Dr. Lauren Valentino is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Ohio State University, and a postdoctoral associate at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. She earned her PhD in Sociology from Duke University, a Masters degree in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Bachelors degree in Sociology and French Studies from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Her National Science Foundation-funded research has examined reasons for the gender gap in STEM at the undergraduate level, using longitudinal data from public school students in North Carolina. Based on this research, Dr. Valentino has co-founded an intervention program for local public school students in the Triangle that aims to connect undergraduate mentors to STEM-interested middle schoolers. She has earned a Certificate in College Teaching and is the recipient of a teaching award for excellence in undergraduate instruction. You can read more about Dr. Valentino, her latest research, and her teaching accolades at her website: www.laurenvalentino.org.