Home to numerous colleges and universities, and serving as one of the nation’s top hubs for the biopharma industry, the greater Philadelphia area has a vibrant STEM community across all career stages. For over 35 years, the AWIS Philadelphia chapter (AWIS-PHL) has provided the women in the STEM community with a wide range of resources to further their personal and professional development.

Throughout its history, AWIS-PHL has learned to adapt to the changing needs of the community. Since 2020, our event formats have shifted from primarily in-person to alternating between in-person and virtual. This has allowed us to benefit from face-to-face networking and relationship building, while also affording us the flexibility and increased reach that comes with virtual events.

The 2024-2025 year was truly a mix of old and new. We continued providing resources offered in previous years, but also expanded our efforts in new areas:

• Our Mentoring Circle Program, one of our flagship initiatives, has offered small-group mentorship for 12 years. This year, in partnership with the STEM in the Liberal Arts (STEMLA) program at Bryn Mawr College, we added a pilot mentoring program specifically for undergraduate students. Creating a program exclusive to undergraduate students allowed us to focus on providing resources centered around the unique milestones and hurdles they. The program was well-received and has led to a continuing partnership with Bryn Mawr College, as we are currently planning the next cycle!
• One of the ongoing Chapter goals is to foster and develop collaborations with local institutions. Our opening event for the 2024-2025 year was held in collaboration with the Legacy Center Archives and Special Collections at Drexel University, our institutional partner. We toured the Center’s vast collection of artifacts highlighting the impacts of women in STEM and medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and its predecessor institutions. In Spring 2025, we also hosted a speed networking event in collaboration with Merck. This was a very well-attended event that gave attendees an insight into different STEM career trajectories available in a pharmaceutical industry setting.

  

• AWIS-PHL offers annual travel awards to support the attendance of early career female scientists at national or international meetings. AWIS-PHL is especially interested in supporting the professional development of women who will be presenting at a significant forum for the first time, providing important exposure for the student and her work. Applicants undergo a rigorous application and review process, by volunteer AWIS-PHL members, to be selected for these awards.
• In recent years, we have also made dedicated efforts to support Chapter leadership as we embark on new projects. This has resulted in expanding the Board to include committees for certain areas. We now have multi-person committees for our Mentoring Program, general programs, and most recently, outreach efforts. Our hope is that the added support not only allows us to focus on multiple projects but also brings new volunteers into AWIS-PHL leadership, thus facilitating a creative and productive environment.

To learn more about our chapter and to get involved, visit our website www.awisphl.org or reach out via email awisphlinfo@awisphl.org.  You can also connect with us via social media by following us at AWIS-PHL on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky and LinkedIn.

The Philadelphia chapter is one of eight AWIS chapters who received a 2024 ‘Shooting Star’ Chapter Award. The other recipients were Boston, Chicago, Houston, Notre Dame, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis.