Brighid Dwyer, Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Penn Arts & Sciences, announced that Julee Farley has been named the new Director of Science Outreach Initiative. Farley comes from the University of Delaware, where she worked in evaluation and research that informed policy and health outcomes in Delaware. Before that, she spent seven years at Virginia Tech as both a postdoctoral associate and a university–public school liaison with the Montgomery County School District.
Farley brings experience as a knowledge broker and boundary-spanner whose work focuses on increased access and equity for under-resourced populations. She has worked with PreK–16 educators and researchers to create mutually beneficial research-practice partnerships and impactful research interventions, and to design inspirational outreach and engagement experiences. She has also worked as a program manager and formal and informal education program evaluator. Farley has a Ph.D. in development and biological psychology from Virginia Tech and a B.A. in economics from Washington and Lee University.
“I am thrilled to have Julee join our growing Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” says Dwyer. “She brings a wealth of experience in grant writing and forging partnerships with K-12 and higher education institutions. I am excited to see how the Science Outreach Initiative will grow under her leadership.”
David Brainard, Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences and RRL Professor of Psychology, is excited to see “the wonderful science being done at Penn become more widely available to the community beyond the University.” Farley will work closely with Penn’s scientific leadership and lead efforts to connect its world-class faculty and researchers with innovative opportunities to disseminate science to the broader public, with an emphasis on engaging the local Philadelphia community. Under her direction, the Science Outreach Initiative will support Penn Arts & Sciences’ commitment to expanding access to science education and careers in STEM, particularly for populations historically underrepresented in STEM fields.