Association for Women in Science Announces New Board Members

WASHINGTON DC, June 23, 2023 – The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is pleased to announce that Dr. Hongmei Huang and Dr. Julia Omotade will join the AWIS National Governing Board beginning July 1, 2023. They will replace Dr. Pam Marrone and Dr. Sue Windham-Bannister who completed their board terms.

Neelima Rao, AWIS Board Chair-Elect and Vice President of Human Resources, Global R&D and North America Hub Leader at AstraZeneca, led the AWIS Nominating and Governance Committee through the board member selection process. “This election cycle was exciting – and difficult – as we received so many strong applications from committed AWIS members during the thirty-day nomination window,” said Rao. “We were delighted to recommend Dr. Huang and Dr. Omotade to complement the perspectives and competencies of the full board.”

AWIS members voted to approve the recommendation and the results were announced during a Town Hall Meeting yesterday.

Dr. Hongmei Huang is an accomplished strategic leader with over 25 years of experience across many domains in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in research and development. She is Vice President and Global Head of Digital Strategy and Enablement at Roche Genentech. She is also a Board Member for the Genentech Foundation and a Core Team member for Genentech Women in Science and Engineering group which leads efforts to develop and support the next generation of diverse leaders.

Dr. Julia Omotade is a cellular and molecular neuroscientist whose expertise spans the academic, nonprofit, and policy sectors. She is a Senior Science Policy Specialist at the Association of American Medical Colleges where she serves as a trusted voice on our nation’s pressing biomedical policy issues including scientific training of and diversity, equity and inclusion in the US scientific biomedical workforce, sexual harassment in academic medicine, and new, national and regional research initiatives.

“I’d like to thank Dr. Pam Marrone and Dr. Sue Windham-Bannister for the stability and leadership they provided throughout the last few years,” said Dr. Isabel Escobar, AWIS Board Chair. “Dr. Marrone was instrumental in assuring AWIS’ financial health during her stint as Board Treasurer. She served beyond the standard board term due to the unusual circumstances created by COVID and shared many insights from her experiences on other boards. Dr. Windham-Bannister served as the past chair of the AWIS board. She set clear priorities to advance the AWIS mission and focused on serving our members and chapters. She is the best coach and collaborator to have in your corner. I’m thankful for her guidance during the last few years.”

To see the complete list of AWIS board members, please visit awis.org/about-awis/governance.