Dr. Freda Porter is a seasoned information technology professional with strong skills in project development, management and operations. Her role as President and CEO of Porter Scientific, an Environmental and Information Technology solutions company, requires her many years of teaching, research, consulting, and management experience.
Since 1997 Porter Scientific has diversified its business offerings, been awarded two Blanket Purchase Agreements, a SeaPort-E award, a GSA IT contract vehicle, three EPA Brownfields awards, a SECRET Facility Clearance, and is working toward ISO 9001:2000 certification. Porter Scientific has extensive experience addressing Environmental and IT issues at DoD facilities, other government organizations and industry. Porter also has experience with Pollution Prevention, Resource Conservation, Training and Outreach, Geovisualization, Regulatory Compliance, Information Technology and Environmental Services. The staff also has a high level of experience with technology transition, sustainable installations policy and procedures, military aircraft throughput enhancement, as well as homeland security and National defense programs. Porter Scientific management has been involved in Noise Modeling and Simulation with NASA Langley Research Center, and Groundwater contamination research and Brownfields Training with EPA.
Dr. Freda Porter holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics, Computer Science minor, from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in Computational and Applied Mathematics from DUKE University.
Dr. Porter (Lumbee) is one of few American Indian women who have earned a doctorate in Mathematical Sciences. She has more than 25 years of teaching, research, consulting and management experience. She was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at UNC-Pembroke and held a Postdoctoral appointment in the Department of Mathematics at UNC Chapel Hill. She has consulted for American College Testing (ACT), National Science Foundation (NSF), US EPA, National Institutes of Health and NASA.
She has been honored by the North Carolina Equity Commission with the "CARPATHIAN Award for Speaking Out “ and has been featured in a PBS documentary entitled BREAKTHROUGH: The Changing Face of Science in America. This year she received the 2007 UIDA American Indian Business of the Year Award and the 2007 Business Person of the Year award from UNC Pembroke.
While serving on the National Native Science Education Advisory Council, Dr. Porter was affiliated with the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative – a curriculum development project ensuring high quality mathematics and science education for each student while maintaining traditional values. Dr. Porter has served five years as Project Director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society Comprehensive Enrichment Program at both UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Pembroke. She founded the AISES Chapter at UNC-Pembroke in 1991 and continues to serve as a professional member and advisor.
Dr. Porter serves on numerous boards and committees including the Board of Directors of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the NC Advisory Commission on Military Affairs, and the Board of Directors for ASCENT: Leading Multicultural Women to the Top.
