Jamika serves as the director of assessment technology product and research for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. She oversees its suite of open source software as well as leads efforts to identify, prioritize, and manage system requirements using a user research approach. She is also responsible for developing a strategic vision to sustain and enhance the Smarter Balanced assessment system to better improve teaching and learning among member states.

Jamika has served as a technical and research program management professional to a number of educational and government organizations, which is complemented by her teaching experience at the college level. Her research interests lie in human-computer interaction (HCI), specifically in the design of technologies that support a range of communication and interaction needs. She uses a variety of user research methods (attitudinal and behavioral; qualitative and quantitative, etc.) to assess user behavior, needs, and motivations. She is active in computer science education and STEM preparedness efforts, providing expertise for a host of NSF-funded programs that seek to broaden participation in computer science. Jamika holds a Ph.D. in computer science with a focus on human-computer interaction (HCI) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Jamika also co-directs the Collaborative Research Experiences for Undergraduates (CREU) program, chairs the Women of Color in Computing initiative, and facilitates the CDC’s Diversity Data Science (DDS) initiative, begun in 2014. She credits her entry into computer science, in large part, to her undergraduate advisor, Mrs. Vivian Fielder, who inspired her to change her major from business to CS!

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