Tech Toys Group

Dr. Schery Mitchell-James, born at a local hospital as the 2 lbs 9 ounces premature twin, grew up in East Palo Alto, California. Recognizing an early calling to service Dr. Mitchell earned a BA in biology  at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania  which is the United States’ first degree-granting Historically Black University. She received her MD at Howard University and recently retired as a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente Medical Group. Dr. Mitchell is a Co-Founder with a daughter of “Scrumpt’, a national subscription service that home delivers nutritious, kid friendly lunch kit meals. She and her husband Dr. Archie James are mentors to aspiring physicians and Dr. Mitchell volunteers as a member of the Sacramento Links, Inc.,  performs with her physician band SVT Jazz ensemble, pursues interests in arts and crafts as well as enjoying life with her Yorkie mix dog Dexter.

By working on the Calibears Math Essentials and the Tech Toy project Dr. Mitchell is following her passion  to creatively enhance learning and achievement  for a more inclusive group of our youth.

Dr. Hazel Witten Mahone, Ed.D  holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology, a 2^nd Masters Degree in Education, a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and is currently a Professor Emeritus at CSUS.  Dr. Mahone was the first female School Superintendent in Sacramento County and as a classroom teacher has taught kindergarten through the undergraduate and postgraduate college levels. She has served on several prestigious boards to include as a Governor’s appointee to the Advisory Board of California’s Criminal Justice System, as well as completing research on international educational systems in Sweden, Russia, England, Germany and the Netherlands. In America she co-authored a book for young African American girls and is the President and CEO of Vision 2000 and Founder of a Math and Reading Academy for K-8^th grade students in support of academic remediation and achievement.  Dr. Mahone is engaged in the CaliBears Tech Toys project to insure that classroom teachers and parents are exposed to high quality instructional tools, curriculum support, and resources that are STEM based, subject matter focused, engaging, gender balanced and reflects the ethnicity and cultural backgrounds of all students by featuring characters of color who are designed to motivate and ignite the learning process.

Dr. Estelle M. Eke, PhD graduated from Purdue University with an undergraduate Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics, earned a Master’s of Science Degree from Rice University, and holds a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Rice University. She is a tenured Professor of Mechanical Engineering at California State University, Sacramento. Dr. Eke’s research interests include Controls, Optimization, Modeling of Dynamic Systems and Robotics.

Dr. Eke has published or co-published 17 publications, several with an emphasis on space exploration, to include “Backup Nutation Damping Strategy for the Galileo Spacecraft”, “Statistical Maneuver Analysis of the Interplanetary Phase of 87-VEGA2m A Probe Trajectory:; and is the author of a “Computer Laboratory Manual for Computer Applications in Mechanical Engineering”.

Professional memberships include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA;, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE); and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Dr. Eke’s professional skills and talents are extended into the areas of MTLAB Simulation, Control Theory, Robotics, Mobile Robotics and Navigation. She also enjoys a role in student advising and developed software titled “Advising Software for Students and Faculty Members, which she presented at a ASEE conference proceedings.

At CSUS Dr. Eke continues her research in mechanical engineering in addition to her teaching responsibilities and coursework. Dr. Eke also volunteers at local and regional robotic competitions with a particular interest of encouraging young students to become aware of the field of STEM, particularly technology and engineering, especially underrepresented and underserved students of color.

Through her participation in the CaliBears projects Dr. Eke wants to pursue
_______________ and ___________________(please provide info here as much as you would like!).

Ruben Griffin was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mr. Griffin also has a Masters’ Degree in Electrical Engineering (MEE) from Howard University (an HBCU), and a Math Teaching Credential from California State University, Sacramento. His professional engineering experience includes employment as an electrical engineer for 8 years at Control Date Corporation, as an electrical engineer intern at General Motors, and as a Design Electrical Engineer at Intel Corporation for 14 years. For the past five years Mr. Griffin has taught mathematics at local high and middle school sites.  As a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Mr. Griffin’s role as a mentor led a local high school team to national championship math competition. Mr. Griffin’s participation in the CaliBears Math Essentials Toy Tech Project has allowed him to continue his highly successful efforts to help expose under-represented students to learning opportunities in STEM-related fields to include programming skills. In addition, for Mr. Griffin the CaliBears Math Essentials project is an invaluable avenue for students, teachers, and parents to close the math achievement gap by being Common-Core-Standards based, culturally inclusive, and gender inclusive.

Mr. Poku graduated from CSUS with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and has worked for the  Intel Corporation for 7 years – 3 years as a college intern Application Engineer and 4 years as a professional Graphics Hardware Engineer. Mr. Poku’s passion for learning computer science has led him to complete coursework outside requirements towards his Master’s Degree towards gaining an expertise level in the field of software design and programming and for his own personal knowledge. With over 15 years of coding and practical experience in several computer based languages,  Mr. Poku has developed a graphics engine for a unique language app for commercial usage and is working on the audio and related designs which will distinguish his product from other competitors in the market and will teach students how to speak and comprehend foreign languages.   Mr. Poku also has extensive familiarity in writing games, business applications, and various scripts to automate manual processes on personal computers and enjoys writing software which teaches concepts. Mr. Poku is interested in the CaliBears Tech Toys project because of his belief that the use of technology to illustrate and teach concepts is a smart idea and that it makes sense to use technology as a tool to teach useful subjects, ideas and concepts that will actually help students to further their STEM knowledge, achievement levels and their K-6 education.

Jakira A. Jekayinfa-Brown was born and raised in Sacramento, CA. She attended Sacramento State University receiving her BS in Electrical & Electronics Engineering  with a focus in Control Systems. She  graduated in 2012 with Honors. Jakira also earned a MS in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, with a focus in Power Systems. As an undergraduate, Jakira designed a biomedical device that aided in conditioning stem cells prior to them being injected into the human body and was the recipient of a national grant to encourage middle school girls to investigate and pursue college degrees and careers in STEM. Currently, Jakira works as an electrical engineer at East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), a water and wastewater company in Oakland, California. There she is responsible for programming, testing, troubleshooting and commissioning control systems that are used to filtrate, monitor and deliver clean and reliable water to 1.3 million East Bay customers. Jakira is licensed by the State of California as a professional Electrical Engineer and is a member of Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi Honor Societies. In 2011, Jakira was acknowledged by the Sacramento Observer as being a 30 Under 30 Award recipient. Jakira is also an active member in her local community, helping to spread financial literacy and knowledge about setting and reaching individual and family financial goals.  Jakira  believes that she can and will change the world one day  and is a participant in the Cali Bear’s Toy Tech Project because she wants to equip K-6 graders with the fundamental tools and knowledge needed to excel in not only their current and future grade levels, but also in their chosen career paths, especially in careers that are STEM based.

Delma Newton is a Network Engineer now retired from AT&T, Sacramento. A graduate of Grant High School  Mrs. Newton earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business from California State University, Sacramento and in her professional role engineered the planning and design of central AT&T business spaces including completing analysis of the area’s rural areas to assess and facilitate new technology based construction and IT services. Mrs. Newton has over 35 years of experience in the field of engineering. While employed at AT&T Mrs. Newton was a member of  a non-profit organization within AT&T. – The Network –   that provides STEM type activities for youths. Mrs. Newton is also an active community volunteer, is a quilter  and is involved in keeping the Earth “green”  through crafts and art projects created from recycled materials. With the CaliBears Tech Toys Mrs. Newton continues her interest in STEM inclusion and opportunities and is encouraged and committed to her  participation in a global project  that It gives her  joy by enabling  youths to learn as much as they can because it opens up a different world to them.