Biography

Ashlyn is a PhD student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, mentored by Barbara Ericson and Mark Guzdial. Her research, through the lens of computing education, human-computer interaction, and human-centered artificial intelligence, focuses on designing online learning environments that foster interest in artificial intelligence (AI) concepts, research, and careers. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Sociology from Georgia State University, where her undergraduate research examined near-peer mentorship models in communities of color and theoretical applications of natural language processing. Through this work, Ashlyn has led successful initiatives to increase retention and access to resources for Black women in computer science. She has completed several internships, spanning the non-profit sector, aerospace, and big tech companies such as Microsoft and a national laboratory. Ashlyn’s experiences navigating tech culture from college to industry shape her perspective and motivation for this research space, as well as her mentoring and leadership in organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the Alliance for Interdisciplinary Innovation in Computing Education (AiiCE).

Academic Status

PhD Student - 1st

Research Area/Department

Computer Science; Data Science; other

Major/Specialty

PhD Information

Degrees Earned or in Progress

Doctor of Philosophy in Information; Anticipated Graduation 2030

Academic Preparation

1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science - Data Structures & Algorithms - Machine Learning - Social Statistics - Big Data for Public Good - Social Research Methods 2. PhD Level Coursework - Human-Computer Interaction Research Seminar - How People Learn - Doctoral Foundations Seminar Additional coursework is pending

Research/Publications

Ashlyn Campbell, Anu G. Bourgeois, and Nannette P. Napier. 2025. RISE Stars: An Experience Report on a Cohort of Black Freshmen Women in Computing. In Proceedings of the 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1 (SIGCSETS 2025). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 179–184. https://doi.org/10.1145/3641554.3701790 Ashlyn Campbell, Anu G. Bourgeois, and Mario Kubek. 2025. An Ontology for Persistence in Computing Education. [Accepted] Frontiers in Education 2025 (FIE 2025)

Research/Academic Interests

My research interests lie in broadening access to AI by creating online learning environments that introduce more students to AI concepts, lowering the barrier to entry into AI research spaces, and engaging students from interdisciplinary majors in AI. My research spans high school (junior/senior) pre-college pipelines and undergraduate college students. In working with NAIRR, I am quite interested in the CRA hub collaboration of expansion projects such as the Capacity and Community for MSIs/HBCUs (PI: Michael R. Peterson, PI: Michelle J. Foster) and Creating a Community of Practice for Building Resources and Access to AI Education (PI: Mary Lou Maher), which coincide with my research very well. Specifically, the strategic focus of these projects in the context of MSIs, working with curricula and non-CS majors, and educational pathways to AI, are among my largest interests in joining this initiative. Nonetheless, while these are my top choices, I am also interested in potentially joining additional projects such as Empowering the AI Research Community through Facilitation, Access, and Collaboration (EAGER) (NAIRR Pilot Expansion) (PI: Forough Ghahramani & Cyd Burrows) and projects situated in the Education Sciences.

Computational and Data Science Areas

Applied Computer Science; Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems; Computer Science; Educational Sciences; Informatics, Analytics and Information Science; Other Computer and Information Sciences; Visualization and Human-Computer Systems

Motivation

My motivation to participate in this program is two-fold: 1) the mission of the NAIRR Pilot strongly aligns with my personal values, and 2) the research of the partnering organizations and institutions embodies my research drive. My research is centered on providing resources to students, and joining this community would be a great step in building lifelong connections. Nonetheless, the capacity and community-building research introduced strongly aligns with my background and interests. I have long been interested in the work done by the Computing Research Association, as well as in collaborating with additional minority-serving institutions, and I believe this work will have a lasting impact.

Lightning Talk Title

Opening the Black Box: Improving Access to AI

Keywords (Maximum 20 words)

AI; Education; AI Literacy; Computer Science Education; Computing; Access; Curriculum; Undergraduate Research; Ethics; Responsible AI; Informal Learning;