Chloe Rose Dolese Mandeville

Chloe Dolese Mandeville (she/her) is the Assistant Director for Diversity & Access for the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. Chloe is a double alumnus of the University of Washington (B.S. Psychology, 2015 and M. Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, 2019) and has worked for UW for the past ​​seven years in the UW Office of Admissions and at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

Chloe was promoted to her current position of Assistant Director for Diversity & Access in 2021. In her role as the Assistant Director for Diversity & Access, Chloe is responsible for supervising the Undergraduate Diversity & Access Team (D&A Team), collaborating with external stakeholders in Washington state, leading several programs dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access efforts and collaborating with Allen School administration and leadership on DEIA strategic planning initiatives. Since beginning in the role 3 years ago, Chloe has been instrumental in transforming the Allen School’s diversity and access efforts. Chloe conceived the idea of establishing a dedicated team that could champion the Allen School’s recruitment, outreach, and retention efforts. In 2020, Chloe formally created the Diversity & Access team and within the past year has doubled the D&A team from 3 to 6 full-time staff members. Chloe created a mission statement and structured the team’s efforts around three pillars (recruitment, outreach, and retention), and secured funding to create this new presence in the Allen School.

The D&A Team was created through funding from the Hopper Dean grant. Chloe played an instrumental role in writing the grant which resulted in the Allen School receiving 3 million dollars for DEIA efforts and championed the creation of multiple programs that have made an immense impact on underrepresented students in the field of computing. In order to recognize Chloe’s relentless commitment and dedication to improving the Allen School’s diversity and access efforts across the 2022 – 2023 academic year, we would like to recognize Chloe with the UW Distinguished Staff Award.

Tell us why you are nominating this individual

Chloe’s mission for her team is to attract and educate the next generation of outstanding computer scientists and computer engineers who reflect the many dimensions of diversity in Washington State and the diverse needs, backgrounds, and experiences of technology users around the world. To accomplish this shared mission, Chloe has built out programs designed to broaden participation in computing through outreach and recruitment efforts for students who are underrepresented in the computing field and to ensure that students of all backgrounds feel that they belong and can thrive in the Allen School.

In an effort to promote access, opportunity, and justice within the field of computing, Chloe prioritizes student voices. Through this, she became a co-founder of Changemakers in Computing (CIC) in 2020 alongside two current Allen School students who proposed the program to her. CIC is a free summer program that allows rising junior and senior Washington state high school students to explore computing workshops, careers, and post-high school pathways while building a community of changemakers. To make the program more accessible, students receive free meals during the program, a free ORCA card, and a $2,500 stipend to complete the program. This program started virtually in 2021 to serve 23 students and continued in 2022 to bring 23 students to campus for the entirety of the program. Intentionally serving a diverse group of youth, 96% of participants were Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and 56% identified as female or non-binary. This year, the CIC team identified food insecurity and lack of technology access as additional areas of support for participants. Under Chloe’s leadership and advocacy, CIC received an additional $60,000 in funding for the 2023 CIC program so participants will now also receive breakfast, grocery gift cards, and access to a computer and internet in their home.

In addition to her work for students, Chloe is also dedicated to promoting a culture of learning and creating a respectful and inspiring work environment for her employees. Chloe created monthly coffee chats for her team that are focused on exploring and discussing DEIA-related topics which are hosted by a different team member every month. Through this initiative, every member of the D&A team has the opportunity to share their knowledge, perspective, and voices to uphold a shared commitment to DEIA.

What makes this nominee worthy of the DSA?

In 2016-17 the Allen School had less than 1/5th the percentage of Black or African American students as the UW-Seattle average. Additionally, the Allen School had roughly 1/2 the percentage of First-generation college students as well as roughly 1/2 the percentage of Pell-Eligible students as the UW-Seattle average. Today the Allen School exceeds the UW-Seattle average in all of these areas and a large part of this is due to Chloe’s leadership and impact in helping transform the Allen Schools’ efforts on outreach, recruitment, and retention.

Chloe transformed the Allen School’s K-12 outreach programs to build substantive and impactful relationships with schools and community organizations that serve significant numbers of underrepresented, economically-disadvantaged, and future first-generation college students. Chloe’s intentional outreach efforts include assisting with the supervision of the Allen School Ambassador team which consists of Allen School students that provide K-12 outreach efforts, managing the Changemakers in Computing summer program, and organizing events for Computer Science Education Week, a national initiative to engage and inspire K-12 students to learn computer science and advocate for equity in computer science education. Chloe’s contributions extend beyond the Allen School community by supporting CS educator-focused events such as the CS4Teachers conference that promote CS education in K-12. The CS4Teachers conference is an annual event to help educators explore the broad applications of computing, discuss the societal impacts of computing, and learn about the intersection of computing and the impact it has on Washington’s communities and people with a focus on issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

In addition to this work, Chloe has also demonstrated a strong commitment to Allen School retention initiatives in an effort to cultivate a sense of belonging for students who are historically underrepresented in computing. Chloe has been a constant source of support and an advocate for the Allen School Startup Program, a one-year cohort-based program that provides wrap-around services to students from first-generation, low-income, and underserved communities from Washington State throughout their first year at the UW and Allen School. To support current Allen School students, Chloe was instrumental in the creation of student groups that focus on promoting inclusivity and the foundation of spaces in our buildings to support and welcome underrepresented students. Chloe deeply understood that simply increasing diversity in the Allen School did not automatically mean that students would feel included. Under her leadership, the Allen School now has three new student groups including Ability (spreading accessibility awareness and creating a community for students with disabilities and their allies), GEN1 (celebrating and supporting the Allen School’s vibrant and diverse first-generation community by providing resources and a community to ensure academic, professional, and personal success), and Minorities in Tech (supporting underrepresented groups and fostering a more culturally inclusive community where differences are valued and respected). During the fall quarter of 2022, Chloe also assisted with the foundation of an Allen School Prayer/Meditation Room and Diversity & Access Lounge in the Allen School buildings.

Was there anything else?

Chloe has gone above and beyond in her role as Assistant Director for Diversity and Access at the Allen School. Many challenges have come her way since beginning in the role, from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the growing pains of building a team from the ground up, but her passion and grit remain unparalleled in making a lasting impact on the Allen School community. In many ways, her work extends beyond UW and the Allen School by inspiring the future voices in tech to make a positive difference for the better. Chloe volunteers as a Girl Scout troop leader and hosts Girl Scout meetings in the Allen School buildings to inspire these young people to see computing as an educational path that they are capable of and can be successful in. She consistently goes beyond the scope of her position because she cares deeply about others and understands the impact she can make by advocating for a more equitable and just world. As a UW alumnus and dedicated employee with seven years of experience, she is a valuable asset to the University of Washington. This institution is lucky to have her.

—Leslie Ikeda, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, Senior Startup Program Manager
and
Chelsea Navarro, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, Senior Academic Adviser