Black In Robotics National Directors
Meet the Team
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Prof. Ayanna Howard
Academic Co-Lead
Dean Ohio State University
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Prof. Monroe Kennedy III
Academic Co-Lead
Assistant Prof. Stanford University
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Maynard Holliday, MSc.
Industry Co-Lead
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies
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Dr. Edward Tunstel
Industry Co-Lead
CTO Motiv Space Systems, Inc.
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Prof. Carlotta Berry
Undergraduate Academic Lead
Prof. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
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Dr. De’Aira Bryant
Academic Co-Lead
Postdoctoral Scientist at Amazon Consumer Robotics
Detailed Biographies
Dr. Ayanna Howard
Academic Co-Lead
Professor Howard is the Chair of the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Founder and CTO of Zyrobotics. Professor Howard leads the Human-Automation Systems Lab, and her research is centered around applying human-inspired techniques to intelligent systems. She has also done significant work in improving robotics education for students of all ages: from childhood all the way to graduate-level education.
Dr. Monroe Kennedy III
Academic Co-Lead
Dr. Kennedy is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University. Prof. Kennedy leads the Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Lab at Stanford University where he develops intelligent robotic systems that can assist humans in tasks by improving the robots capability of perceiving and modeling environments to predict system processes and understand their assistive role.
Maynard Holliday, MSc.
Industry Co-Lead
Mr. Holliday is a senior executive and engineer with over 35 years of experience in government and the private sector, specializing in advanced technologies, defense innovation, and robotics. As the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies under the Biden-Harris Administration, he oversaw $1.5 billion in modernization investments across key areas such as AI, hypersonics, microelectronics, renewable energy, and space technologies.
A two-time Presidential Appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES), Mr. Holliday played a pivotal role in establishing the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) to foster collaboration between the defense sector and private industry. He has also led AI/ML studies at the RAND Corporation and served as a Senior Technical Advisor for the Department of Defense.
Passionate about STEM education and diversity, Mr. Holliday co-founded initiatives like Black in Robotics and Robot Garden, and he has taught students from middle school to PhD level. He actively supports STEM development through roles such as his involvement with Howard University’s Air Force-affiliated research center. Mr. Holliday holds advanced degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University, where he serves on the alumni advisory board.
Dr. Edward Tunstel
Industry Co-Lead
Dr. Tunstel is the CTO at Motiv Space Systems, Inc./Motiv Robotics, prior to which he was an Associate Director and Group Leader for Robotics at Raytheon Technologies Research Center, a Senior Roboticist and Space Robotics Lead at Johns Hopkins APL, and a Senior Robotics Engineer at NASA JPL. He maintains expertise in robotic autonomy and intelligent systems for field and service domain applications with research interests including mobile robot navigation, autonomous control, cooperative and human-collaborative robotics, robotic systems engineering, and soft computing applications to autonomous systems.
Dr. Carlotta Berry
Undergraduate Academic Lead
Carlotta Berry, Ph.D., is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Prof. Berry helped found and co-directs both the Rose Building Undergraduate Diversity (ROSE-BUD) program and the multidisciplinary robotics program. Her research focuses on educational mobile robotics, enhanced human-robot interfaces, and recruitment and retention activities for underrepresented populations in electrical and computer engineering.
Dr. De’Aira Bryant
Industry Co-Lead
De’Aira Bryant is a postdoctoral scientist at Amazon Consumer Robotics and a recent PhD graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Computing. Her research focuses on applying machine learning in human-robot interaction to develop intelligent and adaptive behaviors that enable social robots to engage diverse user groups. De’Aira advocates for broadening participation in STEM through a variety of mentorship and outreach programs, with a passion for creating inclusive technologies and communities that inspire the next generation of innovators.