Callie Womble Edwards

Dr. Callie Womble Edwards is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at NC State University's College of Education. She serves as Director of Program Evaluation and Education Research at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and leads the PEER Group. Her work focuses on equity-centered research in education and STEM, particularly supporting underrepresented populations. Edwards holds a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis from NC State and an M.P.H. from UNC Chapel Hill. She has held roles at the NC Department of Commerce and NC State's Office of Assessment.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis (NC State, 2018)
• M.P.H. in Health Behavior (UNC Chapel Hill, 2014)
• B.S.P.H. in Health Policy and Management (UNC Chapel Hill, 2012)

Research Interests: Edwards studies equity in education and STEM, focusing on marginalized groups including Black males in engineering, low-income students, and first-generation college attendees. Her work addresses systemic barriers through program evaluation and policy analysis. She launched the PEER Internship Program for Undergraduates, recognized with university-level human relations awards for fostering student development.

Grants & Projects: She leads initiatives like the YEA: Advancing Equitable Agriscience Pathways and Collaborative Research on culturally relevant math courses. Recent projects include evaluations of K-12 monitoring technologies and teacher compensation models.

Awards:

• 2018 NCSU Higher Education Dissertation of the Year
• 2022 NCSU Awards for Excellence in Human Relations (College and University levels)