Executive Director
For over 30 years, Tricia Berry has served the community as an engineer, educator, and advocate for broadening participation in STEM. Recognized nationally as one of 100 Women Leaders in STEM by STEMconnector, Tricia impacts thousands of students, educators and organizations each year through the award-winning programs she leads.
Tricia began her career as a Process Engineer at The Dow Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas. She earned two patents at Dow, received several engineering society awards, led the site-wide Take Your Daughter to Work “STEM Day”, and served on the UT Austin recruiting team. Finding her passion, Tricia moved to higher education and has become a national leader in informal STEM education and broadening participation in STEM. At UT Austin, she served as Women in Engineering Program Director for 20 years before creating and launching Women in STEM as Executive Director in late 2021 with Ana Dison.
She has served as Broadening Participation Director for two National Science Foundation-funded research centers, including the active Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC at UT Austin. She co-founded the UT K12 STEM Collaborative and led the creation of STEM Starts, a comprehensive collection of these opportunities, connecting families and educators with quality resources, fostering collaboration between program providers, and empowering youth for future success.
In her “outside of STEM” work, Tricia is the co-author of You Can’t Eat Your Degree: Combine Your Passions and Philosophies to Create the Story of Your Future and Exceeds Expectations: Take Control of Your Performance Review. She is a hobbyist gardener, novice bird watcher, amateur nature photographer, and avid reader. Tricia holds a BS Chemical Engineering degree from UT Austin and an MBA, is the mom of 2 chemical engineer sons, and is married to another chemical engineer.