Seema Rivera

Dr. Seema Rivera was appointed by a joint session of the Legislature to the Board of Regents to serve a five-year term effective April 1, 2024.

Dr. Rivera is an associate professor of STEM education at the Institute for STEM Education at Clarkson University. Her research interests include identity, pedagogy, diversity, equity, and inclusion and their intersections with STEM in K–12 and higher education. Dr. Rivera has served as a Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator for grants funded by the National Science Foundation, authored and co-authored numerous book chapters and articles in various peer-reviewed journals, and teaches undergraduate and graduate students.  Dr. Rivera has presented her research at major STEM education conferences, both nationally and internationally, and in 2022, received the John W. Graham, Jr. Faculty Research Award at Clarkson University.  Formerly, Dr. Rivera was a chemistry teacher in the Bronx and Upstate New York. 

Dr. Rivera’s leadership and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are pillars of her career. Before her appointment to the Board of Regents in April of 2024, she served on the school board for Guilderland Central School District for nine years, the last five of which she served as board president. Her strong advocacy for DEI was instrumental in creating and hiring the first DEI director for the district and establishing a board of education committee focusing on DEI. During her tenure as board president, she led the district through the challenging times of the COVID-19 Pandemic, demonstrating her commitment to the community. 

Dr. Rivera graduated from Guilderland Central School District and then received her B.A. from Binghamton University, an M.S. from The College of Saint Rose, and her Ph.D. from the University at Albany.  

Seema resides in Guilderland with her two daughters, who attend public schools, her two dogs, and her husband, Tony, a pharmacist at the Albany Stratton VA Hospital.