Together in Innovation: Mentoring the innovators of tomorrow

Mayowa Awe is the director of the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation’s (NSTMF) inSTEM program. Before joining the Foundation, she was a Senior Data Analyst at Lockheed Martin Corporation. She received an Honors Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) in May 2015, followed by a Ph.D. in mathematics from UTA in May 2019. Awe’s responsibilities at the NSTMF include managing the logistics of the inSTEM program, leading research and evaluation of the program’s impact, and strategic planning for future expansion and development of inSTEM. Outside of her work at the NSTMF, Awe enjoys teaching, public speaking, and mentoring. Through speaking engagements, Awe seeks to encourage the next generation of STEM scholars and expose people to the versatility of mathematics.

Kate McCrery is the Founder and CEO of Rhinebeck Ventures. Originally hailing from the New Orleans area, McCrery has driven impact outcomes for entrepreneurs via USAID, Echoing Green, Village Capital, Loyola University New Orleans, and digitalundivided, where she focused on catalyzing Black women and Latina startup founders. She is also a co-author of the “Desktop Manual for Impact Policymakers,” and was a Professor of Entrepreneurship and former Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development at Loyola University in New Orleans, one of the top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation per U.S. News and World Report.

Deepak Dashairya works in the Office of Innovation Outreach at the USPTO creating intellectual property (IP) awareness programs and managing outreach services to independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, makers, and universities across the nation. Dashairya is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with over 19 years of federal service.

Before joining USPTO in June 2020, he served in leadership roles at the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. He currently resides in the metropolitan Detroit area. Dashairya received a Bachelor of Science in statistics and a Master of Science in applied statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

David Price first conceptualized the idea for The Safety Pouch at age 16 after having "The Talk," a conversation with his parents on handling police interactions during traffic stops. Price knew he needed to create a product to facilitate safer traffic stops for drivers and police officers. Price officially brought The Safety Pouch to market in 2020, and he has been on a mission since to create equitable traffic stop interactions for everyone.