The American Chemical Society Pacific Northwest Women in Science Retreat (held July 8–10 in Camp Magruder, Rockaway Beach, Oregon) brought together women at all stages of their scientific careers, both from academia and industry. This opportunity to share advice, teach skills and learn is just one of the many ways that women can change each others' lives.

Judith and Janet took part in the Alternative Careers Panel, which included speakers Judith Giordan, Bettye Maddux, Annette Kolodzie, Sarah Brady, Jessica Marshall, and Janet Bryant.

Judith also hosted the workshop "Go ahead—Be proud! The Art of Bragging and Being Heard."

How much is too much? How much is enough? Ever wonder what to say to convince people why you should be selected to do something or lead something, or be accepted or promoted? Ever wonder when what you say is bragging and when it is simply being proud and sharing facts? Join us to learn some tricks and PRACTICE in this bragging workshop led by Judy Giordan, PhD and Janet Bryant, MBA. Check out this article for more information, and learn more about the sponsor of this workshop, ecosVC.

A successful physics career is not only about doing great science – it is also about convincing others why our work is important, and why we are the ones capable of doing it. Yet sharing our abilities is thought of as bragging by some, and it doesn’t come easily or naturally to everyone. Some even think it’s better to be modest about our accomplishments, and to “let the work speak for itself”, or to let others brag about us. We say, “NO! We should be able to confidently and unselfconsciously say what we are good at and provide evidence for it.”

Judith and Janet recently attended the American Physics Society's Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) at Oregon State University.

For the last decade, CUWiP has worked to help undergraduate women thrive in physics by providing them a unique opportunity to engage with and learn from other women in physics at all stages of their physics careers. 

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The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has generously supported What Women Can Do, a new venture by ecosVC dedicated to helping women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) become leaders in innovation.

Learn more about Judy Giordan's 2015 Humboldt Alumni Award for Innovative Networking Initiatives titled “Women in Innovation: Leveraging the Power of the Von Humboldt global network to aid women in realizing their potential as INNOVATORS and the value of their INNOVATIONS to address global challenges.”

Learn more about the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

This interactive symposium focused on translating research to innovation to commercial offering and linking it with career progression from researcher to innovator to business leadership. Women from leadership roles in successfully commercializing science shared key factors for success during the interactive panel, followed by a moderated Q&A.

We explored...

• WHAT does it take to be an INNOVATING WOMAN in business and industry?
• WHAT are their key traits for success?
• HOW have they built support structures and connections throughout their careers?
• WHAT role do both women and men play in expanding the role of INNOVATING WOMEN across the chemical enterprise?
• ....and most importantly HOW can you use this information to create your own INNOVATOR PATHWAY TO SUCCESS?

Click here to download the Slides!

Humboldt Alumni Award for Innovative Networking Initiatives

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to three to five Humboldt Alumni Awards to promote innovative networking initiatives of alumni of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship and award programs. The award is valued at up to 25,000 EUR. It is designed to support initiatives, not covered by the Foundation's existing sponsorship and alumni programs, and to promote academic and cultural relations between Germany and the Humboldt Alumni's own countries and strengthen their collaboration in the respective regions.

Judy’s award winning proposal is titled “Women in Innovation: Leveraging the Power of the Von Humboldt global network to aid women in realizing their potential as INNOVATORS and the value of their INNOVATIONS to address global challenges.”

Judy’s Von-Humboldt Women in Innovation (WiN) alumni network will leverage the breadth and wealth of experience of WiN women in the Von Humboldt global network as a key way to accelerate the ability of ALL women to become innovators. The WiN network will span three areas:

• Women in Innovation: Science and Technology development and commercialization
• Women in Innovation: Science and Technology Business and Industry Leadership
• Women in Innovation: Science and Technology Policy

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Judy Giordan and Janet Bryant spoke at the Puget Sound Women Chemists Retreat in Eatonville, WA -- a retreat designed to retain and advance women in chemistry careers and to teach graduate and post-doctoral women chemists a positive and proactive approach to their careers. 

"Women are the most valuable and underutilized resource in the global economy."

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Judith Giordan presented What women can do – The future is really up to us.. ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences: Symposium in Honor of E. Ann Nalley at the Denver ACS Annual Meeting 2015. Click to download the slides. 

Click to download the presentation slides

WHY Women?... WHY NOW?...WHY It’s Important to STEM and the Global Economy!

The 7th Ken & Nancy Long Annual Chemistry Lecture & 1st day Keynote for the MAALACT 48th Annual Meeting – Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, September 26, 2014 by Janet L. Bryant. 

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On May 8th, Judy was the featured speaker in the Inspiring Women In STEM Forum for her talk "Go Ahead... Brag!" This forum is organized by Delaware Bio, Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance, and the Technology Forum of Delaware, and sponsored by Ashland Water Technologies.

A successful STEM career is not only about doing great science – it is also about convincing and sharing with others why it is important and why we are the ones capable of doing it!

One way women can become successful STEM leaders is through bragging. But bragging gets a bad rap. Shouldn’t we be modest and let the work speak for itself or let others brag about us? NO - bragging is not the problem, being comfortable doing it is the challenge.

Judy moderated the STEM Women in Innovation and Investing symposium at the American Chemical Society meeting in Indianapolis, IN, on September 10, 2013.  Her talk at the start of the symposium, "Value Creation... Capturing the Immeasurable  Value Created by Women Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Investors," followed a wonderful introduction by Janet Bryant, Systems & Science Policy Analyst, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Chair, ACS Chemical Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council (CIEC).

The panelists in the symposium were leading women scientists, innovators and investors. Kathryn Uhrich, Professor of Chemistry and Former Dean, Rutgers University, and Founder, Polymerix Corporation discussed “Issues women face in research and commercialization from academia: Personal insights from a successful company founder” and Nicola Pohl, Professor of Chemistry and the Joan and Marvin Carmack Chair in Bioorganic Chemistry, Indiana University Bloomington, and Founder, LuCella Biosciences Inc who shared her experiences in “Challenges of starting (and growing) a start-up.” Suzette Dutch, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Triathlon Medical Ventures explained the intricacies of “Attracting Venture Capital for women led businesses – Lessons from 2 decades of venture fund management”. Linda O’Keefe, CFO Consultant, LOK Enterprises and a member of the Chemical Angel Network described the value of angel investments in “Entrepreneur/Angel partnerships to the rescue!!” Mary Phillips, Associate Director, Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development, Oregon State University shared “Challenges and opportunities in technology transfer: How are STEM women faring?”

This ACS symposium was co-sponsored by the following ACS divisions: SCHB, BMGT, WCC and PROF.

Download the slides here.

Judy's thoughts on why bragging is good for women, especially women in STEM, was published on the Huffington Post blog on July 29, 2013. In the article, Judy shared some of her tips as a woman in STEM on how to stand up and proudly declare your achievements: 

• Take charge of your confidence and your conversation.
• Find ways to brag that fit your style and still share the facts.
• Be enthusiastic.
• Or try my personal favorite, the pride angle.

Judy's thoughts on obstacles for women in science were published in the C&EN article Women in Industry on August 26, 2013. Judy notes that women are too reserved in talking about their accomplishments and thus rarely gain the clout held by marketing and sales people.

“We are not the ones who will jump up and down,” Giordan tells C&EN. “We are trained to publish and give talks. That is how you get your point across.”

She also points out that women hesitate to speak up or take credit, in fear of seeming aggressive.

“It is false modesty. If you have the solution to the problem and you don’t open your mouth about it, whose fault is it that the problem wasn’t solved?” 

Judy gave her talk "Being HEARD - Powered by YOU: Bragging... and Building Your Personal Brand" at the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) breakfast at the American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in New Orleans on April 8, 2013.

Judy highlighted the true need for empowering women to help solve the global issues we face today.  Women also need to embrace the fact that they need to change in order to take their seat at the table - we have met the enemy and she is us!  Women need to stand up and declare their excellent skills and valuable contributions - don't be afraid to brag and build your personal brand!

Download the slides here!​

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently published "From Science to Business: Preparing Female Scientists and Engineers for Successful Transitions into Entrepreneurship: Summary of a Workshop."  Judy was on Panel IV, "Alternative Forms of Entrepreneurships in Sustainable Technologies: Intrapreneurship in Corporations and Government, Social Entrepreneurship, and Traditional Entrepreneurship."

The NCIIA in conjunction with ecosVC released video series discussing women's perspectives on entrepreneurship.  Three experts share their thoughts on the challenges of being a female scientist or entrepreneur, and advise women in these fields to persevere and to let these challenges make them stronger.

Judy Giordan, Partner ecosVC and Senior Advisor to the NCIIA, explains that we all view the world and everyone in it through different lenses, and we need to use these lenses to discover and embrace opportunities, rather than allowing them to limit us.

This video series was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, grant CHE #0920877.​

Judy was featured in an article in the Pittsburgh Examiner on September 24, 2010.  In "Are Women as Competitive as Men???" author Tamanna Sultana, PhD, explains how Judy's 2007 NSF funded study, Project Enhance, shows "that confidence is the single best predictor of career success for women."

Judy was featured in an article in the Pittsburgh Examiner on September 24, 2010.  In "Meet Women in Tech Series: Meet Judith Giordan" by Tamanna Sultana, PhD, Judy gives three points of advice to women:

1.       "You can do anything you want and don’t let anyone say you can’t;
2.         when things are not working out and you know you have tried your best, take charge of your life and know when it is time to move on; and
3.         be confident about yourself, know how much you need to do to achieve what you want to achieve and do it."

​Judy discusses the tendency for women to blame themselves when things don't go right, and asks whether all we need is to step back and gain a wider perspective.  We need to align what we are doing in our lives and the choices we make with our own personal beliefs and values, and then we can find situations that are better for us.

Read the whole blog post here!​

Judy encourages women to ​form their own "clubs" - to understand what is valued by those already members of that club and find ways to enter, or to make their own​ clubs based on their own ​values.

Read the whole blog post here!​

In her March 2010 talk at the Garvan-Olin Symposium at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, Judy Giordan expounds on the benefits of diversity and including women at the table.  Judy discusses the women who made a difference in her life, and invites everyone to embrace a change process so that we can gain from the benefits of diversity.

Download the slides here. ​