Women in Business Luncheon - April 2021, STEM: Current status in schools & its workplace applications

 

Current STEM status in schools & workplace applications

Featuring an exciting panel discussion with Erandi De Silva, PhD, Co-Founder Forge Biologics, focusing on gene therapies; Alexis McQueen, Program Facilitator JPMorgan Chase & Co. Girls Who Code; Anne Baldwin, Westerville City Schools, Career Tech & College Readiness Coordinator; Nadia Khan, Product Development Engineer, Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc. Facilitated by Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter at Columbus Business First. 


Erandi De Silva

Erandi De Silva, PhD, is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Product Development of Forge Biologics. She is an experienced scientist and entrepreneur, with 10+ years of experience in discovery research, therapeutic development, and partnering across oncology, infectious disease, and gene therapy. Prior to founding Forge, she held leadership roles in both academic and industry settings, including at Myonexus Therapeutics. Dr. De Silva received her BS, with honors, from Stanford University, and earned a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, where she was awarded the Procter Fellowship in recognition of exceptional research. She was also a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Genentech.


Nadia Khan

Nadia Khan received her Masters of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Ohio State University. She began working at Lake Shore Cryotronics as a Product Development Engineer, specializing in Lake Shore’s precision measurement instrumentation department. 

Nadia’s initial focus was instrument design and the calibration processes necessary for sensitive low level electrical measurements. After learning the technical challenges of precision instrument design and calibration, Nadia developed cutting edge calibration systems which are now in use at Lake Shore HQ and enable materials researchers around the world to take some of the most scientifically accurate electrical measurements.
 
Upon completion of Nadia’s calibration work, her role became more project management focused, where she could lead small but multidisciplinary teams in the development of groundbreaking and innovative products, like the Hall Measurement System. Her role was multifaceted, as many are who work for small companies. Nadia took part in leading the strategic product planning as well as the development and implementation of a hybrid project management method to maximize her cross-functional teams efficiency. 
 
Nadia takes pride in her new role within Lake Shore’s Magnetics Sensors Development Group where she currently leads the development of a new line of Hall-Effect Measurement sensors.


Alexis McQueen

Alexis McQueen, Program Facilitator JPMorgan Chase & Co. Girls Who Code. Lexi McQueen is an iOS software developer at JPMorgan Chase, an Otterbein alum, and the original Student Founder of the Girls Who Code clubs sponsored by Otterbein University. She is a Cincinnati Native, and uses her STEM degree by day, but uses her artistic and musical talents by night, playing her way through cafes in Westerville, Ohio. One of her biggest achievements is starting a nonprofit with her mother towards the start of the quarantine, where she worked with young women of color to help process through the highly charged emotions of the political uproar during 2020. She plays 6 instruments and she likes to train with longswords, one handed sabers, and other medieval weapons in her downtime as an exercise activity.

 

Anne Baldwin

Anne Baldwin is the Career Tech and College Readiness Coordinator for Westerville City Schools and has played an integral role in the development and implementation of career pathways in Westerville City Schools in Business Logistics, Engineering, and Health.  Anne continues to work with classroom instructors, building leaders, career center partners, and industry partners to further develop and grow each pathway. In addition to supporting the district's Career Pathways, Anne coordinates College Credit Plus enrollment for the district and supports the secondary school counseling team. 
 
Previous to her role in Westerville, Anne was the founding principal of the Reynoldsburg Health Sciences and Human Service Academy, one of four interest-based academies serving Reynoldsburg high school students.  As principal, Anne worked collaboratively with staff to reengineer the curriculum with a STEM focus including a senior capstone experience, led the development of a unique partnership with Mount Carmel to launch an on-campus healthcare center, and successfully applied for STEM designation from the Ohio Department of Education.  Anne also served as an instructional coach and Social Studies instructor at Reynoldsburg High School.  

Facilitated by Carrie Ghose: 

Carrie Ghose has been a reporter at Columbus Business first nearly 14 years, covering the industries of healthcare and technology, and soon to add insurance and finance. Before that she was at the AP Columbus bureau five years, and a freelancer and daily reporter in Michigan. She lives in the University District of Columbus with her husband, two kids and nutty dog.