In honor of Women’s History Month, CEF is highlighting the inspiring women who help make CEF programs possible. Throughout the month we will learn about female chemists, volunteers, and more!
First up: the amazing Jaime Curtis-Fisk, PhD!
Tell us about yourself!
I am a scientist and STEM program leader at Dow Chemical. I have a unique role: I divide my time between a traditional scientist role as a chemist in our Pharma R&D group, leading projects focused on developing new drug delivery technologies, and the STEM program leader role, where I lead our Dow STEM Ambassadors program, which is our science education employee outreach program. I have a bachelors and PhD in chemistry.
What is a typical day like for you?
Working between two groups means that my days are never the same. As a scientist, I spend my days developing ideas for how to connect polymer chemistry expertise to drug delivery challenges, designing experiments to test out these new ideas, and working with our lab team to implement those plans. When that works, the fun part is using those results to tell the story of how our science can solve challenges and lead to new products. The true value of the hard work is only realized if others can see that value and how that new science can solve their challenge.
As a STEM program leader, my primary responsibility is to lead the Dow STEM Ambassadors. This is a fun mix of working with box my colleagues within Dow and our external partners (such as CEF!) to develop opportunities that our employees will be excited about, and that can bring science to life for kids in our communities. My time is spent designing hands on activities that demonstrate how Dow’s technology connects to the concepts students are learning the classroom, developing safety programs to ensure that everyone can have fun without the risk of injury, and helping our volunteers develop the skills they need to best connect with students, just to name a few!
What is a proud accomplishment you have?
I am proud of being a first generation college student, working hard to make it from a small farming community through college, graduate school, and to a start as a chemistry professor, and now a program leader role at a large chemical company. I am grateful for the amazing support I have received from my families, friends, advisors, and mentors, but it wasn’t always an easy journey. I am proud that even when it got tough, or I felt lost not knowing what the next step should be, I didn’t give up and I now that hard work is paying off.
Who is a woman who inspired you and why?
I am inspired by my undergraduate advisor, Dr. Laurie Witucki, a chemistry professor at Grand Valley State University. Not only she is a great scientist and professor but, more importantly, she has the amazing ability to connect with people. She could have done so many different things with her career, but she chose to devote her expertise and passion to educating the new generation of scientists. Dr. Witucki helped me to find my way, without her guidance I may not have found the path that led me to my dream job. I hope that through my career I can have the same impact.
What have been some of your challenges as a woman in your field?
Two challenges that I have felt are that there are less role models for women in science, and for those women that choose to have a family, it can be a tough challenge to balance the roles of mom and scientists.
What message would you like to share with young girls who are considering a career in science?
Science isn’t just for the boys! There are many women who are doing amazing things in science, developing the next great inventions and innovating to solve our world’s greatest challenges. That can be you! Identify the role models that motivate you and the mentors that can help you on your journey, dig in, and never give up!
Learn more about Jaime and her journey in STEM here!
