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I would like to introduce some changes to our organization, which reflect the present dynamic economic environment of the Bay Area. After serving a year as Chapter Secretary, Karen Lowe(klowe@combimatrix.com) has moved to the state of Washington, where she has started working at CombiMatrix Corporation as Director of Molecular Biology. Congratulations, Karen, on your promotion, and we hope that you will be able to join in future AWIS Palo Alto events if you find yourself back in the Bay Area! In Karen's place, we have recruited Nancy Jennerjohn (njenner1@ix.netcom.com), Associate Scientist at Aradigm Corporation, for the role of Interim Chapter Secretary until our chapter elections in Spring 2001.After two years of service as Chapter Treasurer and Programs Committee Co-chair, Adrienne Yang (Adrienne.Yang@aventis.com) will be stepping down from her responsibilities as Treasurer to focus on her continued efforts with the Programs Committee. Thank you, Adrienne, for taking charge of our finances and for a smooth transition! In Adrienne's place, we have Erin Cline (egcline@stanford.edu), a graduate student in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford, who will be taking on the role of Interim Treasurer. Our Outreach Co-chair, Katy Kuo Korsmeyer (kuokaty@scientist.com), continues her outstanding performance on behalf of AWIS while taking on a new role as Program Coordinator for the Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership (SCCBEP). Congratulations, Katy, on your new position!Elizabeth Pavel (egpavel@yahoo.com), our Mentoring Program Chair, has moved from GaSonics International to a new position at Applied Materials. In order to focus on excelling at her new job, she will be transitioning out of her role as Chair while continuing her activities as a mentor in the program. Congratulations and much success in your new position, Elizabeth! We are presently recruiting for new Mentoring Committee members to work with graduate students at Stanford. To sign up, please send e-mail to awis_pamentoring@yahoo.com.Our NCC-AWIS Chapter Representative, Danielle Pasqualone, is stepping down this Fall to pursue a full-time program in patent law at the Boalt School ofLaw at UC Berkeley. Danielle, we will be looking forward to the opportunity to seek you out for legal advice on IP issues in a few years! After 1.5 years as president of AWIS Palo Alto, I will be stepping down from the position to focus on some transitional issues in my scientific career. It has been a pleasure and privilege to work on behalf of the organization in a number of roles over the past four years. Thank you to all of our committee and board members for your contributions toward the operation of our chapter! I have enjoyed working with each of you! I will continue participating in AWIS as a mentor in our mentoring program at Stanford and may be reached at lisawang@well.com. Annette Lewis (lewis@entelos.com), our Chapter Vice President, will be stepping in to serve as Interim President of AWIS Palo Alto until our chapter elections in Spring 2001. Annette is a driving force in the organization of our September 16th NCC-AWIS workshop at Genentech, "Collaborative Leadership Skills." Thank you Annette, for stepping up in this time of transition!

ü The American Cancer Society will sponsor a five-mile walk in Golden Gate Park on Sunday October 22^nd to raise money for Breast Cancer research. Last year over 100,000 people participated in the walk and raised over $780,000. Palo Alto AWIS had a team of four walkers: Karen Lowe, Susan Bernhard, Ada Kung and Nevada Blair and we raised almost $1000. If you’d like to walk with AWIS this year, please contact Susan Bernhard. Kids and strollers and pets on a leash are all welcome. This is more of a stroll than an aerobic adventure, but it’s fun and for a good cause. (susan_bernhard@baxter.com)

AWIS Supports Breast Cancer Research

ü Your AWIS Palo Alto chapter has been doing its part to raise money for Breast Cancer research. For the past two years, we have mailed all of our newsletters with the colorful ‘Fund the Fight, Find A Cure’ 40-cent breast cancer stamp. The stamp was first issued in 1998, following two years of persistant contact with members of Congress by Dr Ernie Bodai MD, a surgeon at Kaiser Permanente’s Sacramento Medical Center. This local effort has been successful in raising millions of dollars annually to help researchers work towards a cure for breast cancer.

Report and Testimony of Interest

ü The Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology Development recently released an executive summary of its forthcoming report. Find it at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/cawmset/start.htm#about.
The Technology Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science held a hearing following the press conference on the report. Testimony from that hearing can be found at: http://www.house.gov/science/106_hearing.htm#Technology.

Free Lab Assistants!

ü Looking for an extra pair of hands to help with your project? Want to give to the community while getting something in return? Here's an opportunity to influence the next generation of scientists. High school juniors and seniors are looking for internships in academia or industry where the "real" research is being done.
We are constantly improving our program so that students and mentors will mutually benefit. This year, all students will provide resumes for prospective mentors to look over. Mandatory interviews are set with possible candidates. Students and their parents will sign a liability release form and indicate their commitment. Then, students and mentors decide on the best match! For more information, contact Katy at kuokaty@ricochet.net or sign-up at http://www.pa-awis.org/activities/Outreach/outreform.htm and pick which internship program you're interest in.

ü The 23rd annual EYH Conference at SJSU is set for March 17, 2001. This is a one-day conference for girls in grades 6-9, about careers in science and related fields. Volunteers are needed to organize the workshops for this next conference
The first meeting of the Organizing Committee is in early October. For those of you interested in hearing more about volunteering, or EYH in general, please contact Jane Day, Coordinator SJSU-EYH 2001 day@mathcs.sjsu.edu, 408-924-5119 or 650-854 0395.

Web Site: http://www.orau.org/nsf/nsffel.htm

MentorNet Call for Mentors

ü MentorNet, working in close collaboration with AWIS, is seeking engineering, scientific and technical professionals to mentor women engineering and science students on line!
MentorNet is a national program that pairs women community college, undergraduate and graduate students with mentors in industry, and provides a framework and training for them to pursue year-long mentoring relationships through email.
To learn more and/or to sign up, visit the MentorNet web site at http://www.mentornet.net and click on the "Mentors" link. Sign up now!

Wanted: Mentoring Chair or Two Co-Chairs to chair Committee of about six volunteers who pair protegees (Stanford grad students) with mentors (postdocs, fellows, professional women) for the academic year. The Committee meets frequently in fall to get the program started, then quarterly at dinner/speaker meetings to help get pairs together. The Chair will be a team builder, and a good recruiter of mentors and program speakers. The chapter has a 17-year history of Mentoring, a presidential award-winning program, and a strong experience base to draw on, but new blood is needed. Contact Diane DeNagel, 650-855-5437, diane.denagel@roche.com for more info.

July Networking Social Summary
Susan Bernhard, Programs Committee

Be a Role Model for Students
Katy Kuo Korsmeyer, Outreach Committee

Make a Difference to a High School Junior in 4hrs/month!
It takes only a few hours per month for YOU to have a significant positive impact on the life of a High School Junior. Use your experience in industry or academia and as a professional to mentor a student. You communicate with your student by phone, e-mail or in person - your student needs an adult friend ( not a parent or teacher) who can help her or him learn about the biotechnology industry. The program concentrates on students who will benefit most significantly from enriching experiences in their lives -- experiences that will convince them that learning is to be valued.

Outreach Program - Annual Report
Katy Kuo Korsmeyer, Outreach Committee

Your Palo Alto Outreach program consists of:

1. Awarding 2 annual scholarships to female students studying the sciences at local community colleges.
2. Volunteers participating in local schools as email mentors, internship mentors, science fair mentors, and science fair judges.
3. Volunteers presenting hands-on science activities in classrooms and local science clubs.
4. The Young Explorers program providing hands-on science fun to enrich the existing classroom curriculum.
5. Assist in the dissemination of lab equipment and supplies donated by volunteers to local schools.

The success of all the above is due to the generosity of time and effort from our volunteers. In the 1999-2000 academic year, we gave two $500 scholarships to Foothill College students. We had 51 volunteers, members and friends of the chapter participate in 19 community events impacting over 300 students. Our email distribution lists 94 names with participants passing on the emails to their colleagues and encouraging others to get involved in local science education. Young Explorers lead 6 fun lessons in 6 different classes (up from 2 participating classes the previous year), each class consisted of 20-35 kids. We have alliances with and provide assistance to 24 groups including schools and other non-profits.
The growing numbers show the need and desire for volunteers to actively assist in education. A big THANK YOU to all who gave your time, your knowledge and enthusiasm for science. Anyone interested in participating can sign up through our website at http://www.pa-is.org/activities /Outreach/outreform.htm or email kuokaty@scientist.com for more information.

According to conventional wisdom, I did almost everything wrong. I responded to an ad in the newspaper. I was overqualified for the position. I didn’t adjust my CV to better fit the job description. I sent my CV to the HR department. I didn’t try to contact the hiring manager. I didn’t know anyone or try to find anyone who worked at the company. I did not get that bench scientist job. But I did get a job. I’ll tell you why in a moment.

So, back to the job I finally landed and why I did so. First, the HR department screened CV’s very well, finding those, which did contain relevant experience buried amongst the other stuff. Second, the hiring manager’s manager recognized a good opportunity and was able to convince his management to change the position. By not altering my CV to de-emphasize my broad background, most of which was irrelevant to the advertised position, that manager was able to see that I had a unique perspective that could be of benefit. He basically decided that I shouldn’t get the bench job, but that I should run the department. Third, I did do pre-interview research on the Internet, learning about the company’s technology and reading abstracts of some recent publications. Then I thought about, and during the interview, offered ways in which I might assist in meeting the company goals. Fourth, I was flexible during the interview process, coming back a total of three times and remaining open to subtle hints that there might be a more responsible position. Fifth, I was lucky.

My advice, keep trying everything. Search the net. Read the paper. Network. Attend meetings. Use headhunters. Sell yourself. Apply for positions above or below your qualifications. You never know what might happen......

Gender & Science Bookshelf
Kam Dahlquist

While I attended Pomona College, I discovered two outstanding courses that revolutionized the way I looked at science, "Gender and Science" taught by physicist Karen Barad and "Understanding the Earth: Feminist Perspectives" taught by geologist Jill Schneiderman. These two courses helped explain some of the things I had experienced as a woman biology major, and I wished I had taken them when I was a freshman. These courses introduced me to the field of feminist science studies and to the extensive literature on gender and science. Since that time, I have collected more books on the topic and have taken a graduate course from Donna Haraway, a leader in the field, while in graduate school for molecular biology at UC Santa Cruz.

My experience is that women scientists aren’t necessarily familiar with feminist science studies, although it can be of great value to us. It is part of my vision to remedy this situation. I’d like to take this opportunity to review a book or topic in the general subject of gender and science for each upcoming AWIS-PA newsletter. I hope that this column will give an introduction to the field, suggest titles for further reading, and generate discussion. Topics may include: histories or biographies of women in science, the culture of science, feminist theories of knowledge, politics, ecofeminism, career guides for women, science education, and others.

NCC Workshop Highlights Collaborative Leadership
Staff correspondant

Beata Lewis, principal of Bridging Lives, will emphasize five areas where collaboration tends to break down and can be strengthened:

• communication
• negotiation
• conflict resolution
• collaborative process
• agreement structuring

Beata will also introduce the Reina Trust and Betrayal Model™ which provides a comprehensive and practical framework to help people understand the dynamics of trust and betrayal in the workplace.

• develop collaborative leadership skills
• highlight your natural leadership ability
• support and enhance your collaborations
• define your values and goals
• earn greater success in your career

A registration form for the September Workshop may be found on the next page of this newsletter, or on our website (www.pa-awis.org). Please register by September 8.

From the North: Take the 101 Freeway South. Exit at GRAND AVE/SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO. At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn left, at the light, onto AIRPORT BLVD. At stoplight, turn left onto GRAND AVE. Proceed under freeway to EAST GRAND AVE. At the fourth stoplight, turn left onto FORBES BLVD.
From the South: Take the 101 Freeway North. Exit at GRAND AVE/SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO. At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn right onto EAST GRAND AVE. At the first stoplight, turn right to continue on EAST GRAND AVE. At the second stoplight, turn left onto FORBES BLVD.

9^th Career Development Workshop
Collaborative Leadership Skills
Featuring

R.S.V.P. Please register me for the NCC September 16^th Workshop

Phone Email

201 Glenwood Cir. #21C

Monterey, CA 93940