Debra Richardson is the Professor Emerita of Informatics and founding Dean of Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at UC Irvine. While she recently retired as a full-time professor, her dedication, leadership, and impact continue to make a difference.
Debra is focusing almost exclusively on Computer Science Education, in particular K-12 teacher preparation and California CS Education Policy. She is especially concerned about expanding and ensuring equitable access to computer science for all students—particularly for girls, students of color, and low-income students who have traditionally lacked access to computer science instruction and resources.
She is a member of the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) leadership team. She chairs the Computer Science Teachers Associate Advisory Council. She serves as Steering Committee Chair for Access alliance for California Computing Education for Students and Schools (ACCESS) which is dedicated to advocating for high-quality K-12 computer science education in California.
She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from UC San Diego and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
What I would like to accomplish as an Advisory Board member is…
As an advocate, provide support, evidence, and action to Women in Technology at UCI (WiT UCI) organization to help accelerate their initiatives and reach their goals.