Sylvia Oliver

Dr. Sylvia Oliver is the Director of the WSU Health Science STEM Education Research Center (WSU HS-STEM-ER Center) located at Washington State University Spokane http://spokane.wsu.edu/community/service-outreach-units/STEM-center/.  She has spent much of her career developing K-12 Science Technology  Engineering and Math (STEM) programs to inspire and better prepare students for the high demand, high wage jobs of the 21^st Century.   Dr. Oliver co-founded WSU Spokane CityLab in 1993, a bioscience enrichment program for K-12 students and teachers throughout the Northwest that now operates under the WSU HS-STEM-ER Center.  This program offers hands-on, inquiry-based bioscience training for middle and high school students and teachers from throughout the Northwest.  Dr. Oliver also is the WSU Spokane Affiliate Director for the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) four-year college  preparatory Biomedical Sciences Program preparing high school students for college pathways leading to healthcare and biomedical science careers.  She is the grant writer and current PLTW consultant for a $1.2M five-year Department of Education Indian Education grant providing support to ensure Native American students are well-prepared for high school, college and career STEM pathways. Dr. Oliver is involved in many additional regional, state and international programs to bring STEM enrichment to underserved students and communities.  Dr. Oliver was also co-founder of a biotechnology company, Bio-OriGyn Technologies, LLC that continues to develop biomedical products to enhance cell function.  She holds seven patents through the company.