Erin Cech
Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology of the University of Michigan (USA)
Dr. Erin Cech is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and the Department of Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy) at the University of Michigan.  Before coming to UM, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University and was on faculty at Rice University. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from UC San Diego and undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Sociology from Montana State University. Cech's research examines cultural mechanisms of inequality reproduction--especially through seemingly innocuous cultural beliefs and practices. Her work on inequality in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions focuses on the recruitment and retention of women, people of color, and LGBTQ-identifying persons in STEM degree programs and STEM jobs. Her research has appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Advances, the American Journal of Sociology, and the American Sociological Review. Her research has been covered by The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Time, Harvard Business Review, and the news sections of Science and Nature. In 2020, she was named one of Business Equality Magazine’s “40 LGBTQ+ Leaders Under 40.”
Twitter: @CechErin

Leah Ruppanner
Associate Professor of Sociology and founder of The Future of Work Lab at the University of Melbourne
Dr. Leah Ruppanner (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Sociology and founder of The Future of Work Lab at the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on institutional barriers to gender equality in the workplace, politics and the home. Her current book, Motherlands: How States Push Mothers out of Employment, shows different US states impose distinct institutional constraints to mothers’ work.
Twitter: @leahruppanner

Gretchen Goldman
Research Manager at Union of Concerned Scientists, 500 Women Scientists Leadership Board and SciMom Journeys Lead
Dr. Gretchen Goldman (she/her) is the research director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dr. Goldman has testified before Congress and currently serves on the 500 Women Scientists Leadership Board. Her words and voice have appeared in Science, Nature, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and the BBC. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in environmental engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in atmospheric science from Cornell University.
Twitter: @GretchenTG

Lauren Edwards
Executive Director at 500 Women Scientists
Dr. Lauren Edwards (she/her) is the Interim Executive Director of 500 Women Scientists and Director of our Fellowship for the Future. She is a trained neuroscientist who will soon continue her educational efforts of becoming a physician scientist by attending medical school. Lauren's life work has been dedicated towards using her scientific background to foster excitement about STEMM in younger Black communities, while advocating for scientific and medical institutions to be a safe and nourishing space for Black people to thrive and be cared for.

Rebekah Hoffman
General Practicioner and Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong
Dr Rebekah Hoffman is a GP and practice owner based in Sydney, Australia. She is a Senior Lecturer (Medical Education) and PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong, NSW. Her research looks at the challenges of balancing motherhood and medicine. Rebekah holds positions as the Chair of the state New Fellows Committee, State RACGP Faculty Member, and is a GPRA board member. She also actively participates in medical education as a GP registrar supervisor, Medical student supervisor, and is a podcaster co-host on “Just a GP”. She is mum to two wonderful children (William and Isabel).
Twitter: @bekhoffman

Aaron Clauset
Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder
Dr. Aaron Clauset (he/him) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and the BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, and is External Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He received a PhD in Computer Science, with distinction, from the University of New Mexico, a BS in Physics, with honors, from Haverford College, and was an Omidyar Fellow at the prestigious Santa Fe Institute. Clauset is an internationally known expert on network science, data science, the "science of science", and machine learning for complex systems. His research has appeared in prestigious scientific venues, including Nature, Science, and PNAS.
Twitter: @aaronclauset

Robinson Fulweiler
Professor at Boston University
Dr. Robinson W. (“Wally”) Fulweiler (she/her) is a Professor at Boston University in the Department of Earth and Environment and the Department of Biology. She is an ecosystems ecologist and biogeochemist, whose research is focused on answering questions about how anthropogenic changes affect the ecology and elemental cycling of coastal ecosystems on a variety of scales (i.e., local nutrient loading; regional/global climate change). She recently co-led, with Dr. Sarah Davies, the recent paper Rebuild the Academy: Supporting academic mothers during COVID-19 and beyond. She is a fierce advocate for improving the lives of woman and mothers in science, and strives to help build a more equitable system for all.
Twitter: @FulweilerLab

Sri Devi Narasimhan
Deputy Editor at Cell, Cell Press
Dr. Sri Narasimhan (she/her) trained in microbiology, molecular genetics and metabolism at the National University of Singapore, UMASS Medical School and Harvard Medical School before joining Cell in 2012. As Deputy Editor, she is involved journal strategy, content and team management as well as in leading the team’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Sri also heads cross-journal communication and collaboration efforts across Cell Press journals. She handles papers across the journal’s topic scope and serves as the strategy lead for Cell's Microbiology, Immunology and Metabolism content. Sri enjoys interacting with the broader community, especially early career researchers, trainees and scientists and believes it is never too early to talk about science or ideas. Outside work, she loves space, spice, travel and being a mom to two curious girls.
Twitter: @Sri_Baqri

Dessie Clark
Research coordinator for the ADVANCE program at University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Dr. Dessie Clark (she/her) holds a Ph.D. in Community Sustainability and is the Research Collaboration Coordinator for the University of Massachusetts ADVANCE program. As part of the ADVANCE team, Clark has helped to developed a model for administrators, to keep the pandemic from sidelining faculty equity by race, gender, and caregiving status, while also working with faculty members to document the effects of the pandemic on their work for both the short-term and long-term.
Twitter: @dessielclark

Katie Perry
Chief Executive of the Daphne Jackson Trust
Katie Perry became Chief Executive of the Trust in 2011, having previously been Trust Manager. She is a physicist with a background in science communication and holds a degree and PhD in Physics from the University of Surrey, where she worked with Professor Daphne Jackson. Under her leadership, the Trust has become the UK’s leading organisation dedicated to realising the potential of returners to research careers after a career break. She manages the Trust’s activities, working closely with Trustees and developing strategic relationships with stakeholders. Katie sits on a number of national forums focusing on equality, diversity and inclusion.
Twitter: @DrKatiePerry

Greg Schmidt
Director of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute at NASA
Greg Schmidt (he/him) serves as director of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, formerly the NASA Lunar Science Institute. In his 36-year career with NASA, he has been privileged to work on a number of important efforts including serving as payload manager for Spacelab-J, in which Dr. Mae Jemison was the key payload astronaut, being part of the team which developed the science of astrobiology, and serving as program manager for life sciences technology development at NASA HQ, including oversight of a partnership with the National Cancer Institute to develop new imaging technologies for the early detection of breast cancer. He is passionate about creating opportunities for underrepresented groups and recently created a SSERVI Focus Group on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility.

Olubukola O. Babalola
Vice President at Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD, Africa) and Director at the North-West University, South Africa
Prof. Olubukola Oluranti Babalola (Pr.Sci.Nat, MASSAF) (she/her) is an NRF rated, internationally published scientist. She is the Vice President of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD, Africa region). Olubukola is a graduate of the North-West University Business School, South Africa. Her dissertation was on Women in STEM leadership. She is a Research Director and Principal Investigator at NWU, a member of the editorial board for BMC Microbiology (Elsevier) and Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports (Elsevier). Her effort has received many awards, including being the finalist, GenderInSite 2020. She is a mother to an Engineer, a Chartered Accountant and a Computer Scientist.
Twitter: @OlubukolaOlura1

Fernanda Staniscuaski
Founder of Parent in Science Movement
Dr. Fernanda Staniscuaski (she/her) is a biologist, with a PhD on molecular biology and biotechnology from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil (2007) and a postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto (2008-2009). She currently holds an associate professor position at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Since becoming a mother, Fernanda has experienced the typical struggle female faculty face in advancing with their careers in academia. In this context, she founded the Parent in Science Movement, aimed at supporting researchers in the challenging conciliation of motherhood and academia, as well as promoting public policies to increase the participation - and retention - of women in STEM.
Twitter: @FerStaniscuaski

Isabel Torres
Co-founder & CEO of Mothers in Science
Dr. Isabel Torres (she/her) is a science editor/writer and co-founder and CEO of Mothers in Science. After completing a PhD degree in genetics at the University of Cambridge (UK) and a postdoc at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Isabel moved away from the bench and established her scientific editing and consultancy business. More recently, she founded Pretty Smart Science, a platform that combines science and art to promote scientific literacy and increase the visibility of women in science. Isabel is passionate about science communication and about promoting women in STEM and advocating for gender equality. She is a mom of four curious and very funny kids.
Twitter: @prettysmartsci

Ryan Watkins
Program Scientist at NASA and Research Manager at Mothers in Science
Dr. Ryan Watkins (she/her) is a Program Scientist with NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C, and she also volunteers as a Research Manager with Mothers in Science. Her background is in planetary science, and she spent many years using remote sensing data sets to characterize the physical and compositional properties of airless bodies, with emphasis on the lunar surface. Her current work involves managing programs that are sending payloads to the Moon. As a working mother to 2- and 4-year-old daughters, Ryan is passionate about advocating for the needs of mothers in the workplace.
Twitter: @Ryan_N_Watkins

Gerlind Wallon
EMBO Deputy Director
Gerlind Wallon is the deputy director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). A German native, she graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry from Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, followed by a 4 year postdoc at the EMBL in Heidelberg. At EMBO she is responsible for the EMBO Young Investigator Network, the EMBO Courses and Workshops and the Women in Science activities. Gerlind Wallon has developed the EMBO Laboratory Management Courses for leadership development and authored studies on the selection processes and the effects of gender on application success at EMBO and a report on the use of quota in academia.

Lina Caballero-Villalobos
Founder of Parent in Science Colombia
Dr. Lina Caballero-Villalobos (she/her) was born in Bogotá, Colombia. She is a biologist, with a master in botany and a PhD in genetics and molecular biology. She works in the evolution and conservation of plants. Also, she is working to engage Latin American women in science and technology. She is the leader of Parent in Science Colombia and WELA (Women Editors in Latin America). Her aim is to promote workplace equality and increase the retention of women in STEMM fields in Latin America, in particular early career scientist, mothers and minorities.

Jennifer Tacheff
Founder & CEO of Manifest Advisers and Board member at MotherCoders
Jennifer Tacheff (she/her) is an award-winning leader and strategist, who helps companies and entrepreneurs to grow and scale their impact. She’s launched global products, programs, and campaigns with world-renowned brands like Twitch, Google, Sony, Twitter, Nike, etc and has helped to build some of the biggest programs and communities in the tech industry. As Founder & CEO of Manifest Advisors, Jennifer has led clients to become recognized brands and industry thought leaders. She’s directly secured over $33MM for clients and repeatedly helps companies scale to hypergrowth. Jennifer serves on the 2021 SXSW Advisory Council and is an Advisor at Women 2.0, alongside Onramp.io and MotherCoders.
Twitter: @jenntacheff