Trailblazers share their career journeys and valuable advice in Black History Month celebration

On Feb. 26, undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals gathered at the National Education Association in Washington, DC, to learn about the professional pathways of chemistry trailblazers, gain humanizing advice, and connect with the local community and resources as part of a Black History Month celebration hosted by the American Chemical Society.

“Trailblazers and Pathways: Honoring Excellence in the Chemical Sciences” is a first-of-its-kind event for the American Chemical Society and was brought about by ACS president Dorothy J. Phillips. The event, which featured Phillips as one of two keynote speakers, included a fireside chat with various chemistry professionals, a professional development session, and a networking reception—held at the ACS headquarters in Washington, DC—that offered food, drink, and career resources.

The event highlighted local scientific and professional communities and universities and featured Willie E. May, immediate past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as the second keynote speaker.

Phillips began the evening with a speech that took attendees on her journey as a trailblazer. She categorized her story into three main points: values, goals, and mentors; later, May acknowledged that these three influences were also significant to his own journey.

“Why were we achievers and leaders?” Phillips asked, after acknowledging that of the eight children her parents raised, all finished high school and five went on to earn advanced degrees. “Our parents instilled in us their values that they had from their parents and previous generations.”

Phillips generously shared those inherited values with the audience: to take care of one another, to be kind to your neighbors, to know that no job is beneath you, and to live a faith-based life. She noted that the meaning of “no job is beneath you” had changed a little from generation to generation: for her parents, it meant taking whatever job would allow them to provide and care for their family. Phillips applied her parents’ lesson that “no job is beneath you” to her career in the sense that when she was the manager or leader of a team and she realized that by rolling up her sleeves and getting in there with her group that they could achieve their goal or meet their deadline, she’d do it.

While these values have helped Phillips be a trailblazer multiple times in her career, she encouraged the audience to think about their own values or what they’d like those values to be.

When she reached the part of her journey where she stepped in as a brand manager at Waters, she shared a tidbit she said she always passes along about pivoting from the laboratory to a marketing position: “I had a passport; they needed somebody ready to go; the product was ready to go.” That availability to travel—in addition to knowing the product she’d be pitching to companies around the world—got her the job. And that underscores the benefit of being prepared for opportunities that may come your way. “So get your passports,” Phillips said.

May’s keynote speech left the audience with four big takeaways: Prepare your younger self for your older self. Realize that some obstacles might be blessings. Realize that young people with backgrounds in science, technology, math, and engineering are and will be highly sought-after commodities. Find something that you’re good at and that you enjoy, and that is what will lead you to a career—not just a job.

In a professional development session, Terri Chambers, vice president of education and career development at ACS, shared 10 useful tips that covered how to advocate for yourself, finding your strengths, using clear communication, forming genuine relationships, and more.

The evening ended with a panel discussion among scientific and academic experts who brought more real-life perspectives and experiences to the conversation: Danita Broyles, director of quality assurance at Harmony Biosciences; Elisia Clark, senior scientist at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; Victor McCrary, vice chair of the National Science Board; Isaiah Speight, an assistant professor of chemistry at William and Mary; and Tyrslai Williams-Carter, a professor of research and assistant dean of Mentoring, Research, and Education at Louisiana State University and president-elect of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).

The networking event after the panel featured members of AAAS, AISES, NOBCChE, the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and several DC-area ACS student chapters in addition to representatives from five ACS divisions: ACS Education, ACS Membership, ACS on Campus, ACS Publications, and ACS Scientific Advancement.