Ordinary people. Extraordinary stories. The Women in STEM summits bring together women in STEM professions.
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 chat with Jaren Landen |
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October 27, 2014
Jaren Landen, Ph.D., Pfizer Global Research and Development, Director, Clinician, Global Innovative Pharma
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The person who inspired me the most when I was growing up is my grandmother. She is a mother of six, grandmother of 20, great grandmother of five so far including my four, became a realtor at 55 and lied about her age to get her first job because she thought she was too old to work. At 93 years old, she is still working today and does not miss a beat. Keeping her mind and body active has been the greatest blessing to our family. I had no idea I would be part of at least half a dozen major acquisitions and still with the same company I started with a dozen years ago in a field where the average employment is approximately two years, and in many cities like Cambridge you can change jobs and keep your parking space. My dream project is to work on a team that impacts disease progression of Alzheimer's Disease. The best advice I ever received was to do a great job at whatever you are doing today no matter what the task and the next great thing will come your way. I always worry but not too much about what is next because when colleagues/supervisors take note of a job well done and positive working relationships, the next opportunity always comes. In my free time I am too boring to describe. Life is about soccer, baseball, softball game, swim meets, dance lessons, and playmates. Because I have chosen to have such a large family, work has become my hobby. It is the part of my life that I look forward to because it is for me filled with stimulating adult conversations about interesting cutting edge science topics and challenges. |
If I had a one year sabbatical, I would take my entire family on a global health fellows tour. Pfizer offers a six month sabbatical to do amazing things throughout the world through an application process. My children are too young at the moment and it is hard to imagine a time when we could stop time and do something like this; however, I imagine it would offer extreme personal and professional growth. Now that I have stated this here, I am hoping to be held accountable to doing a fellowship at some point in the future.
My tools of the trade are interpersonal skills. Never underestimate that the key to getting anything done well is not how smart you are, but how well you work with others, manage others as appropriate, and are sensitive to the needs and pressures of others in the workplace. Likeability makes teams work harder towards a common goal and is more likely to lead to team success than a great idea alone. I'm proud that I stayed in the workplace while having four children. I cannot underestimate how important staying in the workplace has been for me. This is such a personal decision. Although I will always have some regrets about never being in a mothers group or attending Gymboree class, my children are starting to understand what I do and the contributions that I have made in my workplace. I have taught them by example how to prioritize and develop time management skills. They have learned how to entertain themselves in the evenings or weekends during the occasional emergency work call. For me, staying in the work place has kept my knowledge in my field current in an ever changing science field, ensured that I maintained industry contacts, and developed a very powerful camaraderie among other working women in the industry. I still hope to participate in an eMBA program. |
| © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved. | |
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chat with Alisha Sarang-Sieminski |
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September 29 2014
Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Director of SCOPE, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
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If I could tell a young woman pursuing STEM one thing it would be that when you feel the small slights that happen, or you flinch just a little bit about the way someone says something (sexist), or you feel like your knowledge is questioned, it's not just you. It's part of a larger system and other people experience it too. And other people notice it. You are not alone. And though this may not resonate with you yet, tuck it away somewhere for later when you start to question whether you belong here. And then find yourself some really good allies. My dream project is to grow really awesome tissue-based models for testing pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The best advice I ever received was to (this is going to sound cliché) just try things and to believe in myself. Starting from that place helps keep all the little voices in my head telling me I can't do something or I shouldn't do something a little quieter. And takes me in some amazing directions. |
I lead by a combination of benevolent dictatorship and consensus. What brings these together is finding the win-win for people as much as possible and being transparent about my motives and constraints. While I'm the one in charge, I also think that all the stakeholders need to be heard.
I'm proud that I have followed my heart and instincts about decisions I have made in my life. There's inevitably a lot of work at every step to make things happen, but leading from my gut has taken me places I wouldn't have expected and has always done me right. |
| © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved. | |
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chat with Claire Duggan |
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September 15, 2014
Claire Duggan, Director for Programs and Operations, The Center for STEM Education, Northeastern University
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If I could tell a young woman pursuing STEM one thing it would be – seek out female mentors pursing STEM pathways – teachers/neighbors/family members.
To me, a successful woman is someone that knows themselves, pursue their passions, but never forgets to make time for the people they come in contact with personally and professionally In high school, I wish I had known more STEM professionals and/or had the opportunity to participate in stem research experience – especially in engineering. I had no knowledge of the field and career pathways available when I was in high school. The very next thing on my to do list is to commit to paper several ideas I have for new STEM K-12 educational efforts. |
The best way to unwind after a long day is is to play with my grandchildren.
If I had a one year sabbatical I would travel around the world and visit schools/classrooms to see firsthand how we are educating children across the globe - then move to build collaborations and accelerate the sharing of best practices. The biggest misconception about women in stem is they are all the same I'm proud that I have helped with the development and implementation of multiple STEM education initiatives and now am supporting young students and faculty seeking to engage in this work. |
| © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved. | |
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Kim’s Story:
Kim Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa Growing up in St. Charles, Iowa, it never occurred to me to that I could become a food scientist, civil engineer, or aerospace engineer. Primarily because I didn't have the chance to learn within an innovative STEM classroom, join a robotics team or experience computer coding. Those experiences didn't exist in my school district. That's why I'm so passionate about driving STEM education. STEM truly offers unlimited opportunities to young women and students who are underrepresented or underserved. As Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, I am deeply committed to preparing our students for the jobs of tomorrow. Read the rest of Kim's story and her advice: http://bit.ly/1oHtLi1
Meet women just like the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa,
share your own stories and advice and influence the next generation of STEM
professionals at the Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summit taking place on
October 21st, 2014 at Bentley University. The Women-in-STEM Idea Exchange
Summits provide the opportunity to make one-to-one connections with potential
employees, feed mentoring and internship program pipelines, maximize ROI of
K-12 STEM investments, increase STEM retention rates, as well as promote
internal initiatives in support of women in the workplace.
To download our full brochure, and find out how you can become a part of a movement to change the future of America, click here: http://bit.ly/1xfbbrQ
Cheers,
The Women in STEM Exchange Summits Team
#WomeninSTEM @WISExchange Steamacceleratorblog.iirusa.com |
