Farewell with Appreciation, Pride, Humility and Gratitude
At the end of this month, I will step down as the chair of this section, so this is my last “Chair’s message”. After sitting down to write this column eleven times over the past year, one would think I would run out of things to say, shout-outs to folks, ideas to share. But I am a part of an incredible organization and it hasn’t been difficult to find something to highlight each month. In this last column, however, I want to share with you, reflections on my time as the chair.
With appreciation
This position has afforded me the opportunity to hear from many of you. I appreciated working with a wonderful team of professionals who are dedicated to serving the chemical enterprise. I am constantly inspired by the creativity and innovation my colleagues bring to their work which spans every sector of society, within and beyond our mainstay areas of science, practice, education and public interest.
With pride
Per tradition, in the December message the chair of the section summarizes some highlights of the past year. I want to stress that these accomplishments are testimony to the hard work of every single member of the executive committee. Here are some of the highlights –
- We rolled out a SVACS strategic plan, a monumental, multi-year undertaking. What we have now is a succinct, exciting, and ambitious framework for the section that aims to meet the needs of our community and deliver high levels of service. The plan not only captures the wide array of programs we offer, but it also helps us identify gaps or areas where we can expand. (Check it out!)
- Professor Andrew Evans was presented with the Mosher Award for his lifetime work on the stereoselective construction of challenging C – C bonds in the total synthesis of complex bioactive agents
- SVACS support of K-12 teachers in teaching science – the BUBBLE Grant – was awarded to two schools : Piedmont Hills High School in East San Jose and Brook Knoll Elementary School in Scotts Valley.
- In the midst of the pandemic in July, we were able to safely bring together in person 80 members at our annual picnic meeting. We toasted our 50-, 60- and 70- year members for their participation in the ACS and presented the Radding Award, Ottenberg Award and Salute to Excellence Award.
- With donations to Silicon Valley ACS in fond memory of our dear friend and colleague, Dr Dave Parker, we created an endowment to fund our newly minted Dave Parker Memorial Award for excellence in middle school chemistry.
- We rolled out our swanky new webpage, siliconvalleyacs.org
- We had 12 Zoominars covering a wide array of topics related to advances in chemistry, chemistry in pop culture, biology, as well as topics like mental health and wellbeing. These Zoominars attracted audiences from beyond the SF Bay area and around the world.
- In collaboration with the Redwood City Library, we put together 7 outreach activities under the banner of ‘Pop Up Chemistry’. For this well-received outreach activity, we won the ACS National ChemLuminary Award for Most Creative & Innovative Use of the ‘Chemists Celebrate Earth Week’ (CCEW) theme.
- In the month of November, Matt Greaney and his team revived the Bay Area Chemistry Symposium which was attended by 300 undergraduates, graduates and members of industry and academia.
- The SVACS younger chemists committee (YCC) in collaboration with our sister section, CalACS, successfully sponsored a trivia night in the month of July.
- We piloted Paving the Path, our first mentorship program for community college students interested in transferring to 4-year institutions.
- We piloted a citizen science water-monitoring program where we distributed kits containing materials and instructions for students to test the quality of water in their watershed. The ultimate goal of this project is to collect vital information about our watershed as well as to raise awareness about the importance of water conservation, one of our most valuable resources.
With humility
Although there are many achievements that have given me pride during my tenure, there are certainly matters I wish had gone better. For example, we would like to increase SVACS activity for midcareer chemists, something I hope we address in the upcoming years.
As the pandemic ebbs and flows and vaccines become more widely available to us all, we are beginning to return to some sort of normalcy. While we have been able to pivot well in the last couple years, in-person networking has indeed suffered. Several nonprofit organizations like ours are beginning to meet in person and as we transition into the coming year, we hope to enjoy more face-to-face fellowship and teamwork, as CDC and local public health recommendations permit.
With gratitude
My year of leading the board has been nothing short of fulfilling. When I joined the board in 2016, I could not anticipate my impact on the organization. I had no previous board experience and the nexus between governing an organization and directly affecting change in the community was not clear to me. I went in with the intention not only to “make a difference” but also to become a better community member by giving it my all, while advancing the mission of a wonderful organization. Through guidance and others’ experience and leadership, I was able to understand that for a nonprofit to be truly successful, all parts of the organization are mutually valuable and work together in a balanced and intentional way to accomplish longevity.
With that, I’d like to formally pass the torch and welcome our new officers to the section. Here are the results of our recent elections: Natalie McClure (Chair-Elect 2022), Ihab Darwish (Treasurer 2022), Linda Brunauer, Jane Frommer and Sally Peters (Councilors 2022 2024), Megan Brophy and Anais Nguyen (Alternate Councilors 2022 – 2024). Please join me in congratulating this wonderful group. The section will be led by Stephanie Benight as she transitions from 2021 Chair-elect to 2022 Chair, joined by many pairs of extremely capable hands!
Let me close by urging you all — Members and “future Members” alike — to be a part of this milestone year and engage with us as often as you can. Challenge us to better serve you when you see areas where we might improve. And celebrate with us once we have reached these milestones!
Thank you for your support and for being an important part of the SVACS journey.
