Joining the leadership of the Silicon Valley ACS Section has been a great way for me to be connected to the local chemistry community. I have enjoyed opportunities to partner with various Bay Area groups and institutions, especially working with a large number of local community colleges for the Paving the Path programs. Recently, the bulk of my local involvement revolved around the ACS Western Regional Meeting that took place in San Jose October 25th-29th, 2025. It was exciting for a large group of chemists from our region to join us at the meeting. I look forward to continuing to serve the local ACS and to be a representative of our section at both the national ACS level as well as in our community.
Biography: Hello ACS Silicon Valley! In August of 2017, I joined the faculty of the San José State University (SJSU) Chemistry Department where I am now an Associate Professor. Originally from New Orleans, LA, I first came to the Bay Area for my undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Stanford University where I worked in the laboratory of Prof. Robert Waymouth. During my doctoral studies at Caltech with Prof. Theodor Agapie, I synthesized bimetallic polymerization catalysts and studied mechanism and the effects of proximity. After finishing my PhD in 2014, I moved to Minneapolis, MN (yes, it was cold) and completed a 3-year postdoctoral position with Prof. Marc Hillmyer at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities where I was a Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Fellow. During these three years, in addition to research about polymeric materials, I was the co-lead for the Women in Science and Engineering Initiative.
Back in the Bay Area, I work at SJSU where I teach inorganic, polymer, and analytical chemistry and lead a group of undergraduates and Master’s students working to catalyze challenging reactions relevant to human health and fuel production using a combination of organometallic and inorganic catalysts and polymeric frameworks and studying ways to get more consistent results in catalysis trials. In 2018 and 2019 I served as an Alternate Councilor and since 2020 I have served as a Councilor with the Silicon Valley ACS Local Section. I have been active in a number of committees, leading our strategic planning efforts as well as the Paving the Path Initiative (the latter of which has won our section 2 ChemLuminary Awards) and most recently serving as the Undergraduate Programming Chair for the ACS Western Regional Meeting which was co-sponsored by our section. I have also served on the national Women Chemists Committee (WCC) since 2021 and as the WCC Representative on the ACS Inclusion and Belonging Roundtable.