Shirley Mahaley Malcom

Dr. Shirley M. Malcom is Senior Advisor and Director of SEA Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general science organization. Malcom received her B.S. at the University of Washington and M.A. at the University of California, Los Angeles both for zoology. In 1974, she would go on to receive her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in ecology. Some previous positions include high school teacher, assistant professor of biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and program officer in science education at the National Science Foundation, before she joined AAAS. Throughout her career, Dr. Malcom's work has focused on the increasing access and advancement of women, especially women of color, in science. She is a leader in efforts to improve accessibility of education and careers in science and engineering for girls and women as well as Black, Indigenous and Hispanic communities. Her inspiring work has led to numerous honors such as Sigma Xi Gold Key Award, University of Washington’s Alumna Summa Laude Dignata Award, the UCLA Medal and the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.