Pioneering Women of MIT

 Dr. K’Andrea Bickerstaff

At age 12, K’Andrea Bickerstaff discovered that her grandfather’s unrealized goal had been “to attend MIT—the best school in the country.” Later that year, when Bickerstaff’s father got sick, “I asked my mom how I could help. She said, ‘Do well in school, so I don’t have to worry.’ From then on, I got straight A's, and MIT was my long-shot dream.”

She earned an MIT bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1989; later she earned a master’s and PhD in computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Now, Dr. Bickerstaff is founder and president of KenQuest LLC in Austin, TX - a consulting services firm specializing in intellectual property, research, and design and business and project management. The company’s network of technical experts, engineers, scientists, professors, and technology leaders -offers expertise and strategy to clients across the country.

 

* Dr. Bickerstaff is also is the Chair of BAMIT,  

Black Alumni(ae) of MIT (2020).

 

BAMIT MISSION

We are fostering an inclusive environment for shared learning.

We are a vibrant collective of diverse, creative, and mission-driven MIT alumni who are dedicated to empowering the next generation of diverse leaders and change agents. Our mission is to support the professional and personal development of the Black community at MIT - with a special focus on the recruitment, development and successful graduation of Black undergraduate and graduate students - and to amplify the voice of all Black alumni who are committed to leadership, innovation, and positive social transformation. We will never stop marching for justice.