Perla Myers

Background

About Perla Myers

Dr. Perla Myers is the Director of the Jacobs Institute for Innovation In Education and Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Diego (USD), where she has been on the faculty since She earned her B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Houston, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego. Perla is passionate about achieving equity in education and diversifying the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and feels that one step towards these goals is changing the reaction people have when they hear the word mathematics to a smile. Dr. Myers believes that transformation is achieved through joint efforts to enhance understanding, empower each other, and discover and embrace different ways of knowing. She enjoys collaborating with colleagues, students and community partners to create experiences in mathematics/STEAM locally and abroad, including summer experiences, family nights, mathematics walks, teacher workshops, and other community events. Some of their most recent initiatives include the S(TEAM)2 Academy for middle and high school students, the STEAM Youth and Community Conference for all ages, and Project Mathigami, which takes advantage of folding to explore mathematics.