Celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Hear from Six Women in Science
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Science and gender equality are both vital for achieving a stable and prosperous world. We are joining the global community to celebrate women and girls in science and the impact they have on building a better future. We interviewed six women in science from the United States Agency for International Development to learn more about their journeys in this field.
Meet Shavonn Whiten, an up-and-coming scientist in international development. She’s currently an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow (STPF) in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Food Security. She has a doctoral degree in entomology from Texas A&M University, with a specialty in mosquito and mosquito-borne disease control using genetic engineering.
For Shavonn, mentoring has been a huge part of her success in pursuing a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). “Identify individuals who can help you connect with other people in your STEM field of study. Shadowing and being mentored by individuals who were vested in my professional success has personally been an integral part of my STEM journey,” Shavonn says. Here’s her story.
Meet Angela Records, a Science Advisor in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Food Security and a leading plant pathology expert in international development. Before working for USAID, she obtained her doctoral degree in Plant Pathology from Texas A&M University.
Angela’s advice for young girls who want to pursue STEM: “Definitely go for it! It’s such a rewarding career… Don’t get discouraged. Whether you’re pursuing a master’s degree or a doctoral degree, nobody can take that away from you.” Here’s her story.
Meet Chelsea Marcho, an up-and-coming scientist in international development. She’s currently an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Food Security. She has a doctoral degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Chelsea is passionate about making science more accessible and approachable. “Seeing how excited kids can be about science and challenging scientists to explain their work in ways that others can understand and be engaged is critical to helping future generations pursue their path STEM,” Chelsea says. Here’s her story.
Meet Clara Cohen, the Chief of the Division for Human and Institutional Capacity in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Food Security. She is also the Executive Director of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development at USAID and serves as an advisor to the agency on food and agricultural issues. Her original training is in agricultural science, and she has a doctoral degree in plant physiology from Cornell University.
When asked where Clara thinks her career is heading in the next 5–10 years, she said “I want to bring together different types of scientists and communities that don’t usually work together to solve common issues.” Here’s her story.
Meet Elizabeth Jordan, a Water and Sanitation Advisor in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Food Security. She helps improve USAID’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programs and oversees the Agency’s WASH research activities. Elizabeth obtained a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a doctoral degree in civil engineering with a focus in development.
Elizabeth’s advice for young girls who want to pursue STEM: “Career options in the STEM field are really broad — look at me, I started in aerospace engineering and now I’m in an entirely different field! But the skills you’ll learn in STEM are universally useful and transferable, so don’t feel like you have to lock yourself into one narrow path.” Here’s her story.
Meet Karen Duca, an International Development Specialist in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Food Security. Trained as a biophysicist, the majority of her professional experience has been as an academic scientist, primarily in U.S. and African universities.
Karen’s advice for young girls who want to pursue STEM is to “dive into STEM if you love it and if you believe it will be a mechanism to address problems that you feel called to tackle. And get that mentoring network in place!” Here’s her story.
