2020 was a difficult year for many including myself facing the negative impact of COVID on my personal and professional life. This was concurrent with wide organizational changes and layoffs at my workplace. Instead of panicking about these unexpected changes in my life, I started a successful collaboration between our local section of ACS (Cal ACS) and San francisco East Bay chapter of the Association of Women in Science (AWIS). Based on the common core values of the two organizations, I organized a series of online events addressing various aspects of diversity and inclusions. Some examples are “Nice Girls Don’t Speak Up Or Stand Out” A conversation with Dr. Lois Frankel, Successful STEM Women of Color Must Network Differently with Prof Sherine Obare, and Queer in STEM: One Person’s Journey by Barbara Belmont. These events were very well attended with audiences from across the globe, many of whom I befriended and are now part of our community. The collaboration was featured on AWIS National magazine and I was nominated as volunteer of the year for Cal ACS. I overcame the COVID challenges by contributing to enhancement of D&I and built resilience by making a supportive community around me.

Turning my COVID nightmare into positive energy, starting collaboration with association of women in science and achieving success

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.