Marta Collier-Youngblood, education outreach director at the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority, cultivates 
relationships with business and industry to secure support for STEM education in Arkansas. Collier-Youngblood develops strategic plans for outreach and professional development programs that target critical workforce development and that are aligned with strategic areas of both the federal and foundation grants.
Collier-Youngblood also coordinates outreach efforts among multiple university programs. With great efficiency, she is able to manage current ASSET outreach projects while seeking new opportunities to enrich /expand current programs. She also organizes activities and conferences related to outreach and professional development projects and coordinate these collaborative efforts with other state agencies or stakeholders to promote growth of the STEM workforce in Arkansas.
Collier-Youngblood joined the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority with a strong background in communications. While working for the GRid-connected Advance Power Electronics Systems Center Administrator in 2010, she did research and preparation of special reports, grant writing, workforce development management, conference/meeting planning and coordination, publicity and education outreach management, and performance of general office duties.
Collier-Youngblood is currently working toward an Ed.D., Workforce Development Education- Higher Education Leadership Concentration at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UAF).
Prior to her studies at UAF, she completed her M.A. in sociology at the Ohio State University in 2004. She completed B.A. in english-journalism emphasis at Tougaloo College, Mississippi 2002.
The ASSET Outreach projects are:
- STEM Undergraduate Research Initiatives: Provides Arkansas students with practical, hands-on experience guided by the top researchers in our state. ASSET strives to support applications that align with the research of P3, VICTER and GREEN.
- ASSET Solar Design Competition provides K-12 students an opportunity to learn about solar energy and how it helps to power the world.
- GREEN Mobile- Solar Energy Lab on Wheels: provide outreach to k-12 students, 2 year colleges and the general public. This resource is able to teach students about solar energy and encourage participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
- Biotech-in-a-Box (BTNB): the main outreach activity of Plant-Powered Production, BTNB provides the teacher and classroom with a fully developed hands-on set of classroom activities that integrate current biotechnology.
- Power Box-Energy Education Project Based Learning Kits is designed to develop understanding regarding energy including: the nature of energy, how energy is generated, how energy is used and other issues.
