An organic chemist by training, I love the challenge of tackling multifaceted problems by leveraging both critical thinking and creativity. My time at the bench taught me how to design and implement new strategies for complex molecule synthesis, and it also taught me a lot about how to manage projects, people, and time. Conducting laboratory research was a fantastic way for me to learn to zoom in—to be rigorously detail-oriented in experimental design and data analysis—as well as zoom out—to think about the greater context and impact of my work and understand how to strategically progress a project from start to finish. But above all, the time I spent learning how to do science gave me the opportunity to learn how important it is to communicate that science effectively. And as it turns out, I love doing science, but I love communicating science more. My passion for scientific communication in all its forms and in all the ways it shows up in the enterprise of scientific research led me to my current position as a Scientific Program Manager supporting the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). In this role, I operate at the intersection of strategic communications, portfolio management, and research collaborations. My time at NCATS as well as my prior experiences have taught me the following about myself:-I feel a strong sense of purpose when I bridge the translation gap between scientists and non-scientists-I feel in my element when I’m leveraging my domain expertise, communication acumen, and problem-solving skills toward strategic project management-I’m energized by public speaking and delivering presentations -I’m enthusiastic about coaching others to be confident, effective communicators-I excel at harnessing my attention to detail and strong command of language when writing and editing scientific documents -I’m exceptionally self-motivated and self-directed-I value teamwork and collaboration and work toward dismantling silos -I build relationships within and across offices, branches, and teams-I’m an intuitive decision-maker, but I still seek and analyze the data-I’m intellectually curious and committed to lifelong learningI love to meet new people and learn new things, so please feel free to get in touch--I'm always happy to chat about chemistry, translational science, science communication, or baking!