Dear Women & Hi Tech Members, Sponsors, Partners, and Friends:

With the close of August and the dawn of fall comes a long Labor Day weekend, and the final flickers and glows of the spotlight we have had shining on The Women & Hi Tech 20th Anniversary Celebration throughout this year. Proclaimed to be “Women & Hi Tech Day” and “Women in STEM Day” in the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana, respectively, on August 16, 2019, Women & Hi Tech celebrated its 20th year of successfully effecting change to advance women in STEM in Indiana with the theme of "Celebrating Our Past and Investing in Our Future." Women & Hi Tech was also presented with an entry made into the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Record, our nation’s history, to honor the 20th Anniversary of Women & Hi Tech by Congresswoman Susan Brooks of Indiana's 5th District.

To "Celebrate Our Past” at the event, the co-founders and the founding member were honored with awards, while all past and present board members were recognized. To “Invest in Our Future,” the organization exceeded its goal of awarding $20,000 in scholarships and grants via its #WHT20for20 campaign, and with the help of key partners, Women & Hi Tech awarded over $30,000 to 17 deserving and diverse women and girls pursuing STEM fields in Indiana. The evening was capped by dancing and music from the band, Liquid Groove, along with custom 20th Anniversary and STEM cupcakes, a candy table, and live 20th Anniversary “Grown from STEM” plant party favors. Click here to see photographs by Faith Blackwell Photography of The Women & Hi Tech 20th Anniversary Celebration - a truly historic occasion.

As a final conclusion of our theme “Celebrating Our Past” in honor of our 20th Anniversary and to continue to highlight so many women who have provided significant contributions to this organization through their service on the Board of Directors (as shown to left), Women & Hi Tech would like to focus on our women in science. More specifically, this month, we are featuring women of our past and present board who are biologists, chemists, geneticists, neuroscientists, meteorologists, physicists, and more. As a former molecular biologist turned patent attorney, I am particularly excited about this feature since I know and represent so many female scientific practitioners in academia and industry, including both of these ladies with whom I worked at Eli Lilly & Co.

In this eighth edition of “Grown from STEM,” Women & Hi Tech would like to show special appreciation to co-founder, Past President, and the “passion behind the progress,” Joyce Gustafson. By training, Joyce is a biologist who now directs business processes, strategies, and quality control within the life sciences industry. Networking Director for Women & Hi Tech, Maria Alvim-Gaston, Ph.D., is a pharmacist, an organic chemist, and now a pharmaceutical chemist. Please read more about Joyce and Maria and how their STEM backgrounds, business acumen, and passion for helping other women drives their support and involvement in Women & Hi Tech.

Sincerely,

Angela B. Freeman, M.S., J.D.
Women & Hi Tech President
President@womenandhitech.org