I am honored to be a candidate for re-election for District I Director and share my vision for addressing the issues facing the American Chemical Society.
Clearly
communicate the value of the ACS. Perhaps you joined the ACS as I did, as a
graduate student, and promptly benefited from receiving discounts for journal
subscriptions and books, reading C&E News each week, and attending ACS
National Meetings. As the parent of a college sophomore, I am keenly aware of
the challenges of capturing the attention of the next generation of scientists.
Why should one maintain membership in the ACS, our technical divisions and
local sections? As an active member of my local section, a past-chair of the
ACS Division of Organic Chemistry, and the current District I Director, I
believe that the solution is generally not to do more, but to better
communicate, through our web presence and various forms of outreach, including
social media, the exclusive benefits of ACS membership. Let’s seize the opportunity
to personalize ACS communications with members, to better align information
being shared with members’ interests, using members’ preferred platforms for
absorbing information.
Advance
diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect. We bear a responsibility to recast our intentions and
actions with respect to DEI&R. I have been a longtime advocate of diversity
and inclusion, and was inspired by the leadership of Dr. Mary Boyd, when she
and I served as the Chair and Chair-Elect, respectively, of the ACS DOC, to
speak up about considering diversity when we made decisions as an executive
committee. I find myself doing the same as member of the Board, and was honored
to serve in 2020 on a Board Working Group focused on developing an ACS strategy
for Diversity Equity Inclusion and Respect.
Support
ACS members in all stages of our careers. After working as a
medicinal chemist at Pfizer for many years, in 2019 I became the Head of
Scientific Planning and Operations for Pfizer’s Inflammation and Immunology
Research Unit. My experience as an ACS member and volunteer was instrumental in
preparing me for this leadership role. I believe that the ACS should be the
go-to resource for chemists at all stages of our education, career, and
retirement. Are we thinking broadly enough about careers opportunities? Can we
raise ACS members’ awareness of what career resources are available, and the
value of serving as a volunteer for the ACS? Please see my Comment in the May
9, 2020 issue of C&EN https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/comment/ACS-help-chemists-grow-careers/98/i18?ref=search_results on “How ACS can help chemists grow in
their careers”, in which I dispelled some potential misconceptions, while
highlighting diverse ACS career resources, many of which are exclusively for
ACS members.
Advance
excellence in chemistry.
ACS journals and SciFinder are highly respected sources of scientific
knowledge; as District I Director, I have enjoyed strategic discussions with
leaders of ACS Publications and CAS. As a scientist, I have gained valuable
experience from presenting at ACS National Meetings and publishing papers in
ACS journals. As a dedicated volunteer, I have enjoyed helping to shape
organized symposia for DOC technical sessions at ACS National Meetings. Perhaps
you have attended an ACS virtual event, be it an ACS Webinar or an ACS National
Meeting. How well have we responded to the impacts of COVID-19 on our
membership, communication of information, and business? What should the global
impact of the ACS be? Can we creatively educate people about the beauty and
relevance of chemistry, and help the general public embrace science?
Apply
the resources of the ACS wisely.
Serving on the ACS Board of Directors brings about fiscal responsibilities in
implementing the mission and vision of the ACS. As the 2014 Chair-Elect and
2015 Chair of the Northeastern Section, I gained firsthand experience in
influencing decisions, many of which were not easy to make, for our over $300K
annual operating budget. Likewise, I recognize that time and energy are
resources that we should commit intentionally: our ACS volunteers and staff
must be confident that what we all are working on is clearly defined, not
redundant, free from unnecessary process and relevant to our mission.
In closing, thank
you for your consideration for my re-election for District I Director. I would
appreciate your vote!