Hello, I'm

Christina Alston.

Director, Colorado Diversity Initiative

University of Colorado Boulder


Who is Christina Alston, Ph.D

My name is Christina Alston.

A mother, wife, business woman, writer, speaker, Black feminist and distinguished science educator with almost two decades of experience in advancing STEM education and fostering diversity.

Background & Research Focus

Currently the director of the Colorado Diversity Initiative and faculty affiliate in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, I oversee initiatives aimed at cultivating belongingness among historically minoritized and marginalized STEM graduate students.


Research focus: Experiences with Racial Battle Fatigue



BS. BioMedical Science

MS. Science Education

Ph.D Science Education

Diverse STEM Work History

Innovation and Research

US Oncology

Lab Researcher

Clean Flat Volunteer Worker Teaching a Child

Cypress & Houston ISD

High School Biology Teacher, Team Lead, & Teacher Development Specialist

Higher Education Flat Icon

Rice University

Assistant Director for Biology, Associate Director for Science & Engineering, Associate Director for Equitable Research Grants & Evaluations

R-STEM

Colorful Handprints Illustration

CU Boulder

Director, Colorado Diversity Initiative

Learn to Make Science & Engineering Accessible

STEM in Schools

Panel Discussions

Virtual Teaching

Who We Education is Important

Active Learning

Personalized Attention

Culturally Relevant & Sustaining

Recent Publications

Henríquez Fernández, C., Barr, C., Antoine, A., Alston, C., & Nichol, C. (2023). Long-Term Impact of Teacher Professional Development on Black Female Students’ Engagement in STEM. Journal of STEM Outreach, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.15695/jstem/v6i1.01


Crawford, C., & Sundrani, A. (2023). Gun violence and urban education. In C. White, & University of Houston (Eds.), Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education: Framing Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice Education in a Local to Global Context. Information Age Publishing. ISBN 979-8-88730-007-8


Alston, C., Mirghassemi, F., & Gist, C. D. (2022). A Course in Academic Writing as a Vehicle for Personal Growth and Transformation. Multicultural Perspectives, 24(3), 138-146. https://10.1080/15210960.2022.2127396


Crawford, C., Obenland, C., & Nichol, C. (2021). An Analysis of the Effect of Long-Term Professional Development on Teacher Engineering Self-Efficacy and Its Impact on Classroom Instruction. Journal of STEM Outreach, 4(1), 1- 10. https://doi.org/10.15695/jstem/v4i1.01


Crawford, C. (2020). How to Stop Internalizing Microaggressions. Women in Higher Education, 29(10), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/whe.20900


Full Publication List


Awards & Honors

University of Houston Graduate Fellow - College of Education (2019-2023)


Pre-College Engineering Education Meritorious Service Award - American Society Engineering Education (2022)


Helen and Melvin Wimpelberg Operating Scholarship - University of Houston (2021)


Board Member- Journal of Teacher Education (2021)


Team Leader Curriculum Guidance Award - CyFair ISD( 2011)