Kate Lehman is a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA and Project Manager for the BRAID Research Project. Kate earned her bachelor’s degree in French from Miami University and her master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at UCLA, Kate held positions in student affairs at The Ohio State University and at The University of North Carolina, Charlotte. As a student affairs professional, Kate worked to create inclusive co-curricular learning experiences, such as living-learning programs, for students in STEM fields.
At UCLA, Kate manages the BRAID Research Team, a mixed-methods, longitudinal study of the BRAID Initiative. BRAID aims to bring more women and people of color into undergraduate computer science programs across the United States. Her research and publications focus on gender issues in higher education, women and underrepresented minority students in STEM fields (particularly computer science), and co-curricular learning experiences for STEM students. Her dissertation also focuses on issues of equity in computer science and is titled “Courting the Uncommitted: A Mixed-Methods Study of Undecided Students in Introductory Computer Science Courses.”