Previously, she was the Director of STEM Programs at the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the oldest advocacy organization fighting for equity for women and girls in the United States. Before joining AAUW, Dr. Hatley was an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Coppin State University. While at Coppin, she and the students in her research lab, the Lab for Artificial Intelligence and its Applications (LAIA), won the 2016 USA White House HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Maker & Innovation Challenge.
Dr. Hatley is a passionate computer engineer, educator, and researcher who continuously combines these three attributes to create innovative approaches to teaching STEM concepts to students between the ages of 3 and 73.
Dr. Hatley's STEAM Education 501c3 organization, Uplift, designed and facilitated YOUTH APPLab, the first mobile app development course for teens in the US, funded by the MacArthur Foundation (Winner of the 3rd Annual Digital Media & Learning Competition in 2009-2010). Through a program called Robotics in DC, Uplift was also instrumental in creating the K-12 robotics education ecosystem (formal and informal education) in Washington, DC. and by being one of the first organizations to offer after school courses in Lego Mindstorms Robotics in Washington, DC over a decade ago.
Dr. Hatley is the creator of Myles & Ayesha, digital friends (intelligent tutors) that help children learn.
With over 25 years of teaching experience, Dr. Hatley leads teams of enthusiastic students, dedicated volunteer instructors, and teams of engineering to achieve award winning success, national news coverage, and innovative technology product designs.
She's a proud (2 time) graduate of Howard University (BS & MS), University of Maryland (MS), and George Mason University (PhD).
Outside of work, Dr. Hatley enjoys spending time with her family and friends, listening to audiobooks, boating, gardening, making art and animation, as well as all things Iron Man, Iron Heart, and Shuri/Black Panther!
Selected Accomplishments (Brief Resume)