Freda Porter | |
---|---|
Born | October 14, 1957 Lumberton, NC |
Nationality | American, member of the Lumbee tribe |
Other names | Freda Porter-Locklear |
Alma mater | Pembroke State University (BS, 1978) North Carolina State University (MS, 1981) Duke University (PhD, 1991) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Porter Scientific, Inc. Lumbee Tribe Enterprises, LLC |
Thesis | A numerical study of propagation of singularities for semilinear hyperbolic systems |
Doctoral advisor | Michael Reed |
Freda Porter, a member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina, is an applied mathematician and environmental scientist known as one of the first Native American women to earn a PhD in the mathematical sciences. She is the president and CEO of Porter Scientific, Inc. and president of Lumbee Tribe Enterprises, LLC.
Freda Porter, a member of the Lumbee tribe, was born on October 14, 1957, in Lumberton, North Carolina. [1] She holds a BS in applied mathematics with a minor in computer science from Pembroke State University, and a MS in applied mathematics with a minor in computer science from North Carolina State University. In 1991, she earned a PhD in applied mathematics, specializing in numerical modeling, from Duke University. [2]
Porter began her career as an assistant professor of mathematics at Pembroke State University from 1991 to 1994. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. [2] Her postdoctoral research focused on modeling groundwater contamination in collaboration with the EPA, and noise modeling and simulation research in collaboration with the NASA Langley Research Center. [3] [4] [2] In 1997, she founded Porter Scientific, Inc., an environmental consulting agency, where she currently serves as the president and CEO. [1] [5] Porter is also known for her involvement with Lumbee tribal government. In 2017, she was elected by the Lumbee Tribal Council to serve as full-time administrator for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. [6] She held this position until 2020, when she was appointed interim president of Lumbee Tribe Enterprises, LLC, a government and industry contracting company owned by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. [7] [8]
Porter has served as an advocate for Native Americans in STEM throughout her career. She founded the Pembroke State chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) in 1991, and directed a science and mathematics summer program for Native American high schoolers for three years. [1] She has also served as a member of the Mathematical Association of America's Committee of Minority Participation in Mathematics from 1994 to 1999, and a trustee for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian from 2006 to 2013. [1] [2]
Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,530. Its county seat is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County. It was named in honor of Col. Thomas Robeson of Tar Heel, a hero of the Revolutionary War.
Pembroke is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. It is about 90 miles inland and northwest from the Atlantic Coast. The population was 2,973, at the 2010 census. The town is the seat of the state-recognized Lumbee tribe of North Carolina, as well as the home of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Prospect is a census-designated place (CDP) in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 690 at the 2000 census. Located due northeast of Pembroke, Prospect is a traditionally Methodist community, with its church members largely becoming representatives for the entirety of the American Indian-Methodist community. Prospect is noted for one of its native sons, Adolph Dial, whose contributions to American Indian Studies have led to an heightened awareness of the local Lumbee Tribe and Native Americans throughout the Southeastern United States.
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke is a public university in Pembroke, North Carolina. UNC Pembroke is a master's level degree-granting university and part of the University of North Carolina system. Its history is intertwined with that of the Lumbee nation.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina numbering approximately 55,000 enrolled members, most of them living primarily in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties. The Lumbee Tribe is the largest state tribe in North Carolina, the largest state tribe east of the Mississippi River, and the ninth largest non-federally recognized tribe in the United States. The Lumbee take their name from the Lumbee River, which winds through Robeson County. Pembroke, North Carolina, is the economic, cultural and political center of the tribe.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan, foster, and encourage scientific research to maintain future naval power and preserve national security. It carries this out through funding and collaboration with schools, universities, government laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations, and overseeing the Naval Research Laboratory, the corporate research laboratory for the Navy and Marine Corps. NRL conducts a broad program of scientific research, technology and advanced development.
The Battle of Hayes Pond, also known as the Battle of Maxton Field or the Maxton Riot, was an armed confrontation between members of a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization and Lumbee Indians at a Klan rally near Maxton, North Carolina, on the night of January 18, 1958. The clash resulted in the disruption of the rally and a significant amount of media coverage praising the Lumbees and condemning the Klansmen.
James William "Catfish" Cole was an American soldier and evangelist who was leader of the Ku Klux Klan of North Carolina and South Carolina, serving as a Grand Dragon.
Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state-recognized tribes in North Carolina. They are also known as the "People of the Fallen Star." Historically Siouan-speaking, they are located predominantly in the southeastern North Carolina counties of Bladen and Columbus. Their congressional representative introduced a failed bill for federal recognition in 1948. North Carolina recognized the group in 1971.
Julian Thomas Pierce was an American lawyer and Lumbee civil rights activist.
Harold "Iron Bear" Collins is a former professional strongman, world champion Powerlifter and also a Philanthropist. Harold is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, and calls himself the "World's Strongest Native American".
Allen Coats Meadors is an American professor and university administrator.
The Lumbee Regional Development Association (LRDA) is a non-profit corporation, chartered by the State of North Carolina in 1968, organized to analyze and develop solutions for the health, educational, economic, and general welfare problems of rural and urban Indians in and around Robeson County. Its effective domain includes, but is not limited to, the Counties of Robeson, Hoke, Scotland, and Bladen, i.e., North Carolina’s Planning Region N. Federally funded programs are currently administered by the Lumbee citizens of these neighboring counties, from the LRDA offices in Pembroke, North Carolina. LRDA currently serves over 20,600 people each year. In July 2009, it had 62 full-time employees.
Adolph Lorenz Dial was an American historian, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and a specialist in the field of American Indian Studies. Dial was a member of the Lumbee Tribe and a graduate of Pembroke State College, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in social studies. Soon after graduating, Dial enlisted with the United States Army, completing a tour of duty in the European theater of World War II. Post-military, Dial obtained his master's degree and an advanced certificate in social studies from Boston University. Hired by Pembroke State College in 1958, Dial would go on to create the college's American Indian Studies program, the first of its kind at any university in the Southeast. In addition to his role in academia, Dial was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for a single term. Over the course of his career, Dial devoted the majority of his academic work towards enriching and publicizing the history of the Lumbee Tribe and its importance within the history of North Carolina, and within the greater narrative of Native American peoples. Dial died on December 24, 1995, 12 days after his 73rd birthday.
Arlinda Locklear is an American lawyer of Native American origin from the Lumbee tribe. Locklear, who is often cited as the first Native American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, has actually followed in the footsteps of Lyda Conley, who was the first Native American and Native American woman admitted to argue a case before the US Supreme Court. Locklear is noted as an expert in Native American law and tribal recognition litigation. She represented the Lumbee tribe in its quest for federal recognition from 1987 until 2010.
Dorothy Morrow Gilford was an American statistician who headed the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the Office of Naval Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences. She was the editor of The Aging Population in the Twenty-First Century: Statistics for Health Policy.
Ruth Dial Woods is an American educator and activist. A member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, she was the first woman to serve as the associate superintendent of the Robeson County Public Schools and to receive an at-large appointment to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. After teaching in the public school system of Robeson County for 27 years, she joined the faculty at Fayetteville State University. In addition to her work as an educator, Woods was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's liberation movement, and the American Indian Movement. She has served as a community development consultant for the United States Department of Labor and as a consultant for the Lumbee Tribal Council for administration of tribal programs. The recipient of numerous awards and honors for her work in human rights and education, in 2011, she was inducted into the North Carolina Women's Hall of Fame.
Horace Locklear is an American politician and former attorney who served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1977 until 1983. A member of the Lumbee tribe, he was the first Native American to practice law in North Carolina.
Henry Ward Oxendine was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for the 21st District from 1973 to 1976. A member of the Lumbee tribe, he was the first Native American to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Moss Neck is a community in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States.