1. What is your work and ACS (if applicable) title?
Chair and Associate Professor of Chemistry, Seton Hill University
Associate Member of the ACS Committee on Public Relations and Communications; Chair of Pittsburgh Women Chemists Committee
2. How many years have you been in the ACS?
4 years
3. What is the biggest benefit of ACS Membership?
Opportunities for professional development and the chance to have an impact on western Pennsylvania’s scientific community.
4. What did you want to be when you were a child?
A doctor. I was 8 years old when my mother suffered a stroke and I remember talking to her doctor and asking him why he thought the medication he prescribed my mother would work, his response was, “It just does.” Perhaps it seemed the best response to give to a little girl, however it moved something in me. At that time, I had no idea who scientists were, but I made up my mind that I was going to grow up to know how certain things in our bodies work. Currently, I teach about chemical reactions in the body.
5. What made you fall in love with Chemistry?
I grasped that I could rely less on memorization and more on using logic to figure things out.
6. What is your favorite part of your career or job?
My favorite part of my job is mentoring. Mentoring is sometimes overlooked but it is a crucial part of the work we do as stakeholders in higher education.
7. Which chemist, past or present, would you like to meet and why?
I would have liked to have met St. Elmo Brady. He researched the acidity of carboxylic acids and was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States. I believe his accomplishment is a lesson in resilience in a discipline where historically African Americans are underrepresented. I also admire the commitment he showed to teaching and mentoring.