with the consciousness that created it.” Outside of academia, I enjoy spending time with my husband, visiting local breweries, watching college sports, and seeing my toddler daughter explore the world.  

Hello! My name is Lisa Huebner, and I am so excited to be a part of the NSF ADVANCE LAUnCH STEM Faculty at WCU team because it mirrors my goals for developing empirically informed best practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education and beyond. As the team specialist, my job is to help make sure our efforts are informed by intersectional and qualitative methodologies. As a sociologist of gender and a professor of women’s and gender studies, my teaching and research focus on intersectionality and other feminist theories, intimate labor, violence, and ethnographic methods. Both of my books model intersectional qualitative methodologies: Catheters, Slurs, and Pickup Lines: Professional Intimacy in Hospital Nursing (under the name Ruchti, 2012, Temple University Press) and my current book (co-authored with former students, Odette Kolenky and Samantha Jeune) Success at a Price: How Women of Color College Students Survive and Thrive at PWIs (2025, The University of Georgia Press). While my expertise on race, gender and sexuality is often sought by television, radio, and print journalists and authors from various venues that have included NPR Radio Times, NPR All Things Considered, NBC News, and USA Today, and Aljazeera America, I am most inspired when working on social justice initiatives – like this one – with students and colleagues.  In my free time, when not spending time with my wife, our teen, and our dogs, you will find me reading the latest fun fiction at the beach.