OREE Program Manager Invited to White House Summit

The Office of Research Experiences & Education’s (OREE) Bethany King Wilkes, Ph.D., was invited as a standards education expert to Capitol Hill on July 23 to join other experts in standards development from academia, government, and the private sector at The White House’s Summit on Strengthening Partnerships for Critical and Emerging Technology (CET) Standards.

This summit is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Standards Strategy announced in May 2023 which noted the importance of standards in the U.S. and internationally, saying “standards development underpins economic prosperity across the country and fortifies U.S. leadership in the industries of the future at the same time.”

A former engineer and higher education administrator, King Wilkes utilizes her unique expertise in postsecondary education and equity in engineering to lead and develop OREE’s standards education program. Created over two years of collaboration with UL Standards & Engagement, the Standards Academy platform is set to launch in the coming months. As OREE’s postsecondary education program manager, King Wilkes focuses on best practices for standards education and leads the collection of relevant, meaningful standards for case study development for faculty and students.

King Wilkes said attending the summit reinforced that OREE’s work is well aligned with the U.S. Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology’s (USG NSSCET) objectives of broadening participation and enhancing the workforce.

“I value representing OREE at the summit, as it shows the federal government values OREE’s work to further standards education and recognizes OREE’s efforts to broaden participation and representation in standards development,” she said.

Committed to furthering the United States’ commitment to rule- and consensus-based standards that embrace transparency and broad participation, this summit and the national standards strategy are looking to strengthen U.S. involvement in international standards for critical and emerging technologies (CETs).