Workforce Development Scholar & Researcher
Bridging practical, evidence-based research and practice in Workforce Development, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and Career and Technical Education.
About Jason
Thanks for stopping by! My name is Jason K. Segrest, a PhD candidate in Workforce Development and Education at The Ohio State University and the founder of Talent Connect U. Welcome! My research explores how education, workforce development, AI (artificial intelligence), and career and technical education come together to create opportunities that prepare students for long-term success in today’s rapidly changing workforce. I am especially committed to promoting equity for historically underrepresented students in STEM and Career and Technical Education (CTE). With more than twenty years in human resources and talent acquisition, I have learned a key truth that shapes my academic pursuits: talent exists everywhere, but opportunities do not. This realization drives my doctoral research on the STEM and CTE identities of ethnically and racially diverse students and underpins Talent Connect U's goal to translate research into practical solutions that create opportunities for learners, schools, and communities. To that end, my vision combines academic and practical goals: to develop education and workforce systems that address current challenges and prepare for the future of work. I’m glad you’re here and invite you to join me in this pursuit of research, innovation, and making a difference.
Frameworks that Guide My Research
My research is guided by anti-deficit frameworks that highlight the strengths and assets of historically underrepresented students and connect directly to skills-based learning and assessment in CTE, AI, Workforce Development, and STEM. I use Community Cultural Wealth to demonstrate how students draw on aspirational, navigational, social, familial, linguistic, and resistance capital as resources for success, capital that directly influences persistence in STEM fields, advancement in CTE programs, and access to workforce opportunities. STEM Identity Theory helps me examine how recognition, performance, and competence shape students’ sense of belonging in technical and scientific fields, which has implications for how AI tools and skills-based assessments are designed and used. Social Identity Theory provides a lens for understanding how group membership and cultural recognition influence learning and career pathways, whether in CTE cohorts, AI-driven training systems, or workforce development programs. Together, these frameworks allow me to bridge research and practice, designing interventions, mentoring strategies, and program structures that foster equity while preparing students with the skills, confidence, and resilience they need for long-term success in education and the workforce.
Education & Awards
Ph.D. Candidate - The Ohio State University - Workforce Development & Education
Master of Arts Degree in Education - M.A.Ed - Central Michigan University - M.A.Ed.
Master of Business Administration - MBA - Univ. of Phoenix
Bachelors of Science in Business Management - BSBM - Univ. of Phoenix
Current Research Project
My dissertation, Rooted in Resilience: Exploring Black Students’ STEM Identity Development Through the LSAMP Program at Two-Year Institutions, is a multi-site qualitative embedded case study that examines how Black students experience and engage with STEM through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program. This study explores why Black sub-baccalaureate STEM students choose to participate in LSAMP, how their STEM identities and cultural wealth influence their academic and career journeys, and how LSAMP’s program components, such as academic enrichment, mentoring, and student advisement, help foster or strengthen those identities. The goal of this research is to honor students’ voices and highlight practices that promote belonging, equity, and meaningful pathways to success in STEM fields.
This study goes beyond being an academic project; it provides a chance to gain a deeper understanding of how equity in STEM can transform lives and communities. By focusing on the voices of Black students at two-year colleges, my goal is to emphasize their strengths, resilience, and contributions to the future of science and technology. Data collection "Coming Soon"
Publications & Works in Progress
From Access to Success: How Mentorship Shapes Black Boys’ Futures in STEM-CTE and the Workforce
Segrest, J. K., & Hairston, C. K. (2025). MidSouth Education Policy Workshop (Research Proposal Accepted)
Mentorship plays a crucial role in supporting Black boys’ participation and success in high-skill STEM-Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, which remain underrepresented despite educational opportunities. This study investigates how structured, culturally responsive mentorship can address systemic barriers and improve outcomes for Black upperclassmen in urban CTE programs.
Centering Brilliance: A Narrative Inquiry Exploring First-Generation Black STEM-CTE Students in Two-Year Postsecondary Education
July 2025 (In Progress)
First-generation Black students in two-year postsecondary STEM-CTE programs actively leverage their cultural wealth to overcome systemic barriers and pursue academic and professional growth in rapidly expanding STEM fields such as biotechnology and engineering.
Black and Brilliant: Why Equity Is Not Optional in STEM – A Review of Black, Brown, and Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation. Urban Education Special Issue
June 2025 - Urban Education Journal - Special Issue (In Progress)
This book review examines how systemic racism, tokenism, stereotype threat, and racially hostile learning environments shape the STEM experiences of Black and Brown students. Each chapter analysis highlights the ways structural inequities hinder participation and innovation while also underscoring the resilience and cultural wealth that students bring into these spaces.
Transforming Barriers into Assets: Prioritizing the Cultural Wealth of Black Students in STEM
January 2025 - Diverse Issues in Higher Education
In this op-ed for Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Jason K. Segrest advocates shifting from deficit perspectives to recognizing the cultural wealth Black students contribute to STEM. This discussion emphasizes that assets such as resilience, familial support, and community knowledge are crucial for persistence and innovation, urging institutions to develop culturally responsive environments that promote belonging and success.
Conference Presentations
From Access to Success: How Mentorship Shapes Black Boys’ Futures in STEM-CTE and the Workforce
Segrest, J. K., & Hairston, C. K. (2025). MidSouth Education Policy Workshop (Research Proposal Accepted)
Mentorship plays a crucial role in supporting Black boys’ participation and success in high-skill STEM-Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, which remain underrepresented despite educational opportunities. This study investigates how structured, culturally responsive mentorship can address systemic barriers and improve outcomes for Black upperclassmen in urban CTE programs.
Centering Brilliance: A Narrative Inquiry Exploring First-Generation Black STEM-CTE Students in Two-Year Postsecondary Education
July 2025 (In Progress)
First-generation Black students in two-year postsecondary STEM-CTE programs actively leverage their cultural wealth to overcome systemic barriers and pursue academic and professional growth in rapidly expanding STEM fields such as biotechnology and engineering.
Black and Brilliant: Why Equity Is Not Optional in STEM – A Review of Black, Brown, and Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation. Urban Education Special Issue
June 2025 - Urban Education Journal - Special Issue (In Progress)
This book review examines how systemic racism, tokenism, stereotype threat, and racially hostile learning environments shape the STEM experiences of Black and Brown students. Each chapter analysis highlights the ways structural inequities hinder participation and innovation while also underscoring the resilience and cultural wealth that students bring into these spaces.