Tricia Berry (she/her)

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.

Ana Dison (she/her)

Director of Student Programs

Ana Dison is the inaugural Program Director for Women in STEM (WiSTEM), a university-wide initiative she founded in partnership with Tricia Berry in November of 2021.

Dison earned her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from The University of Texas at Austin and her master’s degree in College Student Services Administration from Oregon State University. After working for two years at the University of Maryland in Recreation Services, Dison returned to UT Austin and served as Assistant Director in the Division of Recreational Sports, coordinating membership services and satellite facilities. After two more years in the College of Liberal Arts Economics Department as an Advising Coordinator, Ana served for twenty-one years in the Cockrell School of Engineering in a variety of roles, including as Assistant Director for the Women in Engineering Program for fifteen years.

Dison has served on numerous committees across campus and served for three years in the inaugural group of the UT Staff Council. Dison co-chaired the Provost’s Council on Student Advocacy for three years and has served two terms as President of the Academic Counselors Association. She continues to be active in the UT Austin community, working with peer and professional mentoring programs. She has presented to numerous groups on various leadership, inclusion, and career-focused topics. She received the university’s Outstanding Staff Award in 2012 and the Cockrell School of Engineering Staff Excellence Award and the Eyes of Texas Award in 2011. A member of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) since 2006, Dison completed a two-year appointment to the WEPAN Board of Directors as communications director in 2015.

After 20 seasons as a high school volleyball official in the central Texas area, Dison retired from the Texas Association of Sports Officials in 2011. Since 2003, she has been designing and creating custom jewelry and loves to golf in her spare time.

Robin Lindsey (She/Her)

Senior Outreach Program Coordinator

Robin is a passionate advocate for youth voice, community building, mental health literacy, and equity in education. Robin brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and creative ideas to the WiSTEM program and her role serving precollege and undergraduate students. Before joining Women in STEM at UT Austin, Robin worked with youth in the nonprofit sector for almost a decade as a Youth Activities Facilitator, Cultural Enrichment Director, Academic Success Specialist, and UTSA College Mentor. Robin graduated from UT Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in University Studies and a concentration in Social Sciences. She plans to continue her education in the future to explore her many interests. Outside of WiSTEM, Robin spends time nurturing her hobbies and other ventures, such as writing, photography, being in nature, blogging, and herbal tea making. Robin is also a published poet and creative.