Andrew Bernat

Executive Director

Dr. Andrew Bernat was a founding member and chair of the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas at El Paso (spending 20 years there), NSF Program Director and now the Executive Director of the CRA.

He has some 70 refereed publications, roughly equally in disciplinary research and in computing education, a large number of presentations and in excess of $25 million in externally funded activities. In recognition of "... his success in creating arguably the strongest computer science department at a minority-serving institution ...", the Computing Research Association honored him with the 1997 A. Nico Habermann Award. Outside interests include steam locomotives, narrow gauge railroads, SCUBA and his wonderful grandchildren.

Curriculum Vitae [PDF]

Betsy Bizot

Director of Statistics and Evaluation

Betsy started at CRA in 2004. She has two main responsibilities there: the annual CRA Taulbee Survey of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Information departments; and evaluation of programs to encourage members of underrepresented groups toward research careers in computing.

She received her B.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech in 1978. While working in software development, she earned an MBA from Tulane University in 1984. The combination of coursework and on-the-job experience led her to an interest in successful technical teamwork and leadership, and to a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Tulsa in 1988. She did some statistical software development, then worked for 14 years for Career Vision, a not-for-profit in the Chicago suburbs, conducting research and product development related to career choice and career satisfaction. She is happy to bring the social science research and computing branches of her professional career together at CRA.

Betsy is interested in underrepresented groups in science and engineering, career paths in research (especially computing research), and in making information available to people in forms that are useful for decision making.

Sandra Corbett

Manager of Administrative Support

A native of Washington, DC and first generation college graduate, Sandra received her B.A. in Information Systems from Strayer University in 2009.  She is currently pursuing a dual Masters Program in Information Technology Database Administration and MBA at the University of Maryland University College where she will be completing the first Master's program in November 2011.  While pursuing her higher education, Sandra was invited to join the ACM student program and has been inducted into the Alpha Sigma Lambda, Alpha Chi, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society.

Prior to joining CRA, Sandra worked with DC government as a Program/Budget Analyst.  Sandra developed and monitored the Administration's 5.5M annual budget by ensuring dollars were allocated to the appropriate projects and program initiatives designated for the Administration.  Her responsibilities also included handling the budgetary and HR components for approximately 230 full-time and part-time employees of the Administration.   Sandra was instrumental in streamlining many of the business processes of the Administration and developing and designing database tracking systems which provided a mechanism for performing real-time data analysis of tax returns as they relate to DC residents.   

Peter Harsha

Director of Government Affairs

Peter Harsha is the Director of Government Affairs for the Computing Research Association, an organization representing 200 North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering and related fields; 26 industrial research labs; and 6 affiliated professional societies. In his position, Peter works to help CRA influence computing research policy by improving public and policy maker understanding of the nature of research, and by increasing the computing community’s awareness of and participation in policy issues. Prior to joining CRA in October 2001, Peter spent six years working for Congress, beginning as a member of the personal staff of Congressman Nick Smith of Michigan. In the 106th and 107th Congresses, Peter served as a member of the professional staff of the House Science Committee as Chairman Smith’s designee on the Subcommittee on Research, working on a portfolio of issues that included oversight of the National Science Foundation, Information Technology, the U.S. Fire Administration, and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. Peter is a graduate of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan.

Kenneth Hines

Program Associate, Computing Community Consortium

Kenneth Hines is a Program Associate at the Computing Community Consortium. He earned his master’s degree in applied research from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County in 2009. Previously, he received a bachelor’s degree in 2008 from Morgan State University.

Previously, Kenneth was primarily responsible for data analysis on undergraduate and graduate computing students through the “Data Buddies” project with the Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W). He also analyzes Ph.D. and postdoctoral data using a wide range of data sources, including NSF’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) and CRA’s annual Taulbee survey, which gives valuable information about the enrollment, employment and salaries of recent Ph.D.s and faculty in computing departments throughout North America. As part of this work, Kenneth recently contributed to a white paper documenting statistics associated with academic and industry hiring, as well as the relevant issues about postdoctoral positions in the context of multiple stakeholders.

Sabrina Jacob

Administrator

Sabrina Jacob has been with CRA since August 2007 as the Sr. Administrative Assistant. One of her primary duties is overseeing/managing the ads that appear on the CRA website as well as in the hardcopy of CRN. Sabrina did her undergraduate work in Psychology at UMUC.

Prior to joining CRA, Sabrina worked many years with different non-profit organizations both nationally as well as internationally. She also spent a number of years working at NBC, PBS, and C-SPAN as a master control engineer, a producer and a director.

In her spare time Sabrina loves to read between juggling her schedule as a soccer mom for her son Joshua and maintaining his very busy academic and social schedule.

Delicia C. Mapp

Sr. Statistician

Delicia Mapp holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Clark Atlanta University and a Master of Science degree in Statistics from the University of Virginia.  She has applied her skill set as a Statistician within multiple arenas including clinical trials, market research and the federal government.

Maria Zhuravleva

Web Designer and IT Specialist

Maria Zhuravleva recently joined CRA staff as Web designer and IT specialist. She has graduated from the American University, Washington D.C. with a Bachelor Degree in Information Systems.

Maria has acquired more than 7 year experience in web design and development, and usability of custom software systems. She also successfully managed several web projects while she worked for other companies.

Melissa Norr

Policy Analyst

Melissa Norr joined CRA's government affairs team in 2006. Prior to that she worked in public affairs and public relations at the Optical Society and at two public relations firms. Melissa received her BA from Penn State University and her MPS from George Washington   University.

Erik Russell

Director of Programs

As Director of Programs at CRA, Erik is involved with a broad range of programs focusing on human resources, community-building, and connecting CRA with the other organizations advancing computer science and engineering. He supports several CRA committees such as the Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W), the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC), the CRA Deans Group, and others.

Before joining CRA, Erik worked to advance computer science education through his service as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow within the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering at the National Science Foundation.   As part of the Education and Workforce Program at NSF, which included initiatives such as Broadening Participation in Computing, and the Computing Education for the 21st Century, Erik has been actively working to engage and retain students from underrepresented groups in computer science.

Shar Steed

Communications Specialist

As a Communications Specialist at CRA, Shar Steed manages strategic communications for the organization and Computing Research News.

Previously at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), she managed integrated marketing campaigns to enhance national awareness of the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships program. Shar was a Marketing Communications Assistant at National 4-H Council and has experience in public relations with private firms, and academic institutions.

She holds a bachelors' degree in public relations from the University of South Carolina and a master's degree in integrated marketing communications from Florida State University.