Willie May was confirmed as the 15<sup>th</sup> NIST Director and the Department of Commerce Undersecretary for Standards and Technology in 2015. Since departing from NIST in early 2017, he has been working with his alma mater, the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, as director of major research and training initiatives. Throughout his outstanding career, Willie worked tirelessly to change the face of NIST and NIST leadership with diversity and inclusion as a basic operating tenant. In a recent ACS interview with Willie, he was asked how organizations can champion diversity in STEM. His response: “Nothing magic here; just do it! (T)he organizations that appear most successful are those that understand how diversity in its broadest sense, in terms of both ethnicity and thought, is critical to their business success.” As a leader, Willie is a man of action who is always looking for ways to make organizations stronger by inclusion, and who uses his personal story of success as an inspiration for others to follow. Willie May is the recipient of the 2017 ACS Award for Public Service.

Identifying strategic opportunities to make organizations stronger by inclusion

254th National Meeting (2017)

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