Dr. Valerie Young
Author; Impostor Syndrome Expert

     Dr. Valerie Young is an internationally recognized expert on impostor syndrome who has spoken to over 80,000 people at such diverse organizations as Apple, Chrysler, Boeing, Microsoft, Merck, Intel, IBM, Ernst and Young, BP, Procter & Gamble, Society of Women Engineers, and The Space Telescope Science Institute as well as at over 80 colleges and universities including Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, MIT.

Valerie is the author of an award-winning book with Random House which is now available in 5 languages… 

And her career-related tips have been featured in dozens of business and popular media outlets from India to Brazil including BBC radio, The Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Ed, Science, Psychology Today, and The Chicago Tribune.

 She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts. And later spent 7 years in management at a Fortune 200 company. 

In addition to her work at ImpostorSyndrome.com, Valerie is the founder and Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com where she’s been showing change seekers how to make a living without a job since 1995.

Mary M. Mitchell
President, The Mitchell Organization

Mary M. Mitchell is dedicated to helping women scientists become more professional so they can expand their careers.

She has been privileged to live and work on four continents. Building on a robust corporate career, she devotes her energies to supporting postdocs and physicians, a passion that began with the pioneering program at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004..  As the author of 9 books, now in 11 languages, her message is clear:  Good manners create good relationships.  Good relationships create solid careers.  It’s not the other way around. 

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, CNN, “The Today Show”, and “Good Morning, America”, among many others.    She is an experienced coach, syndicated newspaper columnist, and certified Zumba and Aquafit instructor.  She is a pioneer in the benefits of wellness and mindfulness as they apply to human behavior, which broke new ground in her book “Class Acts,” in 2002.  Mitchell was the protégé of Letitia Baldrige, who served as White House Social Secretary during the Kennedy administration.   Early in her career she hosted a daily radio commentary on an NPR affiliate called “WOW:  Words on Women.”
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Her website is themitchellorganization.com

Dr. Christine S. Grant
Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement, Professor of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University

​Dr. Christine Grant is an Academic Resilience Strategist who partners with individuals and organizations to empower women and men in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).   She obtained her degrees in Chemical Engineering (B.S., Brown University; M.S. and Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology). An international speaker, Grant conducts career coaching and professional development workshops across the U.S., in Ghana and Australia, empowering both women and underrepresented minorities on the STEM pathway. Her consulting company, CoolSci Productions, LLC (drchristinegrant.com) designs custom, targeted programming for corporate and academic environments. A Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular engineering at NC State; she’s also the Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement in the College of Engineering.  She is one of less than ten African-American women in the U.S. at that rank.  Her research has focused on surface and interfacial phenomena in the areas of electronic materials, polymers and biomedical systems. She has served her profession as a leader in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) as a member of the Board of Directors and as a Fellow. She has been a Visiting Senior Scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an Expert in the NSF Engineering Directorate and a visiting faculty at Caltech, Duke and UPenn.  Grant has been recognized with several awards for broadening the participation, promotion and retention of underrepresented minorities (URM) and women in STEM including: the AAAS Mentor Award and the NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM. Her book, “Success Strategies from Women in STEM: A Portable Mentor” by Elsevier/Academic Press is the culmination of Grant’s over 30 years of leadership broadening the participation of diverse populations in STEM fields.

Dr. Fanuel Muindi
Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, Harvard University & Co-Director and Co-founder of the Stem Advocacy Institute

Fanuel Muindi, PhD, grew up in Tanzania and the UK. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biology at Morehouse College and his PhD in Biology at Stanford University. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship in neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is now Assistant Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. He is also the co-Director and co-founder of the Stem Advocacy Institute (SAI) - a science development think tank - that is based in Boston. As part of the institute, he is also the co-founder of the Journal of Stories in Science. Fanuel likes to meditate, run, and an avid photographer. He is a fan of black and white photographs and is the curator of the Reflections book series.

Dr. Bruce V. Lewenstein
Professor of Science Communication Cornell University 

​Bruce V. Lewenstein is Professor of Science Communication and chair of the Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University. Trained as a historian of science, he works across the field of public communication of science and technology, including informal science education, citizen science, and communication training for scientists. 

Dr. Erin Solovey
Assistant Professor
​Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Dr. Solovey’s research expertise is in human-computer interaction, with a focus on next-generation interaction techniques, such as brain-computer interfaces, physiological computing, and reality-based interaction. She designs, builds and evaluates interactive systems that use machine learning approaches to adapt and support the user’s changing cognitive state and context. She also investigates effective human interaction with complex and autonomous systems and vehicles. Her work has applications in areas such as education, transportation, medicine, creativity support, gaming, and complex decision making. Her research has received awards including the NSF/CRA Computing Innovation Fellowship and three ACM CHI Best Paper Award Honorable Mentions. She serves on several editorial boards and program committees including the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies and the ACM CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. She received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harvard, and her Masters and Ph.D. in computer science from Tufts. Before joining the WPI faculty, she was a professor at Drexel University and a postdoctoral fellow in the Humans and Automation Lab at MIT.

Dr. Brindha Muniappan
Director of Education and Public Programs, MIT Museum

Brindha Muniappan is the Director of Education and Public Programs at the MIT Museum. Her passion for science communication shifted her from the research bench into the field of informal science education where she actively produces programs for the public, including educational workshops for middle and high school students, speed-geeking programs for adults, and hands-on explorations of art, science, engineering, and technology for people of all ages. Brindha is very interested in continuing to broaden the Museum’s audience and creating sustainable connections with local, non-traditional audiences

Carla Smith
Executive Vice President, HIMSS

​Carla Smith is Executive Vice President of HIMSS, a global organization focused on better health through information and technology.  HIMSS leads efforts to optimize health engagements and care outcomes using information and technology.
As a HIMSS executive, Smith leverages her thought leadership, and extensive experience in nonprofit management, to achieve HIMSS’s mission and maintain its financial health.
Smith has 30 years of experience in the information and technology field, two-thirds of it focused on healthcare. She champions transformational innovations in the health sector, ensuring the right knowledge is available to the right people at the right time to make the right health- and care-related decisions. 
In addition to her responsibilities at HIMSS, Smith holds an appointment to CMS’s Outreach and Education Federal Advisory Committee, Chairs the Advisory Board of the Global Center for Health Innovation, serves as an advisor to the University of Michigan’s Health Informatics and Learning Health System programs, and is a publicly-elected official for the Village of Barton Hills, Michigan. 
In both 2017 and 2018, Health Data Management named Ms. Smith as one of the most influential women in health IT.  In 2015, Ms. Smith received similar recognition from Fierce Healthcare.
Before joining HIMSS in 2001, Ms. Smith served for seven years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Healthcare Information Management (CHIM). Prior to entering the health sector, Ms. Smith focused on information and technology-related innovations within the manufacturing and banking sectors. She holds a Master’s degree, and has earned a Nonprofit Management Certification from Case Western Reserve University, and as well as her HIMSS Fellow status.

Dr. Kavitha Scranton
Scientific Editor at Immunity, Cell Press

​Kavitha Scranton is a Scientific Editor at Immunity, a Cell Press journal that publishes research articles that report significant advances in immunology. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Her doctoral research focused on the molecular mechanisms of gd T cell differentiation and function. She conducted her postdoctoral research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard on T cell-mediated autoimmunity. 

Dr. Ailis Tweed-Kent
Founder and CEO, Cocoon Biotech

​Dr. Ailis Tweed-Kent is an up-and-coming entrepreneur and leader in the development of innovative medical technologies. With her education in medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Ailis has first hand knowledge of the burden of disease. In 2013, Ailis was inspired by her patients to found Cocoon to develop innovative silk therapeutics leveraging silk as a materials science platform. Prior to Cocoon, she worked on the design, development, and delivery of diagnostic technologies for global health collaborating with organizations such as PEPFAR/Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and the Global Health Delivery Project. She brings a multidisciplinary approach with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. She was recently named to the Boston Business Journal’s 2017 Women to Watch in Science and Technology as well as the Boston MedTech’s 40 Under 40 Healthcare Innovators.

Dr. Angela Abitua
Outreach Scientist, Addgene

​Angela Abitua, Ph.D, is an Outreach Scientist at Addgene, the nonprofit plasmid repository which is dedicated to open science, scientific reproducibility, and accelerating research. In her free time she volunteers as a board member at BosLab, a nonprofit community lab in Somerville, MA. She received her PhD from UC Berkeley where she investigated regeneration of germline cells in crustaceans. Through her work at Addgene and BosLab, she aims to make science more inclusive, accessible, and open.

Dr. Brittany Pierce
Senior Research Scientist, Marrone Bio Innovations

​Brittany Pierce is the Group Leader of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at Marrone Bio Innovations. She earned a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Texas, Tyler where she spent three years working on insect-vector interactions with Xylella fastidiosa, causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine. She earned a Ph.D in Plant Pathology under the guidance of Dr. Bruce Kirkpatrick at the University of California, Davis. While at UC Davis, she continued work on Xylella fastidiosa elucidating molecular methods Xylella uses to adapt to the plant during infection. Her academic foundation has culminated into her current position from a scientist into a group leader.  She oversees microbiology and molecular innovation research efforts in the discovery, understanding and development of novel, sustainable and highly relevant biopesticide and biostimulants for organic agriculture.

Dr. Iris R. Wagstaff
STEM Program Director, American Association for the Advancement of Science 

Iris R. Wagstaff, Ph.D. is a scientist, educator, mentor, researcher and STEM advocate. She currently serves as STEM Program Director in the Education and Human Resources (EHR) Department of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) where she manages programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels focused on broadening participation in STEM and workforce development.  Prior to joining EHR, she served as a 2015-2017 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Institute of Justice Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences where she led an agency-wide strategic diversity and inclusion initiative.  She is a native of Goldsboro, NC and obtained a BS and MS in Chemistry from the UNC-Greensboro and NC A&T State Universities respectively. She worked as a research chemist at the Dow Chemical Company for 15 years where she led analytical project teams to solve customer problems, as well as, company-wide diversity initiatives. She has over 20 years of STEM outreach and advocacy in the community developing informal science programs, resourcing parents, and collaborating with K-12 science teachers to develop engaging curricula that help students connect the science they learn in the classroom to their everyday lives. 
Dr. Wagstaff has expertise in culturally relevant pedagogy, mentoring, and building strategic partnerships between industry, academia, and community organizations to advance STEM education.  She left the chemical industry to obtain a PhD in science education research and policy analysis from NC State University where her research focused on employing statistical models to examine factors that predict science self-efficacy, science identity, and STEM career intent in high school students. Her research also focuses on the role of informal science and outreach experiences for students who are underrepresented in STEM. She serves on the Boards of several organizations that include the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the Chemical Society of Washington (CSW), and Science, Engineering, and Math Links (SEM). She also currently serves as an adjunct chemistry professor at her Alma Mater – UNC-Greensboro leading diversity and inclusion efforts. She has received several honors for her STEM outreach that include the 2015 NOBCChE Henry McBay Outstanding Teaching Award, a 2016 nomination for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), the 2017 Women of Color in STEM K-12 Promotion of Education Award and the 2018 NOBCChE Presidential Service Award for 25 years of service and mentoring in the chemical sciences. 

Dr. Joanne Kamens
​Executive Director, Addgene

Dr. Kamens is the Executive Director of Addgene, a mission driven, nonprofit dedicated to helping scientists around the world share useful research reagents and data. According to the Boston Globe, Addgene was the #1 2016 Boston Globe Top Place to Work. She received her PhD in Genetics from Harvard Medical School then spent 20 years as a researcher and director in pharma and biotech. Dr. Kamens founded the Boston chapter of the Association for Women in Science. She is active in creating and supporting a number of mentoring programs for science trainees. In Dr. Kamens was named one of PharmaVoice's 100 Most Inspiring Commanders & Chiefs.  Joanne gives over 80 talks each year on career topics all over the world. She speaks widely to science and tech trainees, women in science groups and to pharma teams on topics such as Winning Company Culture, Implicit Bias, Management 101, Making the most of Mentoring Relationships, Work/Life Negotiation, Not Networking - Building Relationships for Success.You can find her @jkamens on Twitter and on Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannekamens.
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Juliet C. Hart
Founder, Hart & Chin Associates, LLC

​Juliet C. Hart specializes in developing the leadership capabilities of scientists and their organizations.  She is the founder of Hart & Chin, a company that offers workshops, coaching, and consulting services.
She believes that strengthening the leadership and interpersonal skills of scientists will make them more effective leaders, who will have a larger impact and create greater value for the organizations they serve.
Previously working as a scientist and with scientists at Johnson & Johnson, she has seen the impact of her work drive employee engagement, increase collaboration, and stimulate innovation across functions.
Juliet established her expertise in learning and development through progressive roles within pharmaceutical giants such as J&J and Bristol-Myers Squibb.  In addition, she has obtained management training from the Yale School of Management. She began her journey in drug discovery as a laboratory scientist at small to mid-sized biotech companies and at J&J in San Diego, CA.  Juliet earned her Bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York - Hunter College in psychology.  There she conducted research in biopsychology as a National Institutes of Health - Scholar Fellow, published papers, contributed to the National Academy of Sciences, and presented at international conferences.

Dr. Piul Rabbani
Research Assistant Professor, New York University School of Medicine

​Dr. Piul Rabbani is a Research Assistant Professor at New York University School of Medicine, in the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery. Her research focuses on adult stem cells in wound healing and tissue regeneration, particularly in her favorite organ, skin. She is curious about the lack of healing in patients with diabetes and is working with biomaterials labs to develop therapeutic solutions. She shaped and directs the Summer Research Fellowship program for medical students. Dr. Rabbani prioritizes finding opportunities for budding scientistas, from internships to public-speaking workshops, to employment options, including recruiting them to her own lab. She is a long term volunteer with BioBus, a science outreach organization, where she has the opportunity to build candy models of mammalian skin as seen through a microscope, share science trivia and  be inspired by the curiosity of young minds.

Lisa Cratty
Vice President R&D, Product Development & Strategy, BD

Lisa Cratty, Vice President R&D, brings over 20 years of experience in the areas of new product development, research and development and portfolio and project management.  Lisa first joined BD in 2010 as the Director of New Product Development in Preanalytical Systems (PAS), with responsibility for building R&D functional excellence (including core team leadership) and partnering with the commercial group to develop and evaluate new business opportunities and product strategies through the annual strategic review (ASR) process.
Since 2015, Lisa has been the steward of the BDX investment portfolio of innovation, technology and product development projects; including deployment of the strategic space identification process, tracking, analysis and management reporting of the R&D key driver goal metrics and responsibility for many of the strategic and corporate deliverables for the function.  Lisa also served as the Chief of Staff for the former EVP R&D and Chief Medical Officer, from 2015-2017.
Lisa is a member of the R&D Leadership Team (currently serving as the Secretariat), sits on the Technology Leadership Development Program (TLDP) steering committee and is actively involved in the company’s inclusion and diversity initiatives as the R&D representative on BD’s Global Inclusion Council and through BD’s Women in STEM associate group.
Prior to joining BD, Lisa spent more than 15 years working in automotive, consumer products and medical device new product development in roles with increasing responsibility.  Her past companies include Ford Motor Company, Lear Corporation and Evenflo Company, Inc. with technical roles ranging from individual contributor to project and people management.
 Lisa has a B.A. in Economics & Management from Albion College, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and S.M. in System Design and S.M. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management.

Vanessa J. Herman
Assistant Vice President, Government & Community Relations, Pace University

​Since February 2013, Vanessa J. Herman has served as the Assistant Vice President for Government and Community Relations at Pace University. In this role Vanessa oversees the University’s Federal, State and local government relations portfolio and is the primary point of contact for the University’s 43 elected officials and staff who represent Pace throughout Westchester County and New York City. Vanessa also manages the University’s “town-gown” community relations throughout New York State and is an Adjunct Professor who teaches University 101 for Veterans and Tools of the Trade: A deep dive into the hidden political processes, and essential professional skills that determine the outcomes of law, policy and elections.
Vanessa is one of twelve recipients of the 2018-2019 Pace University Bronze Medal Jefferson Award and the 2018 Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association Woman of the Year. Vanessa is also the President of Millennium Strategies Consulting, a firm she founded in 1999 to provide primarily volunteer her public relations expertise to select charitable organizations.
Prior to joining Pace, Vanessa was Director of Government and External Relations at Applied DNA Sciences, a bio-tech company that utilizes botanical DNA as a security measure and criminal deterrent. Her responsibilities at Applied DNA, located on the campus of Stony Brook University, included creating Legislative and community relations agendas; identifying, developing, and overseeing strategic business partnerships; and identifying and pursuing federal and state grant opportunities.
Vanessa was the Assistant Director of Governmental Relations at Stony Brook for more than twelve years from, 1999 to 2011. During this time she served as the university’s sole registered federal lobbyist and was responsible for the creation and implementation of the University’s federal legislative agenda. Her responsibilities included securing federal appropriations (earmarks), monitoring federal and state higher-education policy, and promoting significant higher education legislative and policy oriented issues. She interacted directly with elected officials at all levels of government, raising the University’s profile and advancing its legislative agenda.
From 1991 to 1999, Vanessa served as a Press Secretary, Executive Assistant, and Director of Community Relations for former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) based in New York City. In addition to these roles, Vanessa got her start in politics working in the Senator’s Long Island Campaign Office.
Vanessa has an M.A. in Literature a B.A. in Political Science/Sociology both from Stony Brook University and an A.A.S. Degree in Criminal Justice from Suffolk County Community College. She and her husband, New York Army National Guard Master Sergeant Mike Donohue (RET), reside in Long Island.

Gail G. Mattson
​Associate Laboratory Director for Environment, Safety & Health, Brookhaven National Laboratory

​Gail Mattson is a registered professional engineer with over 35 years’ experience in environmental engineering, safety, radiological control, project management, and corporate relations. She received her BS in Biology & Chemistry, then her MSE in Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington. Presently, she has responsibility over the operations of the ES&H Directorate with 130 personnel and a $30M budget at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is one of the US Department of Energy’s multipurpose research institutions that operates cutting-edge large-scale facilities for scientific studies and a wide range of advanced technologies. She is a founding member of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES) and is currently is serving as the President for 2018-2020. She has also served in various local, regional and national positions with the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, American Association for the Advance of Science, and Girl Scouts of USA.

​Dr. Aisha I Abdullah
Associate Director, Global STEM Alliance, New York Academy of Science

​Aisha Abdullah received a BS in biology from the University of Houston and PhD in Neuroscience from Weill Cornell Medical College, where she studied the role of microRNA in embryonic and early postnatal neocortical development. Passionate about making science education accessible and inclusive, she worked with several K-12 science outreach programs at Weill Cornell and Rockefeller University during her graduate studies. Since completing her PhD, she has managed initiatives that broaden the pipeline to STEM careers including the Georgetown STEM Engagement Project and BioSTEM Clubs at the Center for Excellence in Education. Aisha currently serves as the Associate Director of the Global STEM Alliance at the New York Academy of Sciences, leading the Academy’s in-person mentoring and education programs, advancing the Global STEM Alliance mission to increase the number and diversity of students pursuing STEM careers, and helming the STEM City initiative to place a scientist in every classroom in New York City.

Dr. Carol O’Donnell
Director, Smithsonian Science Education Center 

​Dr. Carol O’Donnell is the Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), an organization of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to transforming the learning and teaching of science throughout the nation and world. In this role, Carol is responsible for all operational activities and planning for the division, including building awareness for K-12 science education reform among State and district leaders; conducting programs that support the professional growth of K-12 science teachers and school leaders; and, overseeing all research and curricular resource development, philanthropic development, and administration. In this capacity, Carol also serves as the US representative on the Global Council of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) Science Education Programme (SEP), the global network of the science academies. Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Carol was a leader at the US Department of Education for nearly a decade, overseeing programs such as Title II Part A Improving Teacher Quality State Grants; Mathematics & Science Partnerships (MSP); Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF).  She also led in supporting States and districts as they built their capacity to implement and sustain education reforms and achieve continued improvement in student outcomes. Carol also served as the program officer for IES"s Cognition and Student Learning (CASL) Research Grant program at NCER. A former K-12 teacher and curriculum developer, Dr. O'Donnell is still in the classroom today, serving on the part-time faculty of the Physics Department at The George Washington University.

Dr. Doreen Badheka
Program Director, School of Graduate Studies (SGS), Rutgers University

​Dr. Badheka is the program director for special projects at the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), Newark Health Science Campus. SGS is part of the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, an academic health center created in the year 2013. Dr. Badheka has carried out biomedical research in cell biology, biochemistry, and neuroscience. She has worked on the development of optic neurons, inhibitors for hepatitis C virus helicase, and pain sensitive ion channel – TRPM3. In the graduate school Dr. Badheka leads platforms for career and professional development, directs courses related to biopharmaceutical industry, and manages cross-functional communication & collaborations. 

Julie Yoo
Founder, Chief Product Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Kyruus​

​Julie is the founding Chief Product Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Kyruus. She drives the vision and strategy behind the company’s market-leading patient access products and go-to-market efforts, and oversees strategic partnerships and ecosystem development for the company. Julie previously played product leadership roles at Generation Health from inception through acquisition, and Knome, the world's first whole genome sequencing service for private individuals. Julie’s passion for search technologies and supply-demand matching businesses began as a member of the software engineering team at Endeca Technologies. She studied computer science and pre-medicine at MIT, and obtained an MS and MBA from Harvard-MIT HST and MIT Sloan. Outside of Kyruus, Julie is a member of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council Board of Trustees and a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum. She has been recognized for her thought leadership through numerous awards and honors from Becker’s Hospital Review, Health Data Management, MedTech Boston, and Rock Health.

​Kyle Marian
Science Communicator

​Kyle Marian is a science communicator, former physical anthropologist, and comedian. She works with Guerilla Science on top of producing the monthly live show ‘The Symposium: Academic Stand-Up’ and workshops to help researchers, particularly minorites and underrepresented voices in academia, translate their work and research lives into comedy while reaching new audiences. She has cultivated a diverse community of public speaking practice with NYC's Caveat at the Scratch Paper Open Mic. Kyle Marian has a Masters in Science Communication and has extensive experience in international science outreach, multimedia, and live performance. An Alda Center and UK Bright Club Comedy alum, she is now on a mission to train up academics (especially minorities in STEM) in stand-up & spread the sharp, smart, intersectional funnies across the US.

Maomao Zhang, PhD   
Scientist - Calico Life Sciences

Maomao Zhang grew up in Michigan and is currently a Scientist in Oncology Research at Calico Labs in the Bay Area. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, where she was first exposed to the exciting world of scientific research while working as a research assistant in a lab studying breast cancer. She completed her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied cancer biology and developmental biology. She completed her postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where she used the zebrafish as a model organism to interrogate melanoma metastasis. When not in lab, Maomao loves to go on nature walks and obsess over her cat, Dennis the Menace. ​

Dr. Dana Abramovitz
Conference Programming Consultant, SXSW

​Dr. Dana Abramovitz is passionate about bringing people together to innovate and improve health and health care.  She has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University and did her post-doc at The Scripps Research Institute.  She left academic research to join then startup Ingenuity Systems, which was later acquired by QIAGEN, to create software that assists other scientists with their research.  After starting and exiting from her own venture, Dr. Abramovitz received a Masters in Management with an emphasis on health care new ventures from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  After graduation, she worked with Strand Life Sciences to help shift their focus from life sciences research into health care, specifically genomics and personalized medicine.  Dr. Abramovitz currently works with SXSW, the Interactive Festival in Austin, as a Conference Programming Consultant where she manages the Health & MedTech track of programming, mentors women-led early stage startup companies, and promotes health and strength as the owner of The Bar Method Houston - Memorial.  She resides in Houston.

Alison Kalett
Editorial Director for the Sciences, Princeton University Press

Alison Kalett is Editorial Director for the Sciences at Princeton University Press, where she is also Executive Editor for Biology. Among the books she has published are How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction by Beth Shapiro, What Trust Science? by Naomi Oreskes, and Fundamentals of Mircrobiome Scienceby Angela Douglas. She has been a science editor at Princeton University Press since 2007 and prior to Princeton she was Editor for American History at Cornell University Press.  ​

Nancy Coblenz
CEO of Rebel Role Model 

​Nancy Coblenz is the CEO of Rebel Role Model  where she’s making a positive impact among young women and girls forging their pathway to success through STEM and to build a substantial movement for women entrepreneurs to gain business and career equity.Nancy has over 10 years of tactical marketing experience and currently she is the President of Female Founders of Dallas, National Women Tech Founders Finalist (in AR/VR), 32 Under 32 Most Innovative in Marketing/Advertising,  2018's DFW Woman of Influence and National Women's Day Entrepreneur of the Year. As a former boxer and motocrosser with 15 years of motorcycle experience, she has an edge with bridging the gap between generations' applications of technology and engineering.

Ashley Kalinauskas
Founder and CEO, Torigen  Pharmaceuticals

Ashley is the Founder and CEO of Torigen Pharmaceuticals—a startup
that resulted from her graduate thesis project at the University of Notre Dame. Ashley graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2012 with an undergraduate degree in Pathobiology and then chose to continue her education with the ESTEEM program at Notre Dame.
Torigen is the result of the research of former University of Notre Dame professor Dr. Mark Suckow.
Torigen focuses on providing veterinary cancer care solutions for companion animals. Torigen’s first product is an autologous cancer immunotherapy that uses the patient’s own tumor cells to create a personalized treatment to fight the cancer. With over 50% of companion animals over the age of 10 dying from cancer and with other treatment modalities being both expensive and having negative side effects, Torigen offers an innovative new treatment that is quickly gaining traction with veterinarians across the country.
Torigen is located at the Technology Incubation Program at the University of Connecticut and has assembled a team of cancer researchers and veterinarians. Ashley was named the an Emerging Pharmaceutical Leader in 2017, the 2018 Connecticut Women Entrepreneur of the Year, the winner of the 2018 Million Dollar Woman Pitch Competition, and Torigen’s technology was named the 2018 top Animal Health Innovation. Ashley is focused on making a difference in the lives of pets and their families, and loves snuggling
with her dog, Dave!