CCPA Roster
The members of the Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs are as follows:
- Dr. Ann C. Kimble-Hill, Chair
- Dr. Graham P. Abramo, Associate (2025)
- Dr. Gretchen Baier, Member (2023-2025)
- Dr. Novella Bridges, Member (2025-2027)
- Mr. JoonHyung Cho, Associate (2025)
- Dr. Deborah H. Cook, Member (2025-2027)
- Dr. Louise J. Criscenti,听Member (2023-2025)
- Dr.Maksim Dolmat, Associate (2025)
- Matthew Fisher, Associate (2025)
- Bryan Franklin, Associate (2025)
- Meredith Gutierrez, Associate (2025)
- Roger Hanshaw, Associate (2025)
- Kyle Hart, Associate (2025)
- Lauren Jackson, Associate (2025)
- Dr. Patrick S. Lee, Member (2024-2026)
- Dr. William W. Leong, Member (2024-2026)
- Dr. Emily A. Lewis O'Brien, Member听(2023-2025)
- Dr. Karlo M. Lopez, Member (2024-2026)
- Natalie McClure, Associate (2025)
- Dr. Michael A. Meador, Member (2025-2027)
- Dr. Sherine O. Obare, Member (2025-2027)
- Dr. Mary Jo Ondrechen, Member (2025-2027)
- Katharine Orr, Member (2025-2027)
- Dr. Dale L. Orth, Member (2024-2026)
- Dr. Donald J. Wink, Member (2023-2025)
Member Bios
Ann has a broad background in biophysical chemistry, with specific expertise in small angle scattering, x-ray crystallography, and fluorescence microscopy/spectroscopy. Ann鈥檚 research merges the use of synthetic membranous environments and cancerous signal transduction cell based models to study dynamic protein-lipid interactions as a means to correlate structure with function in tumorigenesis. The long term goal of the research is to translate this basic science approach of membrane biophysics in ways that allow for modulation of cellular signaling. Much of this work has been funded by a K01 award from the National Cancer Institute to understand the role of Angiomotin in the progression of atypical ductal hyperplasia to breast cancer. Ann鈥檚 work has continued expanded to using lipidomics and lipid dynamics to study the nexus of Type 2 Diabetes and epithelial cell cancers like that of the breast, a dominating factor in the cancer disparity statistics.
Outside of Ann鈥檚 research, Ann has a long history of working in the diversity and inclusion space. This includes forming, leading, and supporting student support groups including those on the IUPUI campus including the Underrepresented Professional and Graduate Student Organization (UPnGO). Ann has held several governance roles for ACS including being the national chair of the Committee on Minority Affairs, a member of the Diversity, Inclusion and Respect Advisory Board, and the taskforce on broadening ACS partnerships. In addition to this national committee work, Ann provides research experiences and mentoring to students in several programs from the Indianapolis area such as the Urban Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (UCASE), the Life-Health Science Internship Program (LHSI), Bridges to the Baccalaureate, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), Diversity Scholars Research Program (DSRP), Project Seed, Purpose of Life Ministries and Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP).
Dr. Graham Abramo, Associate (2025)
Graham Abramo has worked in the chemical industry for 22 years and is currently a Global Product Technology Leader at the Dow Chemical Company where he is responsible for strategy and technology development focused on additives for thermoplastic processing. He has spent time in central R&D, manufacturing, and technical service roles with a primary focus on the synthesis and applications of acrylic polymers such as energy efficient building products and water treatment systems. He is a strong advocate for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity initiatives at the Dow Chemical Company having led multiple discussion groups and trainings focused on DI&E topics. He regularly participates in STEM outreach activities like the Philadelphia Science Festival and the 鈥淵ou Be The Chemist鈥� Challenge.
He has a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University, and he spent time as a postdoctoral researcher in the Northwestern University Chemistry Department.
Dr. Gretchen Baier, Member (2023-2025)
Gretchen Baier is currently Executive External Strategy and Communications Leader, where she is responsible for monitoring for disruptive technologies, applying for external awards that recognize Dow products or researchers, and being the R&D liaison to Dow鈥檚 sustainability goals.听 Previously, she was Associate R&D Director of External Technology, leading a group responsible for creating strategic external research collaborations.听 Earlier she was a technical leader in Ventures and New Business Development and a chemical engineer in the Process Optimization group and the Process Separations Skill Center.
She is on the NSF Engineering Advisory Committee, the Visiting Committee for Chemical Engineering at MIT, the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs, the Advisory Board for the MIT Practice School, the Standing Committee for the NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance, and Advisory Board for the Michigan Materials Research Institute at the University of Michigan.听 Other recent responsibilities have included Chair of the Advisory Board for the Department of Energy Critical Materials Institute, and co-Chair of the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership Project Committee.听 She has held Board positions for ASTRA and the Council of Chemical Research, as well as a member of the Industrial Research Institute鈥檚 External Technology Network.听
Prior to joining Dow, Gretchen was a Process Engineer at Dow Corning Corporation and later at Shell Oil Company.听 She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Dr. Novella Bridges, Member (2025-2027)
Dr. Novella Bridges works for the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation Research and Development鈥檚 Office of Proliferation Detection. She is the Senior Program Manager for Plutonium Production Detection Portfolio.听听 Dr. Bridges spent 18 years at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and has extensive experience leading research in radioisotope composites for cancer, radiochemistry separations, reduction on emissions on large vehicles and locomotives, production of hydrogen for fuel cells and development of novel catalytic systems. She has worked with two agencies within the Department of Homeland Security - US Customs and Border Protection and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction. She has a B.S. (Chemistry) from Jackson State University; and a Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry) from LSU. Bridges was named one the 24 Most Distinguished Women in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering for the International Year of Chemistry and several other awards. 听She holds several invention reports and one patent.
Personally, Bridges is the owner of Bridging Youth To STEM, LLC. She works with organizations to develop stem-based learning and curriculum development for service-learning programs. She has previously sat on boards of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) high schools, STEM-based charter schools and STEM-focused organizations dedicated to education advancement and career advancement for minorities in STEM fields. Bridges still finds the time to organize an annual science engagement for young ladies, judge graduate fellowship applications, and volunteers as a mentor/tutor with young ladies. She is originally from Detroit, Michigan and the youngest of five siblings.
Mr. JoonHyung Cho, Associate (2025)
JoonHyung (Joon) serves as the Assistant Vice President for External Affairs and Communications at the University of Minnesota, where he leads strategies for external engagement and communications to support the university鈥檚 research and innovation mission. Working closely with the Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPR), he oversees day-to-day management, coordination, and relationship building with external partners, including federal agencies, industry, academic institutions, and policymakers. His role focuses on fostering and advancing external funding opportunities across the university鈥檚 diverse research communities. Additionally, Joon oversees the communications efforts of the Research and Innovation Office (RIO), which plays a key role in promoting university research and highlighting UMN's achievements in technology and commercialization.
Joon has held leadership roles at the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Louisiana State University, with extensive experience in corporate engagement, research business development, strategic fundraising, and technology commercialization. He is an active member of professional organizations such as the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS), and the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO). Joon also participates in university-industry partnership initiatives, including the University Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP), and has served two terms on the U.S. federal advisory committee for the USDA鈥檚 Plant Variety Protection Office.
Joon holds a BA in chemistry from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, and an MS in inorganic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire鈥檚 College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.
Dr. Deborah H. Cook, Member (2025-2027)
Dr. Deborah Cook has worked at all levels of education from K-16 as well as in informal science education settings. After teaching high school mathematics and science, she transitioned to school administration and then to the New Jersey Department of Education where she was the science coordinator for the state, in charge of the development and adoption of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.听 She was then recruited by Rutgers University to direct the New Jersey Statewide Systemic Initiative (NJ SSI), a National Science Foundation (NSF) and State-funded project to reform mathematics, science and technology education statewide.听 The NJ SSI partnership with several state colleges, business and industry influenced state educational policy for STEM and provided professional development, technical assistance, and support for most of New Jersey鈥檚 600+ school districts. More recently, she has worked as a consultant for the Trenton Public Schools, the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation), and as an Adjunct Professor at Rider University and at Temple University.
Dr. Cook serves on many advisory boards and is very active with the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 where she has held leadership positions and served on many committees and task forces, including the 中国365bet中文官网 Committee on Education and a task force to revise ACS Guidelines and Recommendations for Middle and High School Chemistry. She has a B.S. in chemistry from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Ed.M. and Ed.D. degrees in science education from Temple University.听 She has several publications and has been recognized for her work and service with many awards, including becoming an ACS Fellow.
Dr. Louise J. Criscenti,听Member (2023-2025)
Louise J. Criscenti is a geochemist with over 30 years of experience modeling reaction phenomena in aqueous systems, and the fate and transport of organic and inorganic contaminants in the environment.听 She has been an active member in the ACS Geochemistry Division serving as Membership Chair from 2005-2006 and 2011-2012; Secretary from 2006-2008 and 2012-2014; and Alternate Councilor from 2017-2019. In addition, she has chaired over 10 ACS symposia within the division. She has experience working at two national laboratories: Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington and now Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. Her research has involved the use of models at several scales including ab initio quantum calculations, classical molecular dynamics simulations, and field-scale reactive-transport modeling.听 For over 15 years, her research has focused on using different molecular modeling tools, including classical force field and ab initio techniques, to understand processes at the mineral- or material-water interface such as contaminant adsorption to oxide surfaces, electric double layer formation, nuclear waste glass dissolution, and coupled chemical-mechanical effects on fracture formation.听 Other systems she has investigated at the molecular scale specifically for projects on CO2 sequestration and gas shale production are the interface between aqueous brines and supercritical CO2; and methane migration through mesoporous kerogen.听 Dr. Criscenti鈥檚 education includes a B.S. in Geology from Brown University, M.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.听听
Dr. Maksim Dolmat, Associate (2025)
Maksim is a dedicated scientist and advocate based in San Diego, Ca. As a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California San Diego, he specializes in conducting research within polymer design and synthesis, leveraging this expertise to innovate nanomedicine-based solutions for unmet medical needs using multifunctional polymeric materials.
Maksim has authored fifteen peer-reviewed publications and has developed new coursework to introduce students to polymers, drug delivery, and nanomedicine, with the results published in two co-senior author publications in the Journal of Chemical Education. Maksim has hands-on science policy and advocacy training and will be sharing his experience when meeting with policymakers in 2024.
Maksim earned a doctoral degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he demonstrated exceptional academic and research excellence. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his contributions to the field, including Leadership Development, Recognition of Excellence in Mentoring, and Outstanding International Student in Chemistry awards.
In addition to his professional achievements, Maksim is deeply committed to science outreach and advocacy. He actively engages in ACS Science Coaches Program and ACS and ASMBM advocacy programs, aiming to inspire the next generation of scientists and raise awareness about pressing scientific issues.
Matthew Fisher, Associate (2025)
Matt Fisher is a professor of chemistry at Saint Vincent College and a senior fellow with the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, which advocates for teaching science through the context of complex public issues. He received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biochemistry from Temple University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry (1990) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Matt has been active in the Division of Chemical Education (CHED), organizing symposia, serving on the Division Program Committee, and meeting program co-chair for the August 2008 ACS National Meeting. He was a member of the Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI) for over a decade, helped lead CEI鈥檚 education work during that time, and chaired the committee in 2013. Matt served on the Committee on Science (ComSci) from 2014 to 2024 where he chaired the Public Policy Subcommittee for six years and was Committee Chair for three years. He was a 2005 Carnegie Scholar, has been deeply involved with the scholarship of teaching and learning since that time, and co-authored (with Jacqueline Dewar and Curtis Bennett) The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Scientists, Engineers, and Mathematicians. In 2015 Matt was one of five people recognized with the ACS-CEI Award for Incorporating Sustainability into Chemistry Education and was named an ACS Fellow.
Bryan Franklin, Associate (2025)
Bryan Franklin is a retiree from the chemical industry in south Louisiana. His current focus is brewing and judging beer. He was hired in 1985 at the Uniroyal Chemical Geismar Facility as a shift Quality Assurance Technician. He filled a number of positions at the facility including Industrial Hygiene, Senior Specialist in the Safety Department, Process Safety Management Coordinator, and finally as an Analytical Chemistry Specialist dealing with method development and instrumentation troubleshooting for Lion Elastomers at the same facility in Geismar. After retiring in 2018, he returned as a consultant for an additional 2 years. Bryan has been serving the ACS in a number of positions. He has been the Baton Rouge section treasurer since 2011 and councilor since 2014. He served on the Committee for Technician Affairs for a full set of terms from 2015-2022. Finally, he has been the secretary/treasurer of the Southwest Region Meeting since 2022.
Mrs. Meredith Gutierrez, Associate (2025)
Meredith Gutierrez is a Physical Scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, where she supports programs that reduce air pollution in New England communities and across the country. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. in Chemistry from University of Massachusetts Boston, and a Master of Public Policy (with a concentration in Sustainability and Climate Change Policy) from Northeastern University. Meredith is an 11-year member of ACS and has held multiple elected positions in the Northeastern Local Section, including leadership in the Younger Chemists Committee (Secretary 2018-2019, Chair-Elect 2019-2020, Chair 2020-2021) and as a Councilor or Alternate Councilor (2021-present). 听 |
Roger Hanshaw,听Associate (2025)
Kyle Hart is a Program Director in Core R&D for the Packaging, Specialty Plastics and Hydrocarbons business. He is responsible for the alignment of corporate research portfolio for Dow鈥檚 ethylene envelope and identifying new disruptive technology innovations in the area of packaging, industrial, consumer, and transportation plastic products, hydrocarbons and energy, digital technologies, and sustainability. Prior to joining Dow, Kyle completed a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University where his dissertation focused on computational evaluations of carbon sequestration polymer membranes.
Lauren Jackson, Associate (2025)
Dr. Patrick S. Lee, Member (2024-2026)
Patrick Lee is currently the head of computational chemistry at Maze Therapeutics. He has over 15 years of experience in the biotech/pharma industry having contributed to several听clinical听stage听programs for metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, and oncology while at Maze, Novartis, Eli Lilly, and SGX Therapeutics. He received听his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Pomona College and a Ph.D. from UCLA in Organic Chemistry and carried out his postdoctoral studies at Yale University with a NIH fellowship award.
Patrick is currently the chair-elect for the California section of the ACS. This is his second stint as chair after serving as Chair-elect/Chair in 2018-2019. He was a committee associate for CPRC in 2014-2018 and also served as an alternate councilor for the COMP division 2009-2015. He has been an ACS member for over 25 years.
Dr. William W. Leong, Member (2024-2026)
William Leong is Executive Vice President, Head of CMC, at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals. He is responsible for leading all CMC operations, including analytics, chemical development, formulation and product development, packaging and labeling, supply chain logistics, and regulatory activities. William has 30 years of experience in progressing medicines from the laboratory to market in the areas of antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammation, cardiovascular, oncology, and neurology.听 He has held development, technical operations, chemistry, and scientific leadership roles at Kymera Therapeutics, Complexa Inc., Newron Pharmaceuticals, Celgene Corporation, and the Schering-Plough Research Institute. Dr. Leong holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of San Francisco and a PhD from the University of California, Davis. He completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Iowa State University, Ames. He has authored research publications, book chapters, and holds numerous patents.
William has been a member of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 for just over 40 years. Having previously served councilor, he is member of the North Jersey section. William鈥檚 service in ACS governance includes multiple terms on the Committees on Copyrights, Ethics, Publications, Safety and Hygiene committees. William was most recently the Chair of the Committee on Ethics.
Dr. Emily A. Lewis O'Brien, Member听(2023-2025)
Emily Lewis O鈥橞rien is a Principal with Trellis Climate, a program of Prime Coalition focused on scaling climate technologies with听catalytic capital. She has a broad background in clean energy, where she has focused on data-driven approaches to impact investing, program design and implementation, state and federal听policy development and听advocacy, and scientific research. She has carried out this work through leadership roles at Acadia Center, VEIC, Actuate, and currently at Trellis. Emily also served as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy and as an American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 Congressional Fellow on the democratic staff of the House Natural Resources Committee. Emily holds a PhD in physical chemistry from Tufts University and an MS in chemistry Northeastern University, where her research investigated catalysts for clean energy technologies.
Dr. Karlo M. Lopez, Member (2024-2026)
Karlo M. Lopez is originally from Peru听and听immigrated to the United States in 1985. He has lived in Peru, the United States,听and听Sweden听and听is fluent in the languages of the countries he has resided in. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from CSU Bakersfield听and听a Ph.D. in Chemistry with an emphasis in protein chemistry听and听enzymology from Clark University. He was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Pomona College听and became an assistant professor at the University of Central Missouri in 2010. After a year in Missouri, he was offered a position at his Alma mater in Bakersfield, CA. He rose through the academic ranks听and听became chair of the department he graduated from in 2019, following a sabbatical at Saint Jude Children鈥檚 Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. In July of 2022, he became the associate dean for the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics,听and听Engineering at CSU Bakersfield, a role he held in an interim basis since 2020. Karlo鈥檚 research interests are in chemotherapeutic drug design听and听enzyme characterization.
Karlo is a 27-year member of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网听and听has served as a member of the Committee on Ethics听and听the Task Force for Safety Education Guidelines (Committee on Chemical Safety). In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his children, referee competitive soccer matches,听and听provide service to the community, especially through the ACS Science Coaches program. Karlo鈥檚 most favorite leisure activity is to travel all over the world.
Natalie McClure, Associate (2025)
I am a regulatory affairs consultant with extensive experience in drug development, regulatory affairs and quality assurance. I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Stanford University (1979) and BS in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. I started her career at Syntex Research , working in the process development laboratories on new synthetic approaches to prostaglandin and large scale peptide synthesis and then changed career direction to drug regulatory affairs, specializing in small very early stage start up companies. I am also an instructor at St Mary鈥檚 College and the UC Berkeley Extension program offering several courses in drug development and regulatory affairs. I am member of the Silicon Valley local section, where I am serving my third term as Chair, Olympiad coordinator, and Outreach champion.
Dr. Michael A. Meador, Member (2025-2027)
Michael A. Meador received a B.A. in chemistry from Ithaca College (1978) and the PhD in organic chemistry from Michigan State University (1983).听 In 2019, he retired after a 35+ year career in the Federal government during which he held a variety of positions including Chief of the NASA Glenn Polymers Branch (1988-2011), Manager of the NASA Game Changing Development Program鈥檚 Nanotechnology Project (2011-2014), and NASA Program Element Manager for Lightweight Materials and Manufacturing (2016-2019).听 From 2014-2016 he served as Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.听 Throughout his career he has been involved in various aspects of R&D planning, including leading a NASA-wide team that developed NASA鈥檚 Nanotechnology Roadmap 鈥� a 25+ year plan for the development of high impact nanoscale materials and devices and their application in NASA missions. 听听Meador has been active in the ACS for many years, including as Member-at-Large of the Polymer Chemistry Division (POLY), POLY Chair (2020), as a symposium and workshop organizer, and as Thematic Programming Co-chair for the ACS Spring 2019 National Meeting.听 He is the recipient of several NASA awards including the NASA Medal for Equal Employment Opportunity, NASA Medal for Exceptional Service, and the inaugural Space Technology Technical Achievement Award.听 Meador is a Fellow of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网.
Dr. Sherine O. Obare, Member (2025-2027)
Dr. Obare has been since 2019 Dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), an innovative collaboration between North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from West Virginia State University and the University of South Carolina, respectively, and was a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral fellow at The Johns Hopkins University before starting her independent career at Western Michigan University (WMU) in 2004.
Dr. Obare is an environmental chemist whose research focuses on nanotechnology. Her work has led to innovations in the detection and remediation of environmental contaminants, designing nanoscale materials for drug delivery, improved healthcare, biomass conversion, and alternative energy, as well as understanding the fate, transport, and toxicity of anthropogenic nanomaterials. Her research program has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Army Research Office, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Education, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and is documented in more than 100 publications. She was named as one of the top 25 Women Professors in Michigan in 2013 and a Fellow of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 in 2019. She is particularly proud of the more than 100 students who have trained in her laboratory at both WMU and the JSNN.
Dr. Mary Jo Ondrechen, Member (2025-2027)
Mary Jo Ondrechen, PhD is a scientist, educator, researcher, and activist. She serves as Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and as the Principal Investigator of the Computational Biology Research Group at Northeastern University in Boston. Her research deals with understanding enzyme catalysis, genomics, predicting the function of proteins, protein design, and the computational aspects of drug discovery. Some of her current research projects include using machine learning methods to understand genomes, evaluating the protein structures of SARS-CoV-2 (the viral pathogen that causes COVID-19), and seeking drug-like molecules that can inhibit the viral life cycle of SARS-CoV-2. She was previously President of the Board of Directors of the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB). She has recently served on the Board of Advisers of the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, where she advocated for new technologies for environmental clean-up and for the inclusion of affected citizens and tribes in environmental decision making. She was also the 2011-2013 Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Indian Science and Engineering 中国365bet中文官网 (AISES). She is a co-Principal Investigator on the 2014-2024 project 鈥淟ighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM,鈥� an initiative to provide guidance and support to Native STEM students who want to become faculty members at colleges, universities, and tribal colleges. The Northeastern University Skills and Capacity for Inclusion (NU-SCI) project, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is spearheading institutional change to make the natural science majors more welcoming of minority and first-generation college students; this project is directed by Professor Ondrechen.听
Katharine Orr, Member (2025-2027)
Katharine derives from a family dedicated to public service and currently serves Los Alamos National Laboratory as a mass spectrometry (LC-MS) Research Technologist. She earned her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences, B.A. in Political Science, and M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction of Secondary Science (Chemistry) from the University of South Florida. She is a lifetime member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor 中国365bet中文官网. After completing her bachelor鈥檚 degrees, she taught high school chemistry for three years in a Title 1 school to make the subject more approachable, accessible and relevant to novice learners. After leaving the classroom and prior to joining LANL, she spent four years at the bench in full-time research roles at two non-profit universities where she used molecular biology and chemical biology techniques to investigate insect-vectored diseases threatening citrus and Solanaceous crops. Overall, her lab work career is best known for protocol development and multidisciplinary troubleshooting. In her spare time, Katharine serves as Alternate Councilor for the ACS Central New Mexico Local Section and travels to local schools as a Challenge Ambassador with the Bradbury Science Museum to inspire students to leverage their curiosities with STEM as a foundation for problem-solving.
Dr. Dale L. Orth, Member (2024-2026)
Dale Orth lives in Arlington, VA, and currently serves as the Associate Dean of the College of Sciences and Humanities at Marymount University.听 He has previously taught at Wisconsin Lutheran College and Western Colorado University.听 In his time at Western Colorado University he also chaired the department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, directed the Center for Teaching Excellence, and served a term as the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees.听 Outside of chemistry and education Dale enjoys attending theatre, craft and Belgian beers, bike riding, snow skiing, and general outdoor pursuits.
Dale was an American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网/AAAS Congressional Fellow in 2010-2011.听 He served in the office of Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV working on a range of issues many centered around rural education and science funding.听 He has contributed to the fellowship application review process since then, and he served on the Gunnison Watershed RE-1J School Board.听 Dale has contributed听to the Advanced Placement Chemistry exam grading process since 2003 in a variety of roles.
Dale earned a B.A. in chemistry from Colorado College and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Donald J. Wink, Member (2023-2025)
Donald J. Wink has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He has been at UIC since 1992. He is also a program faculty member in Learning Sciences. In undergraduate chemical education he has materials development projects that emphasize inter-departmental instruction.听 He has also been very active on issues of teaching in K-12 settings, including on projects for curriculum and teacher professional development. At UIC, he has also served UIC as Department Head and Director of Undergraduate Studies (Chemistry), Director of Graduate Studies (Learning Sciences), Academic Chair of UIC Global, and as a member of the Education Policy Committee in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is the Presiding Officer of the UIC Faculty Senate and a member of its Executive Committee. Within ACS he has served as Secretary, Councilor, and Chair for the Division of Chemical Education, and also was a member and Chair of its Board of Publication. He also served Member and Chair of Subcommittee on Higher Education, American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 Committee on Education. This work involved advising and setting policy and work for the ACS鈥� Education Division. It includes co-chairing of the ACS鈥檚听General Chemistry Performance Expectations听task force and workshops and the advisory board of the听New Faculty听Workshops听program. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Chemical Education.