About the Project

     Dr. Harrison is a bioinformatician, entrepreneur, speaker, community leader, investor, and the first Black person and the first woman to earn a PhD in Bioinformatics. Her successes began in college with creation of a computational platform to generate art using AI. Summer internships brought industry experience in more computer design, software testing and a model to teach computers to read, the very technology used by the post offices today. After college she realized that she could use her computational skill in the field of molecular biology. To that end, she developed of the first fruit fly genetic database, wrote programs to diagnose diseases from laboratory analyses, and was part of nation-wide team to make gene maps that scientists use to design  new drugs. Details and references about her work can be found here. 

The Elevate team enjoys telling the stories about the goals we set, how we met them and all the help I received along the way. Allow us to share these exciting stories with your students, parents and community.

"Key to releasing inspiration for Black and female youth is the willingness of successful Blacks and women to shed our inclination toward professional modesty, and to broadcast and amplify our successes so that the next generation can benefit from the inspiration, and motivation and excitement they bring."

     Exercising one's inherent right to an education and a fulfilling profession, regardless of their identities, requires initiative. For some of us, in the face of centuries of inequality, having support in developing that initiative is crucial, not only for fulfilling our own personal goals, but also as a step towards dismantling the legacies of discrimination in our broader communities. The goal of this project is to provide young people of all races and genders with that inspiration through stories.

-Dr. Harrison

About The Founder