Join the Association for Women in Science – Chicago Area Chapter (AWIS-CAC) for Summer Mentoring Circles

Summer Mentoring Circles are back! You do not need to be an AWIS member to join and the program is FREE. Mentoring Circles follow a small group format, and each circle is composed of one Mentor and 4-8 carefully matched Mentees. The nature of the Circles allows for intimate peer-to-peer and mentor-mentee relationships to form throughout the summer (June-September 2022). Our Circles are open to all within any STEM and STEM-adjacent sectors. The Circles, while having one designated Mentor, tend to operate with a more flat organizational structure with dynamic ideas and advice shared by all participants. Learn more here!

• Mary A. Khetani, ScD, OTR/L has been awarded the 2021 Motivator Award for her excellent mentorship and support for women, specifically underrepresented members, in STEMM, outstanding service as an anti-racist advocate and ally, and investment of valuable lab time and resources in shaping an anti-racist research environment.
• Giselle Sandi, PhD has been awarded the 2021 Motivator Award for her excellent mentorship and support for women in STEMM through creation of enduring and effective programs at Argonne National Laboratory and Rush University Medical Center.
• Marilene Pavan has been awarded the 2021 Innovator Award for her work on robotic platform development for DNA assembly, bacterial transformation and selection, and DNA purification with the ultimate aim of discovering and commercializing products that use waste gasses that would otherwise contribute to climate change at LanzaTech.

This year’s AWIS Chicago Annual Awards and Networking Event will be held on Thursday, November 11th from 6-7:30 pm at Rhine Hall Distillery. Purchase your ticket here!

With your ticket purchase you will receive access to an open bar with a selection of cocktails, mocktails, beer, and wine, along with lite bites.

We are thrilled to honor this years’ winners! Amanda Schalk, previous AWIS Chicago Innovator Award Winner, will provide opening remarks for the event!

AWIS-CAC is pleased to be partnering with the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) to host an Inclusivity in STEM event on the evening of Thursday, November 4th, 2021 from 5:30-7:30 pm. This is a hybrid event with the option for in-person attendance. 

REGISTER HERE!

The event will consist of a mini-keynote, followed by a panel with audience Q&A. Our mini-keynote will be delivered by Dr. Luis Leyva (Assistant Professor, Mathematics Education, Department of Teaching and Learning Faculty Affiliate, Women’s & Gender Studies Program) of Vanderbilt University.

We will also moderate a discussion on redefining STEM spaces with Dr. Leyva and STEM professionals Hontas Farmer, M.S. (College of Dupage and Elmhurst University), Kristen Witte Ph.D. (Museum of Science and Industry), and Casey Xavier Hall Ph.D. (Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University), as well as answer audience questions.

The event will focus on building equity for our LGBTQIA+ community in STEM.  

In response to the sharp and sustained rise in anti-Asian harassment, Advancing Justice Chicago is partnering with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago and Hollaback! to offer local interactive online bystander intervention trainings to help people identify hate incidents as they happen and take action safely and effectively. Learn more about how you can protect yourself and play a part in fighting anti-Asian harassment. AWIS-CAC sponsored a training that was held on Monday, October 11th, 2021

AWIS Chicago Summer Mentoring Circles kicked-off on Thursday, June 24th, 2021

On Thursday, May 27th, 2021, AWIS-CAC hosted evening of networking and discussion about the past, present, and future of AWIS-CAC!

Panelists for the evening included:

• Former AWIS-CAC President Marion Thurnauer (1987-88)
• Former AWIS-CAC President Mary Khetani (2018-20)
• Current AWIS-CAC VP for Finance and former President of AWIS-Bethesda Valerie Miller (AWIS-Bethesda 2015-2017, AWIS-CAC 2018-present)
• The panel will be moderated by current AWIS-CAC President Jill Wenderott (2021)

On November 18th, 2020 AWIS Chicago celebrated the winners of our 2020 Innovator & Motivator Awards!

• Innovator Award (Early Career): Dr. Amanda Schalk, for her entrepreneurial trajectory that has resulted in groundbreaking work on an efficacious and safer humanized and deimmunized asparaginase that could expand treatment options in acute myeloid leukemia and certain tumors including pancreatic, ovarian, and liver cancer and glioblastoma
• Innovator Award (Mid-Senior Career): Dr. Sossina Haile, for developing and advancing our fundamental understanding of technologically relevant materials for use in energy device research, which has carved out a new space in materials science and engineering
• Motivator Award (Early Career): Dr. Bala Chaudhary, for demonstrating significant service, support, and mentorship of women to work towards racial equity in STEMM disciplines

We were joined by Dr. Holly Falk-Krzesinski, Vice President, Research Intelligence at Elsevier and co-author of Elsevier’s Gender report 2020: The Researcher Journey Through a Gender Lens. Dr. Falk-Krzesinski led a discussion of the report’s findings.

The program was launched on July 9th 2020 with kick-off event featuring AWIS National Chief Development Officer Heather Pownall.

We are excited to announce the launch of the Summer 2020 AWIS-Chicago Mentoring Circles program! Join us on Thursday, July 9th, 2020 from 6:30-8:00 pm CT to kick-off the program with AWIS National Chief Development Officer Heather Pownall.

During this kick-off event we will share the overall vision for the mentoring program, review mentoring guidelines and topics, and mentors and mentees from each circle will have the opportunity to break-out for introductions and to establish the goals for each circle.

Mentors for the 2020 Summer Mentoring Program include:

• Laura Passe, MS, Product Manager, Process Improvement Leader, Chemist
• Susan Ross, PhD, Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UIC College of Medicine
• Marion Thurnauer, PhD, Emeritus Senior Scientist, Argonne

We are looking forward to meeting with each of you and sharing a community of learning and growth together!Questions? Email AWIS-Chicago President Mary Khetani at mkhetani@uic.edu

On Friday, April 17th, Oak Park-River Forest High School’s Club Women in Leadership hosted a virtual version of their 3rd Annual STEM Education and Career Fair. AWIS-Chicago President Mary Khetani created this presentation for the event featuring several AWIS Chicago Executive Board Members and the new Innovators & Motivators Podcast!