InspiringWomen_Summer2026 Rough Draft May 6

INSPIRING

WOMEN

Women in STEM:

Driving the Future

June 2026 Volume 10 Issue 2

Contents

June 2026 Volume 10 Issue 2

8

profiles

24

Features

Detecting Harmful

Patterns Online

Bella Davis founded

Monarch AI to help

protect children against

the risks they face from

social media.

14

The Gateway to

Overall Health

Rani Shah believes

dentistry is about much

more than teeth, and puts

patient care at the heart of

her practice.

20

The Path From

Critical Analysis to

Practical Impact

As a medical

anthropologist, Isabel

Pires helps women

understand and deal with

fertility challenges.

30

Reshaping

Healthcare

Outcomes in

Emerging Markets

Stella Shanta Oladapo

brings her expertise in

information and data

analysis to the field of

public health to improve

health care in Nigeria

and beyond.

36

How to Choose a

Lucrative STEM

Career

Julien McKinney Young, a

pioneer software engineer

in the male-dominated

military defense field,

encourages women to

pursue computing and

other STEM careers.

44

“STEM and

Creativity Are Not

Opposites”

Anjali Oberoi, a

biochemical engineer, uses

her scientific and business

skills to advance world

food security.

50

Understanding the

Impact of Weather

on our Lives

With a background in

meteorology, science,

history and education,

Kris Harper offers a

unique perspective on

the challenges of

climate change.

A Club Inspires:

Malta

For those who enjoyed the

sunshine and beauty of

Malta at the 2026 Interim

Meeting, and for those

who wished they had, Kim

Smith, Hope Moore and

Lindsay Mann give us a

tour d’horizon of AIWM

and the tiny, but dynamic

island they call home.

40

FAWCO’s Global

Influence-Funding

the Future

Hannah Saavalainen

recipient of The FAWCO

Foundation’s 2026

“Women in STEM” award

shares her thoughts

on choosing a career in

STEM.

56

Inspiring Read:

Getting His Game

Back

In her STEM-themed

romance Getting His Game

Back, award-winning

novelist Gia de Cadenet

tackles the difficult

issues of ethnic diversity,

career aspirations and

mental health.

Themes for 2026

Women Supporting Human Rights

Nominations due: Monday, June 8, 2026

Issue Published: Thursday, September 24, 2026

The Power of Special Friendships

Nominations due: Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Issue Published: Thursday, December 3, 2026

2 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 3

5

6

7

in every issue

A Note from the Editor

Meet Our Partners

Introducing This Issue

62

63

64

65

Our Next Issue

Inspiring You

More About This Issue

That’s Inspired!

It’s thrilling, as well as daunting, to become

the chief editor of Inspiring Women, especially

as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the

magazine’s founding next year. As I read over

the oldest issues, I’m impressed by the courage,

enthusiasm and passion that went into creating

this unique publication. Due to the talent and

dedication of previous editors, Michele and

Liz, the founder Elsie and everyone else who

worked with them, the magazine has evolved

into the beautiful, readable and popular product

it is today. They have made the job both easier

for me by creating strong procedures, reliable

practices and excellent format and, most

importantly, attracting an incredible team, and

harder by setting such a high standard.

a note from

the editor

Meet the New Members of the Team

Teddie Weyr worked 30 years in journalism in Vienna, Washington DC

and Germany as a reporter, editor and manager. She became a certified

Austria Guide in 2020 and, although she enjoys giving tours, she has

maintained her passion for editing. Since 2023, she has been on the

proofreading team of Inspiring Women. She has now taken on the role of

assistant editor. She rejoined AWA Vienna when she returned to the city

in early 2017, having been a member in the 80s and 90s.

Rose Finlay is a content writer, translation editor and film journalist based

in Germany. As the head of the AWC Hamburg’s Film Group, she leads a

team of talented critics who attend film screenings and festivals around

the world. She is the managing editor of Kinocritics.com and is one of

the layout editors for the special film editions of Currents Magazine, the

members’ magazine of AWC Hamburg. When she isn’t at the movies, Rose

is a dedicated chorister, sewist and stationery enthusiast. She is excited to

join the Inspiring Women team as the assistant layout coordinator.

I’m also excited to begin with a theme—Science

and Technology—that I have been interested

in for decades, albeit at the margins. My

first serious job after college was supporting

scientific exchanges with the Soviet Union,

including writing a text for US scientists about

the Soviet research and development system.

That led me to masters’ study in the then

little-known field of science policy. Although I

abandoned that study for a career in diplomacy,

I still handled the science portfolio in a few early

postings.

At that time, unfortunately, we were not paying

much attention to the issue of women in STEM. I

don’t recall any women scientists in the science

and technology exchanges, and only one or

two in my subsequent science-related jobs.

Now, many years later, promoting women in

STEM is a trendy topic, but despite the talk, the

statistics indicate progress is slow. Globally,

only around 35 percent of STEM graduates are

female, with a similar percentage for those

employed in the field and even fewer holding

leadership positions. Moreover, while women

are well-represented in health and life sciences,

they are much less so in the generally more

lucrative computing and engineering fields. I’m

very pleased The FAWCO Foundation is helping

increase those numbers with its Women in STEM

Education Award. We are featuring the most

recent recipient in this issue. (See page 40)

This issue celebrates the women who have

prevailed despite the obstacles women in STEM

face. And there are a lot of you in the FAWCO

community! We received so many nominations

we will devote a future issue to the same theme.

Many of our profilees developed their interest

in science and technology at an early age due

to family influence or from an innate sense

of curiosity and drive to figure out how things

work. It’s a diverse group of women in terms

of age, geographic region, backgrounds and

specialization. I was impressed when reading

these profiles how many combined several

fields, e.g., finance and health, information

technology and life sciences, social science and

biology. And they pursue science and technology

not only for the love of the field; they are using

their skills very creatively to tackle difficult,

contemporary social issues – food security,

climate change, access to health care.

For the remainder of this year, we plan to set

the stage for next year’s anniversary with a

few reflections on the past and a look toward

the future. In 2021, we published “Tech Savvy

Women.” We invite you to take a look and think

about what has changed and what has stayed

the same for Women in STEM.

Connie

Inspiring Women

Editor


meet our partners

introducing

this issue

Ponte Travels p.43

More than a vacation! Discover journeys that

go beyond with AWC Oslo member Mary Stange.

Choose popular itineraries or have Mary

customize one for you.

The Pajama Company p.43

Ellie Badanes, AW Surrey and FAUSA

member and founder of The Pajama

Company, wants to make sure that your

sleep time is fashionable, comfortable and

fun! FAWCO members receive a discount

with the promo code FAWCO10.

The State Department Federal

Credit Union (SDFCU) p.13

FAWCO was honored to have SDFCU as a

disamond sponsor for the 2026 Interim

Meeting. SDFCU has members worldwide,

with over $2.4 billion in assets. FAWCO is

part of the special field of membership,

and members can apply to take advantage

of their services.

2026 Interim Meeting Sponsors

Dr. Krauss Relocation Services p. 34

FAWCO is pleased to introduce our newest

partner, Dr. Krauss Relocation Services—

specialists in smooth, stress-free relocations

to Vienna. They provide expert, personalized

support to help you settle in with ease.

MyExpatTaxes p.55

Filing your taxes from abroad just got easier

in 2026! Nathalie Goldstein, Enrolled Agent

and CEO of MyExpatTaxes, breaks down the

key updates every American abroad needs

to know. Everything from knowing the

basics to understanding the recent changes

can make tax season much smoother

LAUNCH Education Advisors p.35

LAUNCH Education Advisors are experts

who will thoroughly help your student get

ready for university. Sara Bittner, co-founder,

is a member of AWC Amsterdam.

LAUNCH Education Advisors is a FAWCO

Target Program sponsor.

We wish to thank the following companies who sponsored the

2026 FAWCO Interim Meeting in Malta

Sixty-five years ago, NASA scientists and engineers established the foundation for the Apollo

program. They undertook some unusual and odd experiments. There were mistakes, one

catastrophic, and delays, but their efforts led to the success of the mission. The results formed the

procedures and steps that would lead humans to the moon. Many women supported the project

both inside and outside of NASA.

Fifty-seven years ago, NASA successfully launched Apollo 11 and put a man on the moon. It

was a glorious day “for all mankind.” Only ONE woman was in Mission Control on launch day,

Poppy Northcutt.

Ten years ago, NASA launched the Artemis Project to put humans back on the moon. Learning

from the Apollo mission, they developed the project, testing and probing. There were many, many

tests and experiments. Some met with success, some not, but what was learned formed the basis

for the Artemis missions. Thousands of women supported the project both inside and outside of

NASA.

In April 2026, Artemis 2 launched into space. The flight crew included Christina Koch, the first

woman to fly in the vicinity of the moon. It set the record for the longest distance for human flight

from earth. Of the 91 members in Mission Control on launch day, at least 30 were women. The

director of this flawless mission was a woman, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.

Ten years ago, some of us in FAWCO started to poke our “what if” stick at the possibility of starting

a magazine. Our staff of two probed and prodded the idea from hypothesis to experimentation,

learning from our successes and even more so from our mistakes. We experimented with various

drafts, experienced delays, but like the Apollo mission, our work led us to exactly what we wanted.

In 2017, we launched FAWCO’s magazine, Inspiring Women.

Five years ago, Inspiring Women published its first science-themed issue, “Women and the

Digital World–Tech Savvy Women.” By then, we were a staff of five creative women. We wanted

to probe deeper into the “tech” industry in a way that would be most informative to our readers.

The women featured were involved in the topics of the time: social media, data privacy, remote

learning and meetings, virtual collaboration and educating the next generation. Women were part

of the technology and science fields, albeit playing catch-up.

In 2026, Inspiring Women launches its second tech issue, “Women in STEM.” The industry and

opportunities in tech and science have grown exponentially and change daily. Our staff of eight

needed to rethink our questions and adjust some of our thinking. A STEM background is not just

for scientists and engineers, it plays an essential role in almost any career path or passion. The

women featured in this issue are not playing catch-up. They are leading

the way and setting the pace, much like the journey women are making

toward the moon. Both are great examples that Inspiring Women is

proud to follow.

Elsie

Inspiring Women

Contributing Editor


profile

Detecting Harmful

Patterns Online

Bella Davis, AWC Berlin, entered the tech world by accident and went on

to found Monarch AI, an early risk detector for educators. She describes

how her start-up helps protect children against the risks they face from

social media.

The idea for Monarch AI was born on my

couch in Berlin. I was watching congressional

hearings in which tech CEOs faced rooms full

of grieving parents, holding photos of children

lost to self-harm, cyberbullying and the dangers

of unregulated platforms. I couldn’t look away.

I had seen firsthand what exposure to online

harm does to a young person’s psyche and

sense of self. I love children deeply; they are,

without question, my greatest motivation. Seeing

the wave of stories from parents who had lost

children to self-harm due to social media, online

challenges and cyberbullying broke something in

me.

The majority of AI today is not being used

to improve lives - much of it is extractive,

not additive. Existing edtech tools lack real,

proactive protection for children, at home and

in school. I am building Monarch AI to detect

harmful patterns early and alert schools before

situations escalate. Since I returned to the US in

January 2026, the response to Monarch AI has

been extraordinary. I’ve independently built a

pipeline of 50,000 devices representing three

million dollars in contracts. The impact will be

measurable and tangible, and I cannot wait to see

it unfold.

Bella Davis

Presenting Monarch AI

at a conference at the

University of Washington

with youths working at

Space X and Microsoft


An International Upbringing Steeped in

Science and Education

I come from a multicultural household rooted

in resilience and excellence. My father was from

Guinea and my mother from Burkina Faso, both

part of the pioneering generation of young

Africans who pursued higher education during

the post-colonial era when their countries were

gaining independence. They met in the 1960s

as students at university in France and built

a life defined by intellectual ambition and an

unshakeable belief in the power of education.

I grew up between Paris, Dakar, San Francisco

and Seattle. My childhood was shaped by

constant movement, French-American schools,

cultural immersion and curiosity. My mother’s

career in economics, banking and eventually

diplomacy meant that adaptability became

second nature to me. My father was a physician

and virologist, so science was always present

in our home—not as a subject, but as a way

of thinking, of asking questions and seeking

answers.

With father, mother and brothers at the Marriott Hotel on

New Years 2010, Portland, Oregon

From Nintendo to Monarch AI via Berlin

My parents instilled in us early on that investing

in knowledge was nonnegotiable; boarding

school and studying abroad shaped much

of my formative years. My career, initially in

insurance, took an unexpected turn into tech

when I landed a role at Nintendo in Redmond,

Washington—largely because I was perfectly

bilingual in French and English, a rare find at

the time. At 26, I was working at Microsoft,

navigating early morning calls with Europe from

Seattle and quietly asking myself what would

come next. After nearly a decade of corporate

America—juggling career, travel and, at times,

university simultaneously—I made a decision

that surprised even myself. I quit my job, sold

everything and moved to New York City. A few

months later, wanting to learn German again

and drawn by the possibility of world-class,

affordable education, I arrived in Berlin in 2017,

with two large suitcases and not a single contact

in the city. I enrolled at the Technical University

of Berlin for a master’s in information systems

management, planning to stay two years. Berlin

became home for nearly eight years. I am now

building Monarch AI from the East Coast, actively

signing contracts with schools across the United

States.

experience you need before you make your

move. Be bold. Be courageous. Be prepared to

be better than anyone else in the room, because

the bar will be set higher for you—that is the

reality we are still navigating. But once you’ve

crossed every t and dotted every i, and you’ve

armed yourself with grit and resilience, there

is no greater feeling than watching your vision

come together, especially after a long and hardfought

journey.

Women are not absent from entrepreneurship

because they lack ideas; they are absent

because the system was not built with them in

mind. Black women like me represent less than

1% of tech founders and receive approximately

0.2% of venture funding. That is not a gap—it is

a wall. I knew when I started Monarch AI that it

would be difficult, but I did not fully grasp how

difficult. It required not just resources, but an

extraordinary amount of mental endurance.

Without the support of my family, I might have

stopped. I want the next woman in tech—

especially the next Black woman—to know she

is not imagining the resistance. It is real. Yet it is

still worth tackling.

Inspirational Figures

My mother, a woman who quietly and singlehandedly

changed the trajectory of countless

lives, has always been my greatest inspiration.

She funded the education of extended family

members and supported families who had

nowhere else to turn, while asking for nothing

in return. At the same time, she is the woman

who once shushed a prime minister because

important news was on television and who

spoke with presidents as though it were the

most natural thing in the world. She was

powerful and humble in equal measure. I am

proud, in so many ways, to be her daughter.

My father, who recently passed away, was

equally foundational to who I am. Together

they were my first believers, offering not just

emotional and financial support during the most

demanding season of building Monarch AI but

an unwavering conviction that what I am doing

matters.

But inspiration, I’ve learned, doesn’t only come

from where you expect it. I have been humbled

by the generosity of people who owe me

nothing: strangers who opened their networks

without hesitation, my advisors, my friends and

my team who show up with dedication every

single day. I have learned that no one builds

something meaningful entirely alone.

With her mother

Fostering and Guiding Young People,

Especially Women, in STEM

I began mentoring during COVID and, though

my schedule is demanding, I always make

time to respond to young people who reach

out. I believe in being honest with them—not

discouraging, but real. My advice to young

women is this: educate yourself relentlessly,

don’t rush the process and gather the

At the AWC Berlin board meeting with Nelly Heidbrink, My-Linh Kunst, Barbara Irigoyen, Alex Kinney,

Prachi Shah, and Claudia Tessier


Rewarding Moments

Recently, a principal said something to me that

I will not forget for a long time: “I don’t care what

it costs. What we’re seeing on these tablets is so

grave it’s a necessity.” Her school had prevented

a student suicide—by checking tablets by hand.

Monarch AI was built to fill this precise gap:

detecting harmful patterns before they escalate,

catching what human review and keyword filters

simply cannot.

Seeing school administrators and

superintendents enthusiastic about our mission

or watching dedicated educators recognize the

urgency of what we are building sustains me

on the hardest days. Being recognized by the

German government with a startup award in

November 2024 profoundly validated my work,

as did earning the trust of institutions like NYU

and Yale. Those moments confirm that the

problem is real, the solution is needed and the

work is worth every sacrifice it has asked of

me. Knowing that what we are building could

prevent even one child from experiencing lasting

harm is the most grounding feeling I know.

Creating a Safer Digital Environment

for Children

Delay smartphones for as long as possible.

These devices are engineered to be addictive.

That is not an accident, it is a design choice. A

basic phone for communication is more than

sufficient for a young child. But beyond the

devices themselves, the most powerful tool

parents have is conversation.

I recently spoke with a four year old who was

insisting on an iPad. Rather than simply saying

no, I explained, in terms he could understand,

that the people who built the iPad want him on

it constantly, that someone studied what would

make him love it and that he was the product.

He listened and asked what he could do instead.

We landed on Legos, books and playing outside.

The conversation worked, not because I was

strict, but because I respected his intelligence.

Children understand more than we give them

credit for. Explain the why, and they will often

surprise you.

New Risks and Opportunities in the

Near Future?

Technology is advancing faster than our

guardrails for it. AI, when used responsibly,

can genuinely transform education, safety

and access to resources. But the risks are

equally real. We are at a critical point where

the decisions made now, by founders,

regulators and institutions, will shape the

digital environment children grow up in for

decades. I am a firm believer in stronger, clearer

regulation. Innovation should never come at

the expense of the most vulnerable. The sooner

safety becomes a non-negotiable part of how we

build, the better off we will all be.

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profile

The Gateway to Overall

Health

Dentist Rani Shah, ACIW Mumbai, believes good health starts in the

mouth. Patient care is at the heart of her practice.

Dentistry is about much more than teeth.

It sits at the intersection of science, function

and overall wellbeing. At its most basic level, it’s

where our energy begins. The ability to chew,

break down food and nourish the body starts in

the mouth, and that alone makes it fundamental

to how we live and feel each day. I see the mouth

as the true entry point to the body. It’s where

the external world meets our internal systems,

closely connected to our cerebral pathways, our

senses and our overall health. What happens in

the mouth isn’t isolated, it has a ripple effect.

That’s what I value most about dentistry. It

allows me to work in a space that is both deeply

scientific and incredibly human, where small

interventions can have a meaningful impact on

someone’s health, confidence and quality of life.

I grew up just outside New York City in Wayne, NJ,

with my parents and younger sister in a caring

and supportive family that encouraged challenge

and curiosity.

Many of my family members were in medicine

and other academic fields. My aunt was an

anesthesiologist, and my cousins were studying

to become doctors, engineers and lawyers. Being

around them sparked my early interest in science

and naturally drew me toward medicine. How the

human body works and its resilience

fascinated me.

Rani Shah

Photos clockwise from the top:

presenting dentistry through oral hygiene;

happy patient at Dental Care, Mumbai, India;

working at Preferred Dental Care, Flushing, NY;

teaching nursery school students to care for

14

themseles and animals; favorite assistant, Aayan

INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 15

Study and Internship Abroad Influences

Career Choice

I majored in human physiology and minored

in public health at Boston University (BU),

immersing myself in science and health both

academically and through the community. I

initially planned to pursue medicine, but that

path shifted during my study abroad program in

London, where due to legal restrictions against

hospital placements, I interned at NHS Dental

in Fulham. It was my first real exposure to

the day-to-day functioning of a large practice.

Those rewarding eight weeks gave me a new

perspective on a very specific part of the human

body, showing me what impact hands-on

dentistry could have.

Upon my return, I completed my senior year

at BU and went on to attend Boston University

Goldman School of Dental Medicine, graduating

Magna Cum Laude (Class of 2011).

LIfe and Work in Mumbai

During my second year of dental school, I visited

Mumbai with friends, mainly for the culinary

scene and nightlife. During that trip, I met my

husband, who was already a family friend and

just beginning his career as a cinematographer.

Our long-distance relationship grew steadily

over three years, leading to engagement and

eventual wedding. After completing dental

school and a year of residency at St. Joseph’s

Regional Medical Center, I moved to Mumbai,

obtained my dental license and began building

both my career and my home here. We have

now been married 13 years and have a six-yearold

son, Aayan.

Mumbai is a dynamic city, layered and full of life.

Practicing in Mumbai has added a unique depth

to my approach. Patients come from diverse

Graduating from Boston University

backgrounds, often making treatment decisions

as a family, which makes communication

and education essential in building trust and

increasing dental awareness. We also see

many international patients, which requires

thoughtful, well-coordinated treatment within

a defined timeframe while maintaining a high

standard of care.

A Multi-disciplinary Practice

Dentistry has taught me that no case exists

in isolation. Comprehensive care often brings

together endodontists, periodontists, oral

and maxillofacial surgeons and, at times,

pediatricians and primary care doctors. Working

in these environments has shown me the value

of collaboration and how each perspective

strengthens patient outcomes.

I have been fortunate to learn from many

inspiring professionals along the way. A summer

“externship” in New York City’s Times Square,

at a beautifully run practice that balanced

aesthetics with function, grounded me in

chairside care and patient experience.

function while also bringing back a patient’s

confidence is incredibly fulfilling, especially when

you can see the shift in how they feel about

themselves.

Equally meaningful is helping patients move past

their fear of the dentist. That trust takes time,

and being able to create a space where they

feel comfortable and understood is something I

value deeply.

Woman as Dentist and Patient

One of the ongoing challenges for a woman

in the medical field is navigating the constant

pull between professional and personal

responsibilities. I don’t believe in the idea of

perfect work life balance. At different stages,

either work or family requires more of your time

and attention, and learning to accept that shift

has been important. Having a strong support

system, both at home and professionally, has

made a meaningful difference. It allows me to

stay grounded and continue growing in a way

that feels realistic and sustainable.

Earlier in my career, there were moments

when being young or female meant having to

establish credibility more consciously, whether

with patients or within professional settings.

Over time, that evolved through experience,

consistency and confidence in my

clinical decisions.

Creating a new home in Mumbai with husband, Sanket,

and son, Aayan

Women experience certain oral health

considerations that are closely linked to

hormonal changes across different life stages.

Puberty, pregnancy and menopause can all

influence gum sensitivity, inflammation and

overall oral health. Problems associated with

pregnancy or development of gingivitis or

increased susceptibility to dry mouth during

menopause are not uncommon, and they

highlight how interconnected oral health is with

the rest of the body.

General practice residency at St. Joseph’s

My work with Boston University Dental Public

Health deepened my understanding of how

oral health affects vulnerable populations,

especially children and the elderly. In the New

York City borough of Queens, I practiced in a

multidisciplinary clinic, learning how to integrate

specialties and use data to run an efficient

practice. In Mumbai, I trained alongside an

aesthetic dentist, who approached veneers with

an artistic precision that was deeply inspiring.

Some of the most rewarding moments in my

work come from completing complex cases and

seeing the final result come together. Restoring

Creating a new family in Mumbai

I emphasize consistency in simple habits.

Brushing twice daily, flossing regularly and

maintaining routine dental visits form the

foundation. Beyond that, being mindful of diet,

especially understanding the detrimental effects

of frequent snacking or sugary beverages, plays

a significant role. I also encourage women to pay

attention to subtle changes—bleeding

gums, sensitivity or dryness—rather than

dismissing them. Early awareness makes

a meaningful difference. Chronic gum

inflammation also has been linked to systemic

health concerns, including an increased risk of

cardiovascular disease.


Evolution of a Profession

Over the course of my career, dentistry has

become increasingly precise, efficient and

patient-focused. Advances in digital radiography

and imaging have allowed for earlier and more

accurate diagnosis, while reducing patient

exposure and improving treatment planning.

AI is beginning to play a meaningful role in

dentistry, particularly in diagnostics, treatment

planning and practice management. It can

assist in reading radiographs, identifying early

signs of decay or bone loss, and support more

precise, data-driven decisions. At the same time,

dentistry remains a deeply human profession.

Clinical judgment, experience and patient trust

are central to how we diagnose and treat.

Materials have evolved significantly as well. In

aesthetic dentistry, nano-hybrid and nano-filled

composites have made a noticeable difference,

particularly for direct veneers, offering

improved strength, polishability and a more

natural translucency.

Getting the Next Generation Interested

in Science

I believe the most effective way to engage young

people in science is to make it tangible and

relevant to their daily lives. When children can

see and participate in what’s happening, science

becomes something they can understand and

apply, which is often where real curiosity begins.

In Mumbai, I’ve conducted age-based

presentations in schools where I speak about

dental hygiene, my journey in dentistry and

broader concepts of health and science.

With older students, I incorporate interactive

activities like cleaning boiled eggs stained

with soda and juice to mirror how staining

affects teeth. With younger children, I use

simple, hands on tools such as thread to

demonstrate flossing and toothbrushes to

remove play dough “plaque.” I’ve also conducted

presentations and workshops, not necessarily

about dentistry, but on science and health to

three-year-olds. This prompted curiosity and

“what will I be when I grow up” questions.

I find a lot of purpose in education, whether

it’s guiding adults toward healthier habits

or working with children to build those

foundations early on. Teaching patients and

kids alike about oral health, and seeing them

apply it in their daily lives, is one of the most

lasting and rewarding aspects of what I do.

ACIW charity shopping mela at the Trident Hotel, BKC, December 2025

Opposite page clockwise from the top left:

earliest memory of a STEM activity, Penny Savings, in elementary school;

graduating Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine in 2011 with Sanket;

quoted in “Are Your Child’s Teeth Cavity-Free?” in The Times of India;

presenting dentistry through oral hygiene lessons at a school


profile

The Path From Critical

Analysis to Practical

Impact

Isabel Pires, AWC Antwerp, is a medical anthropologist specializing in

fertility issues. She explores the interdisciplinary nature of her field and

offers advice for understanding fertility challenges.

Medical anthropology is an

interdisciplinary scientific field that studies

how social, cultural, political and economic

factors affect health, illness and the body,

combining insights from anthropology and

the health sciences to better understand how

people respond to different types of care. It also

examines how medical knowledge and practices

are produced and applied.

PhD dissertation day

I value this field because it moves beyond

purely biomedical explanations to address the

complexities of real life. It highlights how factors

such as gender, migration, inequality and cultural

expectations influence both access to care and

the ways in which bodies are understood and

treated. Medical anthropology thus contributes

to more reflexive, inclusive and equitable

approaches to health, while also opening critical

perspectives on the limits and assumptions of

contemporary medicine.

Isabel doing

field work in

China


From Childhood Curiosity to Scientific Career

I grew up in Portugal where I had little

engagement with STEM but was deeply curious

about cultures and human diversity. I was

especially fascinated by differences—how

people live, think and organize their worlds

across time and place. My mother’s paintings,

inspired by ancient Egypt, sparked a strong

interest in distant histories and civilizations. For

a long time, I imagined that I would become

an archaeologist. Later, I came to understand

that my interest extended beyond the past,

to the broader question of human experience

and cultural variation, which I would eventually

recognize as anthropology.

Leaving home to pursue a degree in

anthropology marked the beginning of a more

structured engagement with my childhood

questions. I was introduced to different

theoretical and methodological approaches to

understanding human diversity, culture and

social life, allowing me to deepen and refine my

earlier intuitions.

I was drawn to medical anthropology through

a broader interest in understanding how the

body is deeply shaped by social and cultural

aspects, not just biology. My interest in

fertility and infertility emerged recently, and is

connected with my personal experience, which

intersected with my academic perspective. This

led me to reflect more critically on the limits of

biomedical knowledge and how uncertainty is

managed in reproductive medicine. Infertility

and especially my focus, termed “unexplained

infertility,” raise important questions about

diagnosis, responsibility and the pressure placed

on individuals, often women, to continuously

optimize their bodies and decisions. It is a

field where biological processes, emotional

experiences and social expectations intersect

in particularly complex ways, making it both

analytically rich and socially relevant.

Realizing that anthropology provided not only

a way to study cultural difference, but also a

critical lens through which I could examine

issues such as the body, health and inequality

helped shape my academic path and led

me to specialize and do research in medical

anthropology.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my work

has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork,

engaging directly with people. Working in China

as part of my doctoral research, I was able to

gain a deeper understanding of the practices

and perspectives that I study through immersion

in a different culture. The opportunity to listen

to participants and learn from them, to engage

with their everyday lives, was both intellectually

and personally meaningful.

I also enjoy presenting my research at

conferences and teaching. I find the academic

environment, especially working with younger

students, extremely stimulating and enriching.

Lala Joy, a joyful presence and new travel partner

Relationship Between Anthropology and

Health Care Policy

The tension between critical analysis and

practical impact poses a challenge for medical

anthropology. Translating the insights derived

from questioning dominant biomedical

assumptions into policy or clinical practice can

be difficult. There is sometimes a gap between

the nuanced, context-specific knowledge

produced through ethnographic research

and the standardized frameworks that shape

healthcare systems.

Another challenge lies in addressing complex

and sensitive topics such as inequality, race,

gender and access to care without simplifying

them, while making the research accessible

to broader audiences. Additionally, working

across disciplines requires constant negotiation,

as different fields operate with distinct

methodologies, epistemologies and expectations

regarding evidence and validity.

At the same time, increasing globalization

of reproductive technologies and narratives

creates hybrid understandings in which

biomedical explanations coexist with cultural

beliefs and practices. This makes infertility a

particularly dynamic field, shaped by both local

meanings and global influences.

Helping Women Experiencing Fertility

Challenges

Infertility is not a personal or individual failure,

even though it is often experienced as such.

My research highlights how broader social

expectations, medical frameworks and structural

inequalities shape how fertility is understood

and managed. Recognizing this can help shift

some of the burden away from self-blame.

At the same time, my perspective is grounded

in ethnographic fieldwork, engaging directly

with women experiencing fertility challenges as

well as with healthcare professionals. I believe

this can contribute to improving healthcare

services and informing public policies, making

them more responsive and better equipped to

support women. I am also committed to making

these issues more visible to and understood by

the broader public, as I did with my previous

research, engaging with various media outlets.

Finally, I would emphasize the importance of

support networks, whether partners, friends or

communities, and of access to information that

is empowering, not overwhelming. Each person’s

path is different, and there is no single “right”

way to respond to fertility challenges. Creating

room for diverse experiences and choices is also

a form of empowerment.

Isabel Teaching

Culture Matters in Understanding Infertility

Infertility is perceived very differently across

cultures. While in some settings infertility is

framed primarily as a biomedical issue, in

others it is deeply embedded in social, moral

and relational frameworks. For example,

infertility may be interpreted not only as a

physiological condition but also in terms of

family expectations, social status or even

moral responsibility. What is often surprising

is the extent to which infertility is experienced

as something that affects entire families or

communities. In some contexts, the pressure

to have children is closely tied to ideas of

adulthood, femininity and social belonging. This

can intensify the emotional and social impact of

fertility challenges.

A Continuously Active and Intellectually

Enriching Life

I currently commute between Lisbon, where

I studied and continue to pursue research

and teaching, and Antwerp, which became

part of my life when I married a Belgian. This

transnational lifestyle also shapes my academic

work. I am increasingly interested in developing

projects that build connections between the two

environments. We travel often, especially to Asia

and Africa, further informing and enriching my

perspectives on culture, mobility and diversity.

Recently, we decided to adopt a dog, Lala Joy,

who quickly became a joyful presence in my

daily life. I am curious to see how she will adapt

to this mobile lifestyle and whether she will

enjoy traveling as much as we do.


feature

A Club Inspires:

Malta

by Kim Smith, former AIWM

president, Hope Moore, AIWM

president, and Lindsay Mann,

FAWCO representative

Meet the Association of International Women in Malta

In 1969, under the leadership of Jane Kochenderfer, a small group of American women whose

husbands were working in aviation and on the oil rigs off the coast of Libya gathered to start the

American Wives Club. Many of these women were from small towns in Texas and had never

travelled outside the state, much less the United States. To help these women adjust to their new

lives, Jane created a network to support and foster friendship.

As of April 2026 we have 208 members, of whom about 10% are American. The largest nationality

represented is British — about 30%. About 13% of our members are Maltese, lending a local

perspective to our association. Since 2020, we have experienced 140% membership growth! Since

the association’s founding as a club for American women only, we have become more internationally

oriented, now having over 30 nationalities represented. Sometime in the early 1990’s our name was

changed to the Association of International Women in Malta (AIWM), more accurately representing

the international background of our members.

Each of AIWM’s volunteer board of directors is elected for a one-year term at our annual meeting in

March. The elected officers of the board include the president, secretary, treasurer and membership

director. The remaining elected board members (up to six) are members-at-large and are assigned

specific roles according to their interests and the association’s needs. We have three standing

committees: Philanthropy, Social and Global Connections. The Global Connections Committee

is responsible for our affiliation with FAWCO and Open Door, another affiliated group of 70

international women’s clubs.

One of Malta’s guard

towers, perched over the

Grand Harbor with Valletta

in the background.

(photo credit: Lindsay Mann)


AIWM members in identifying red tops at the

International Christmas Fair; (from l to r) Cecilia

Farrugia, Raffles Chair Mary Ann Spiteri, Yvonne

Thomas and Catherine Clark sold raffle tickets.

(photo credit: Kim Smith)

Our Signature Event

The International Christmas Fair began in 2017

as the association’s main annual fundraiser.

Open to the public for one day in mid-November,

it has grown steadily in scale each year, apart

from the COVID period when it was temporarily

suspended. Traditionally held in the ballroom

of the InterContinental Malta, the fair now

also welcomes around 50 local artisans, who

generously donate their table rental fees to

support the charity. In addition, AIWM members

secure contributions from local businesses for a

large raffle, which typically generates about 60%

of the event’s total funds.

Last year, more than 90 members contributed

their time and energy. Many volunteered

throughout the day, helping raise funds through a

variety of AIWM-sponsored stalls, including gently

used items, beauty products, “guess the weight”

games for a ham and a cake and two tombolas

featuring beautifully wrapped international gifts

and candy-filled mugs. A team of creative

members also took charge of designing and

producing the event’s decorations. Beyond

fundraising, the event plays a key role in raising

awareness of the association, attracting new

members and strengthening the sense of

community among existing members.

Celebrating International Women’s Day on a chilly

March morning, members (l to r) Jane Reid and Joelle

Fontaine proudly display AIWM banner in front of the

Knisja Santa Magdalena in Valletta.


Philanthropic Mindset

Along with our mission to unite in friendship

through social and cultural experiences, our

association is committed to giving back to the

Maltese community which has welcomed us.

In light of this, philanthropy has been a focus

of AIWM for many years. We donate funds

to Maltese charities that primarily support

vulnerable women and their children.

Our major fundraising efforts began with our

International Christmas Fair

in 2017. Our current goal is to hold one major

fundraiser annually. A few of our selected

charities include a shelter for victims of domestic

violence, a survivor-led development program

for victims of domestic violence, a residence and

school for children from highly dysfunctional

families, and a skill-development project

for migrant women. While our Philanthropy

Committee completes its due diligence on one

or two charities annually, we also have longterm

relationships with a number of our chosen

charities. Last year, we gave a record €23,799

to our charities with funds raised from our

International Christmas Fair and an expanded

fashion show.

Something for Everyone

During the past year, AIWM offered over

200 events and activities for our members,

including activities such as book clubs,

neighborhood meetups, arts and crafts,

cocktails and conversation, walk and talk,

mahjong, bridge, a singing group, luncheons

and language groups. Our activities generally

occur monthly. In addition, we offer special

events annually, including a welcome- back

party in the fall, a James Bond casino night, a

fashion show and a Christmas party. Further,

our members take advantage of our local

cultural tours and monthly lectures that

highlight Malta history, as well as global issues

at a local level. Every month there is a members

meeting, a social gathering, at which one

member volunteers to speak for a few minutes

about her passions or work. Members pay fees

for many of these events and activities to cover

costs.

h

Th Favorite My

ing

From FAWCO Rep

Lindsay Mann:

Due to our long-term affiliation with

Open Door, a network of International

Women’s Clubs, we thoroughly enjoyed a

social, historical and cultural program,

organised by our sister, IWC Prague.

Generally, we invite one sister club to

Malta and receive an invitation to visit

another sister club every other year.

These trips are my favorite activity,

because we are able to see a city

through the eyes of locals.

The Citadel of Victoria, Gozo’s capital city; the ocean can be seen beyond the small village of Xaghra.



Focus on Relationships Keeps Us

Growing Strong

We believe our strong membership growth,

retention and recruitment of volunteers is

attributed to our early and frequent contact with

new members. Our membership application

includes questions about interests and

volunteer opportunities which are used by

committee chairs to start recruitment early

in membership. In the first weeks after a new

member joins, the membership director follows

up with a welcome call and several written

communications to welcome and inform new

members. We hold two to three evening New

Member Welcome Gatherings per year to

introduce new members to each other and to

the board and committee chairs, as well as to

ask and answer questions about the club in a

social setting. Finally, we regularly administer

membership satisfaction surveys to hear from

our members and use their feedback in our

near-term strategy.

h

Th Favorite My

ing

From President

Hope Moore:

One of my favorites [events]

was the September welcome back

dinner, getting back together after

the summer to catch up with club

friends. This was held on the rooftop

of a central hotel with buffet food and

fun music. The space was conducive

for moving around, so members and

guests to easily mingle, catch up

with club friends and meet new

members, too.

Tell Us About Malta

One of the smallest members of the European

Union, Malta is an island state in the middle

of the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of three

islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino, of which Malta

is the largest and home to the majority of its

over 550,000+ population. The capital city of

Malta is Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage site,

an open-air museum with beautiful Baroque

architecture from the 1500s. The archipelago

has a rich history, dating as early as 6400BC,

long before the Pyramids and Stonehenge,

through today. To see the depth and expanse

of the historical and cultural sites and activities,

which can be explored on our tiny islands, the

best site for an overview is:

https://www.visitmalta.com/.

Festas and More Abound

Festas…come enjoy one of the most interesting

local traditions, starting in May and lasting

through the summer to September. All villages

across Malta and Gozo come alive with a weeklong

feast in honor of their patron saints. These

traditional festas are characterised by liturgical

services, beautifully decorated churches, street

celebrations, marching bands and spectacular

fireworks. In 2023, UNESCO inscribed Malta’s

festas as an UNESCO Intangible Cultural

Heritage of Humanity, recognizing the festa’s

cultural significance. You are guaranteed to find

a festa somewhere on the islands during a visit

at this time of year. The feast of Santa Marija is

one of the biggest festas, celebrated on August

15 across seven different localities.

Malta also hosts the International Fireworks

Festival every April, as well as the prestigious

Rolex Middle Sea offshore yacht race

every September.

Come Visit!

Malta offers a compact, yet diverse, travel

experience with so many options from which

to choose. There are just too many choices

to cite, and you should tailor your experience

to your personal tastes and interests. We

would be happy to have anyone thinking

about visiting Malta contact our FAWCO

representative, who can ask a member of the

Global Connections Committee to help FAWCO

visitors choose your personal adventure!! It is

always good to have some recommendations

from a local’s perspective.

About the Authors

Three of us enjoyed a team effort: Kim Smith,

the immediate past AIWM president; Hope

Moore, the current AIWM president; and Lindsay

Mann, current FAWCO representative and

another former AIWM president. Lindsay has

lived in Malta for 12 years and abroad in Ireland,

France and Malta for 30 years. Kim moved to

Malta from the US nine years ago, while Hope

has been here three years. Previously, she was a

member of the Munich IWC for 17 years.

A Traveler’s Delight

There are so many sites and activities from

which to choose on the three islands, it is

difficult to name the highlights. It depends upon

one’s interests: history, culture, outdoor

activities, fun or food and drink. For those who

wish to enjoy being in or on the Mediterranean,

the Blue Lagoon offers swimming in crystal-clear

turquoise water, and boat rides around the

island offer spectacular views day and night.

A Luzzu, traditional brightly painted Maltese fishing boat,

adorned with the Eye of Osiris, to protect the fishermen.


Here is a sample of destinations for a three day

stay in Malta:

• Day One: Valletta - Malta Experience and

Sacra Infermeria, St. John’s Co-Cathedral,

Walking Tour of Valletta

• Day Two: Mdina and Rabat/Three Cities

• Day Three: Blue Grotto, Dingli Cliffs, Mosta,

Hagar Qim

The setting sun on the ramparts on Valletta and Grand Harbour, as seen from the Three Cities.



profile

Reshaping Healthcare

Outcomes in Emerging

Markets

Stella Shanta Oladapo, AWC Lagos, started her career at the CDC in

Atlanta, Georgia, as a public health and communications expert. She tells

us about her previous and current life in Nigeria and her company’s goal

to bridge technological gaps.

Stella Shanta Oladapo

Data alone does not create impact; how

we interpret and apply it does. With a background

in public health and communications, I saw

gaps between data collection, decision-making

and community outcomes, particularly in lowresource

settings. In countries like Nigeria, these

gaps are pronounced. Health systems often

struggle with fragmented data, limited workforce

capacity and delayed decision-making. AI and

data analytics offer an opportunity to bridge

these challenges, improving disease surveillance,

optimizing resource allocation and enabling

more targeted, culturally relevant interventions.

Globally, these tools are reshaping healthcare

delivery, but the impact is especially critical in

emerging markets, where scalable solutions can

significantly expand access. My goal has been

to connect these fields to ensure that data are

not just collected, but translated into actionable

insights that strengthen health systems and

improve lives.


7-year-old Stella

An Early Interest in STEM

I was born in Houston, Texas, and raised

in Atlanta, Georgia. With both parents in

healthcare, I grew up curious about how

the body works and naturally gravitated

toward science. In school, I loved both

science and English: science for its hands-on

experimentation and English for its ability

to help me process and communicate ideas.

When I was around age 10, I created illustrated

diagrams of the human body and labeled

them in French, blending science, language

and creativity. I was also drawn to technology;

when my family got a computer, I spent

hours exploring MS-DOS, experimenting with

commands and learning through trial and error.

These experiences sparked my curiosity and

taught me to approach science and technology

as both analytical and creative, and continue to

influence how I learn and solve problems today.

Science in Action

After earning a Bachelor of Science in chemistry

from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Master

of Public Health from Georgia State University,

I began my career at the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. At CDC,

the leading US public health agency, I developed

qualitative analysis skills and saw how data

inform real-world health decisions.

Later, working in Nigeria with Shell Petroleum

Development Company on health systems -

strengthening initiatives, leading communitybased

health insurance programs across the

Niger Delta, I experienced science in action with

strategy, data and community engagement

intersecting. Over three years, our work

contributed to a significant reduction in motherto-child

HIV transmission. That experience

clarified my path: using science not just to

understand problems but to design solutions

that create measurable, lasting impact.

Returning to Africa

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was on one

of the last evacuation flights out of Lagos

organized by the US Department of State, an

experience that underscored both uncertainty

and resilience. Shortly after, I spent five years

with the CDC, deepening my work in public

health during a critical global moment.

Recently, I decided to return to Lagos—a place

that has long been central both to my personal

and professional journey. The transition has

been energizing. My children are adjusting well,

and, together, we are rediscovering the city by

exploring new restaurants, playgrounds and

simple joys like weekend milkshake outings.

At this stage, life feels both grounded and

expansive: building meaningful work while

creating a rich, memorable experience for my

family, one weekend at a time.

MPH Graduation, Georgia State University

At Xavier University Alumni Mixer 2025, Atlanta, Georgia

Encouraging Young Women to Get Involved in

Science and Technology

I strongly believe mentorship is one of the most

powerful drivers of opportunity, especially

for young women in STEM. I still maintain a

relationship with my first mentor in Nigeria.

The experience reinforced for me how

transformative the right guidance can be. I run

a structured mentorship program that matches

mentees with experienced professionals

for six months each year. Beyond career

advice, the program emphasizes discipline,

consistency and professional resilience—skills

that cannot be developed through academics

alone. Participants gain exposure to real-world

challenges, receive personalized guidance

and build the confidence to navigate maledominated

spaces.

Because representation matters, I also

create spaces where young women can

see themselves reflected in leadership.

By combining mentorship, exposure and

community, I aim not only to spark interest in

STEM, but sustain it—helping young women

envision and pursue long-term, effective

careers in science and technology.

The Pros and Cons of AI

Initially, I was hesitant about AI because I

pride myself on strong, award-winning writing

and analytical skills. However, my perspective

has evolved, and I now see AI as a powerful

complement rather than a replacement. One

of the most exciting advancements is using

data to improve both access and outcomes.

AI enhances efficiency by rapidly synthesizing

large datasets, identifying patterns and

supporting evidence-based decision-making.

It also strengthens health communication

by helping tailor messaging to specific

audiences and improving clarity, reach and

impact. For program management, AI can

streamline workflows, forecast trends and

optimize resource allocation, which is critical

in complex health systems. AI enables earlier

detection of diseases through imaging and

predictive analytics while also supporting more

personalized treatment plans. In parallel, digital

health platforms and wearable technologies are

empowering individuals to take a more active

role in managing their health in real time.

What excites me most is the potential for AI

to strengthen health systems: streamlining

operations, improving decision-making

and expanding care to underserved

communities. In regions with limited resources,

these tools can bridge critical gaps in workforce

and infrastructure.

On the other hand, overreliance on AI can risk

losing human nuance, particularly in culturally

sensitive communication, and biases in data can

reinforce inequities if not carefully managed. I

see AI as a strategic tool that is most effective

when paired with human judgment, contextual

understanding and ethical oversight to ensure it

drives equitable and meaningful outcomes.

Hyphen Partners: Bridge Between Strategy,

Data and Execution

I founded Hyphen Partners in 2025 to

help organizations move from fragmented

information to systems that drive clear,

measurable outcomes. We help institutions

standardize how data are captured, interpreted

and applied by building simple, scalable

frameworks and embedding technology in ways

that are practical rather than overwhelming.

This includes strengthening data governance,

improving reporting systems and integrating

digital tools that support decision-making in

real time.


In communities, particularly where resources

are scarce, we focus on making data actionable,

ensuring it informs program design, resource

allocation and impact measurement.

Ultimately, our goal is to make data and

technology accessible, usable and consistent, so

organizations can operate with greater clarity,

efficiency and accountability while improving

outcomes at scale.

Building a Career Combining Science,

Innovation and Social Impact

My most important advice is that relationships

matter as much, or even more than, technical

skill. Your network often determines the

opportunities you can access, the mentors

who guide you and the platforms where your

work is seen. Build intentional relationships

with people who challenge you, support you

and expose you to new ways of thinking.

Seek mentors early, but also invest in peer

networks; those relationships often become

future collaborators and employers. Don’t

underestimate the power of staying in touch;

consistency builds trust over time.

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At the same time, develop strong foundational

skills in your field and stay curious about how

technology is reshaping it. The intersection

of public health and innovation is growing

rapidly in Africa, and there is significant space

for young women to lead. Ultimately, combine

competence with connection. Your skills will

open doors, but your relationships will keep

them open and expand them.

with Ambassador Patrenia Werts Onuoha, Small World,

Lagos, 2026

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How to Choose a

profile

Lucrative STEM Career

Julien McKinney Young, AWG Paris, is a software engineer and

computer science professor. She notes how “Dress for Success” has a

different meaning in the engineering culture, and welcomes the rise of

women in the computing field.

As a software engineer, I worked on teams

to create military defense systems. There were

so few women in the field at that time that we

stood out among our male peers. (I was the only

woman on a team of 40 men.) I encountered

some suspicion at the start of every new job

because I wore nice suits and pretty shoes, not

the usual overall engineering vibe! (This was in

the days before “casual Fridays.”) It usually took

a technical crisis or two before I would hear

someone mutter, “Oh, you know your stuff. I

wasn’t sure because you dressed too well.” In

general, there was so much work to be done,

and so few engineers to do it, that I had plenty

of opportunities for work and promotions. When

I felt somewhat overlooked on one project due

to my youth and gender, I just found a job on

another, larger project.

Julien McKinney Young

Puzzles during

2020 Covid-19

Lockdown


From International Relations to

Computer Science

I grew up in the 70’s when computer

programming was a very new thing and I did

not know any engineers or programmers. As

an Army brat, education and good grades were

highly valued. Going to college and getting

at least a bachelor’s degree was the default

option. There was no pressure to get a STEM

degree - just a degree that would lead to

financial stability and independence. My BA

was in international relations from the College

of William & Mary in Virginia. After graduation,

I moved to Washington, DC, where there were

many young college grads with similar degrees

amidst a recession. Finding a job in my field

was difficult. After a couple of years, it became

clear I needed to go back to school and get a

marketable skillset. At the time, there were

pages of job openings in The Washington Post

requiring a computer science (CS) degree. I

liked the salary ranges in those job listings,

and knew, if other humans could get a CS

degree, then I could, too. With my first Master

of Science in CS, I was prepared for any of a

number of jobs for which there were insufficient

qualified applicants. After I started my career,

employers paid for me to take classes and

collect further degrees (another MS and a PhD).

Eventually, I started teaching at the university

level while working in private industry. I enjoyed

encouraging students to achieve more than they

thought possible.

At the Office (2015)

I didn’t analyze at a higher level what it was

like to work in national defense. I was just

working on projects and trying to succeed at

my profession! I didn’t have time to really think

about the larger picture of the industry as a

whole. I faced the same type of challenges as in

every field: short deadlines, shrinking budgets,

getting along with other humans. In the private

industry, I loved solving hard problems under

tight deadlines, being a subject matter expert

and being exposed to a wide variety of problems

to solve.

Advice for New Entrants to the STEM Field

Over the course of my 30-year career, I

have seen more women enter the software

engineering field. Companies are looking to hire

and promote women and minorities.

Any discussion would help young people to

see engineering as a possible and lucrative

career path. “Bring your kid to work day” is a

good way to expose young people to the field.

My town has retired and current astronauts

come speak to local middle school and high

school students. Middle school and high school

counselors could educate on opportunities for

engineering-inclined students. I would add the

following sentence to the end of every LEGO

advertisement, “If you love building with LEGOs,

you should look at engineering!”

I encourage people (male and female) to

develop a job skill that leads to financial selfdetermination

and has more job openings

than applicants. Although, today, AI is replacing

entry-level programming jobs for unclassified,

off-the-shelf, search applications, programmers/

software engineers are needed to create and

modify AI tools. Engineering and programming

are geeky jobs that require and reward

continued education. Combining professional

responsibilities and night classes is an expected

progression for career advancement.

Relocating to Paris

My husband and I came often to Paris whenever

we had vacation time. We found it easy and fun

to visit. After the children were born, we got

in the habit of spending holidays with them in

Croatia (2019)

Paris. Eventually, I took early retirement. My

husband and I moved the family to Paris for a

“family semester abroad.” We liked it, and the

children made friends easily, so we stayed.

These last two years, our lives have been rather

peripatetic and we spend quite a bit of time in

the US, because my husband and I have very

elderly parents in the final stages of life.

AWG Paris Cooking Class with Cathy Farnan (2019)

AWG Paris Centennial Committee (April 1, 2022): Suzanne Wheeler, Kristina Soleymanlou, Julien McKinney Young,

Rebecca DeFraites, Sandy Gogel ( missing: Clydette de Goot)


feature

FAWCO’s Global

Influence—Funding

the Future: Women in

STEM

The FAWCO Foundation Education Awards Program was created

for FAWCO and FAUSA members. Funded through the generosity of

our FAWCO community, the Program rewards and honors academic

excellence and the all-around achievements of our members and their

families. Congratulations to Hannah Saavalainen, the 2026 recipient

of the Women in STEM award.

“Last year, while finishing my degree, I

was filled with gratitude for choosing to study

neuroscience. I cannot imagine a field more

fascinating, meaningful, complex, inspiring and

cutting-edge, one that sits at the crossroads of

biology, psychology and the human experience.

I have always been a curious and analytical person.

Growing up, I often found myself wanting to

understand why and how things worked. Attending

an international school surrounded by much

diversity, that curiosity naturally translated into

a desire to decode how and why people behave

and function in unique ways. Ultimately, this focus

enabled me to excel at STEM subjects, with biology

in particular quickly becoming my favorite.

Hannah Saavalainen


So when it came time to apply to university,

neuroscience felt like the ideal academic niche

for me. The possibility of understanding the

complex biological underpinnings of the brain,

those that ultimately make up the human

experience, was something I found compelling.

My academic and research experience at

university sparked a deep interest in

neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric

disorders. I ultimately wrote my undergraduate

thesis on mechanisms underlying schizophrenia,

which further strengthened my motivation to

pursue work that applied neuroscience to real

world challenges.

After four years of study, my unrelenting

curiosity for the subject has not waned. With

the generous support of the FAWCO Foundation

Education Award, I am now able to comfortably

commence my master’s studies. I hope to

pursue a career in translational neuroscience,

where my work can both contribute to scientific

progress and directly impact people’s lives.”

We wish Hannah well as she advances not only

her education but also the presence of women

in STEM fields of study.

Previous recipients of The FAWCO Foundation’s Sciences and Women in STEM awards:

2025:

SCIENCES AWARD Alisa Kennan (club affiliation: AIWC Frankfurt)

WOMEN IN STEM Ciara Hadley (club affiliation: AIWC Düsseldorf)

2024:

SCIENCES AWARD Lauren Cederbaum (club affiliation: AWC Basel)

WOMEN IN STEM Hannah Leichert (club affiliation: AWC Hamburg)

2023:

SCIENCES AWARD Lauren McLeod (club affiliation: AW Berkshire Surrey International Women’s

Club)

2022:

SCIENCES AWARD Hannah Dorn (club affiliation: AIWC Cologne)

2021:

SCIENCES AWARD Cèline DeJager (club affiliation: FAUSA)

2020:

SCIENCES AWARD Catherine Bessinger (club affiliation: AWC Antwerp)


profile

“STEM and Creativity

Are Not Opposites”

Anjali Oberoi, ACL Lyon, a biochemical engineer, uses her scientific and

business acumen to inform food industry producers and consumers.

Iwork at the intersection of applied

mathematics, finance, food and agriculture.

My firm, Bernoulli Finance, provides

financial strategy and operational support to

organizations involved in food production,

sustainability and equitable access. What I value

about this field is the same thing that drew me to

science in the first place: understanding complex

systems. A farm’s cash flow, a food company’s

unit economics, a non-profit’s funding structure

-these are all systems with inputs, outputs,

feedback loops and tipping points. Getting those

numbers right isn’t just accounting; it’s allowing

good ideas to survive contact with reality.

Science teaches you to follow the data wherever

it leads. Finance, at its best, does the same thing.

Together, they give you a way to make the world

function a little more as it should.

Anjali Oberoi

Learning the

science of coffee

at La Escala, in

Tenerife, Canary

44

Islands, 2023


Science and Mathematics Was in the

Air We Breathed

My family is originally from India, but I grew up

in Kuwait, with a brief detour during the 1990

Gulf War. The Indian household expectation of

becoming a doctor, lawyer or engineer was very

real, and I was the designated “math kid” among

my siblings. I oscillated between wanting to be

a mechanic, an astronaut or an ophthalmologist

before settling on biochemical engineering. Two

teachers shaped me: a math teacher who told

me the only race worth running was against

myself, and an organic chemistry teacher who

helped me fall in love with the subject after

years of being pushed toward it against my will.

The chemistry lab was my happy place. And

threading through all of it was an obsession with

chocolate, which turned out to be a gateway into

the chemistry, history and economics of food.

Combining Science and Business

During my final semester of master’s study in

Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology at

the Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne

(EPFL), with a PhD in biotech at the Federal

Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich lined up, I

realized I did not want to spend my career at the

lab bench. The decisions that actually produce

results in food systems, in public health, in

sustainability are often made in boardrooms,

not laboratories. That insight led me to pursue

an international MBA with stints in Mumbai,

Paris, Philadelphia and Tokyo, followed by an MS

in Finance. I’ve never second-guessed that pivot.

Anjali as a child

Biochemical engineering taught me to

understand complex systems with many

variables. Finance is exactly the same as applied

to organizations. And teaching is the work of

making systems understandable to people who

need to operate inside them. I take a set of

tools with me from field to field—quantitative

thinking, systems reasoning, a tolerance for

ambiguity and a consistent obsession with food:

where it comes from, how it reaches people and

what it costs to produce honestly.

Slow, Unglamorous Work Helping Others

Means the Most

One of the most rewarding moments in my

career came while I was teaching a financial

basics class at the Food Craft Institute (in

Oakland, California). I recognized the moment

when, for the food entrepreneurs, a balance

sheet stopped being intimidating and became a

tool. Another highlight was building the financial

model for a cacao project in Belize, in which

every obsession I’d ever had, biochemistry,

food systems, emerging markets and chocolate,

converged. I value my efforts helping a small

producer understand their breakeven point, or

a mission-driven organization to structure its

financing to keep its independence.

AI’s Enormous Potential Benefits and Risks

At Bernoulli Finance, AI has already proven

its value in day-to-day operations: transcripts,

meeting notes, drafting and research. I’m

actively pushing our team to adopt automations

that let them do their best work faster.

That said, the uncontrolled dimension to AI

development feels reckless. On a macro level, I

think we’re heading toward a collision between

human technological ambition and natural

systems—ecological, social and cognitive. The

same instinct that makes me care about food

security and rainforest preservation makes me

want to ask harder questions about what we’re

optimizing for, and for whom.

The Burden of Being the Only Woman

in the Room

At the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in

Delhi, women were a small fraction of the

engineering cohort. We called ourselves

“The Pioneers.” On Wall Street, in finance, in

boardrooms—the pattern repeated. I was

fortunate to have mentors and brilliant women

alongside me, but there were many moments of

being talked over, underestimated or simply not

seen. What bothered me the longest, though,

was hearing myself in childhood being described

as “not really creative and not fitting the

feminine mold.” It took years to understand that

what I do is deeply creative: building models,

designing financial structures, teaching people

to see their businesses differently. STEM and

creativity are not opposites. The most important

thing I can do for the women who come after me

is to say that clearly, and say it often.

Working alongside family; top to bottom;

Italy 2023, Lebanon 2018, Tenerife 2017

Anjali at work


Food Security Includes Building A Future for

Small and Emerging Food Producers

Precision fermentation, alternative proteins

and regenerative agriculture informed by realtime

soil data are areas where the science is

outpacing our policy and economic frameworks,

creating both risk and enormous opportunity.

Meanwhile, a broader understanding of food

is emerging as not only a commodity, but as a

part of an ecological and social relationship. In

my view, the most underrated advancement is

in financial technology for small and emerging

producers, providing better access to data, to

credit scoring that reflects actual risk, to tools

that don’t require an MBA to use.

The work I do with farmers, producers and food

entrepreneurs at the Food Craft Institute centers

on practical financial tools. The underlying belief

is that food security doesn’t only depend on

production or distribution; it’s also a question

of the producers’ viability. If the people who

grow and make our food can’t build sustainable

businesses, the system fails, regardless of

how good the science is. My priorities are twofold:

Deploying natural resources responsibly

(I’m also on the advisory board of the Third

Millennium Alliance (TMA), working on Pacific

rainforest preservation in Ecuador) and ensuring

that food production and distribution are

structured to pay the producer fairly, while

actually feeding the people who need it. Those

two goals are not in tension, but achieving

both requires getting the economics right. My

hope for the future is a food system in which

the people doing the hard work of growing

and producing food can actually build viable

businesses from that.

Bringing the Passion for Food from the

Job to Home

My husband and I have always been advocates

for living, not just working—a disposition that

took us from New York and San Francisco to

Spain, where we put down (temporary) roots

on the island of Tenerife. It was there that we

turned a long-held dream into reality: La Escala,

a coffee shop and restaurant, gave me my first

tangible taste of finance and operations for

my food business beyond a spreadsheet. My

husband became a coffee roaster—complete

with models and graphs, naturally—while I

became a baker and recipe developer. Food

science at its most hands-on. In 2024, with two

children now nine and seven, we followed that

thread further and moved to Lyon, the capital of

French gastronomy. It felt less like a coincidence

and more like an inevitability for someone

whose obsession with food has never really

been just professional.

Interview with the Chewing the Fat podcast created by the Yale Sustainable Food Project; 2015

Next page clockwise from the top:

hiking in the Pacific rainforest region protected by TMA, with favorite snack (cacao), 2025

hiking with the TMA board in the Pacific rainforest region, 2025

Ecuador onsite with the TMA board, 2025

first family backpacking trip (to China), 2025


profile

Understanding the

Impact of Weather on

our Lives

Kris Harper, AWC Copenhagen, is a meteorologist, science historian

and educator. She shares her experience as one of the first naval

meteorologists and her concerns about climate change.

Everyone is affected by the motion and

state of the air, water and ground. Our very lives

depend on how these elements behave. We

geoscientists, and meteorologists in particular,

study this environment to keep people safe.

But we can ensure their security only if we

can successfully communicate what we know,

both inside and outside the classroom. This is

where my other work comes into play: science

education and history. Not everyone needs to be

a scientist, but it is incumbent upon the scientific

community to keep people informed so they can

make good decisions while carrying out their

daily activities.

Kris Harper

Honored as a Fellow of the

American Association for

Advancement of Science

(AAAS), with colleagues

Pnina Abir-Am and Kevin

Elliott, October 2024


Aboard the USNS Dutton (T-AGS-22) doing

deep ocean survey in the Atlantic.

The Path to Meteorology and the History

of Science

Growing up in the northern Sacramento Valley

of California with mountains and forests nearby,

I spent a lot of time hiking and canoeing.

Consequently, my family kept close track of

weather conditions. My first science project

was a booklet entitled “Geology of the Earth.”

Later, I took as many math and science classes

as I could, focusing on physical sciences and

advanced mathematics.

With a bachelor’s degree in math, I became

a US naval officer and was assigned to Fleet

Weather Central, in Rota, Spain. We provided

atmospheric and oceanographic forecasts to

naval forces in the Mediterranean. During my

two-and-a-half years there, I learned a lot about

meteorology, fixed problems with computer

models and provided forecasting materials

to my meteorologist colleagues. At that time

(mid-1970s), women were not allowed to be

Navy meteorologists. But the rules changed,

and after two more tours of duty, one providing

weather support to the Pacific Fleet, I was

selected for graduate school. After earning my

MSc in meteorology and oceanography, I spent

a year commanding an oceanographic unit

mapping the equatorial Atlantic. Afterwards, I

taught meteorology, returned to operational

forecasting in Rota and finished my career as

a commander, running the weather office at

NATO Base, Keflavik, Iceland.

Embracing Academia

After I retired from the Navy, I intended to

get my teaching credentials for high school

mathematics. Along the way, I was hired to

teach meteorology and later oceanography,

earth science and physics at the college I

was attending.

I did advanced course work in math and science

education, but after noticing a high degree of

science phobia among my college students, I

decided to introduce topics historically. Within

a few years, I was back in graduate school,

earning my PhD in the History of Science.

Twenty years later, I am a professor of the

history and philosophy of earth sciences at

the University of Copenhagen’s Department

of Science Education. I help geology students

think about how and why their discipline tackles

scientific problems, and aid science, math and

medical faculty in teaching more effectively.

Every day brings a new challenge, and I love

living and working here in Copenhagen.

The Importance of Working Together

The many variables needed to track within and

outside any given science require scientists from

different fields to work together to advance

scientific development and applications.

Meteorologists, whether they are researchers,

operational people making targeted forecasts

for their end-users, or those who do a

combination of both tasks, need to share their

Taking command of Naval Oceanography Command

Facility, Keflavik, Iceland

thinking with others and listen

closely to those working around

them. There is no one-size-fitsall

solution to meteorological

problems. Atmospheric conditions

change second by second, and the

context in which meteorologists

find themselves changes as well.

What data might be necessary

and its use depends on extremely

fluid circumstances. Therefore,

the ability to be flexible under

challenging circumstances is

critical to success. My colleagues

who stayed focused on supporting

the operational mission, no matter

how bad the weather, were a

constant inspiration to me.

The Challenge for Women

as Scientists

I entered STEM in the early 1970s

when there were very few women

in these fields. When I was ordered

to Fleet Weather Central, Rota,

Spain, I was the first woman officer

to serve there, and at age 20, the

youngest person in the command.

I knew little about the field at the

time, and my male peers refused

to take me seriously. Fortunately,

the sailors who worked for

me were eager to answer my

questions and teach me the basics

of meteorology. Throughout my

career, I have dealt with male

co-workers who did not believe

that a woman could possibly know

as much or perform as well as

they did. As annoying as it was,

I just continued to study, ask questions and

apply my newly gained knowledge in as many

circumstances as I could.

Communicating about Climate Change

I receive queries about climate change from

radio and print journalists several times a year

and occasionally from documentary film makers.

They invariably have questions about weather

forecasting in challenging times, climate change

and its effects and my special area of expertise,

weather and climate control. I use my skills as

a science educator to tailor my response to

the audience. Where do they live? What radio

station will they be listening to? Who listens to

this podcast? Then I use my history of science

Kris’s book Make it Rain, won the Bronze Prize in the Non-Fiction Category

at the 2017 Florida Book Awards, and the 2018 Louis J. Battan Author’s

Award from the American Meteorological Society.

expertise to put the information into a context

that makes sense for my listeners. Are they old

enough to remember the Cold War? Are they

up-to-date on the Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change (IPCC)? That way, I can use

examples that are relevant to them and will help

them put the pieces together within their own

experiences.

The Importance of Understanding the Past

The history of science involves understanding

how events outside of the laboratory influence

what goes on inside it. Meteorology and its

advancement as a science can be tied directly

back to 20th century wars. Even the terms we

use to describe weather patterns in the middle

latitudes - cold fronts and warm fronts—came


out of the experiences of World War I. That war,

which for the first time saw the introduction of

aviation, poisonous gas, flame throwers and

long-range guns, among other weapons, drove

home the importance of weather to success

on the battlefield. No one wants to lob a gas

canister at enemy lines and have the gas blown

back in their face. Meteorological advances

continued during World War II and the Cold War

in support of aviation and long-range missiles.

Post-war development of computers, satellites

and advanced radar enabled the meteorological

understanding we have today.

Coping with Climate Change

People are right to be concerned about global

temperature increases, melting glacial ice and

permafrost, rising sea levels, all of which are

taking place at a much faster rate than initially

modelled in the mid-to-late 20th century. As a

result, weather conditions are also becoming

more extreme, e.g., due to high sea surface

temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, tropical

cyclones are now spinning up from barely

hurricane strength to massive, top-of-thescale

magnitudes in just 24 hours. Similarly,

so-called 100-year floods (meaning each year

there is a 1/100 chance of having such a flood)

are occurring much more frequently and

endangering more people. That means that

AWC Copenhagen president Mary Stewart Burgher and Kris,

VP, enjoying picnic lunch with the International Church of

Copenhagen, where both volunteer.

everyone, no matter the location, needs to keep

informed about their local weather conditions

and be prepared to act to keep their families

safe. Uncommon events of the past will become

common in the future.

(Top)

Kris doing her part for charity in the dunk tank, Naval Air Station, Keflavik,

Iceland

(Right)

“Combat Meteorologist” – exercise Viking Thunder, Keflavik, Iceland

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feature

Inspiring Read:

Getting His Game Back

A Conversation with Gia de Cadenet

Gia de Cadenet

Book Summary

Khalil Sarda went through a rough patch last year, but now he’s nearly back to

his old self. All he has to do is keep his “stuff” in the past. Real men don’t have

depression and go to therapy—or, at least they don’t admit it. He’s ready to

focus on his growing chain of barbershops and take care of his beloved Detroit

community. It’ll be easy ... until Vanessa throws him completely off his game.

Vanessa Noble is too busy building a multimillion-dollar tech career as a Black

woman to be distracted by a relationship. Not to mention, she’s been burned

before. Besides, as her friends often remind her, she’ll never find a man who

checks all the boxes on her famous List. Yet when she desperately needs a shapeup

and happens upon one of Khalil’s barbershops, he makes her reconsider

everything. Khalil is charming, intelligent and definitely seems like he’d treat a

woman right ... but he’s not Black.

Vanessa may be willing to take a chance on Khalil, but a part of him is frustratingly

closed off, just out of her reach. Will old patterns emerge to keep them apart? Or

have they both finally found a connection worth throwing away the playbook for?


What was your inspiration for this

book? Did Khalil or Vanessa drive

your thought process? Why did you

choose Detroit?

Basically, Khalil was my inspiration.

One day, while I was unloading the

dishwasher, he showed up in my

kitchen and started talking. I’m sure

that sounds insane, but that’s

essentially what happened.

I was already familiar with him from

writing my first manuscript (Not The

Plan), and he drove my thought

process as the story unfolded. The

choice of Detroit was a result of a

decision I made while writing Not The

Plan – the Sarda boys were born and

raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

When it came time to choose a setting

for Getting His Game Back, I felt that

Khalil would want to live in a vibrant

city but still close enough to visit his

parents. As I have never set foot in

Detroit, I spent a lot of time on

Google Maps. I needed to see the

neighborhoods, get as much of a

sense of where I was placing my

characters as possible. As part of my

research, I find addresses of

businesses, community centers, restaurants or

homes. It’s rare that I incorporate those real-life

places into the story, but I need travel times to

be realistic, or if I do use a real place, like a park,

I need it to make sense that the character would

go there. So I have to take a look.

Black women are significantly

underrepresented in STEM careers. How/why

did you choose this career for Vanessa? Did

someone inspire this choice?

Vanessa was inspired by Luvvie Ajayi Jones,

Nigerian-American author, speaker and digital

strategist. I wanted Vanessa to have a reason to

travel for speaking engagements in a field where

people would be “surprised” to see a Black

woman. A STEM field seemed ideal for that. I

know very little about STEM fields, but I wanted

something that was familiar to my readers,

something they experienced in everyday life.

Also, as a recovering Good Girl/A+ student, I can

get bogged down in making sure that I get all

of the details right and “show my work” in my

writing. If I’d chosen mathematics or science, I’d

have run the risk of boring my readers. As we all

spend large amounts of time on our phones and

Discovering Getting His Game Back in a bookstore

most people have a general idea that coding is

involved in the apps they use every day, turning

her into the App Goddess let me combine STEM

and familiarity. From there, it was important to

me that Vanessa’s time was her own. She set

her own schedule, traveled as needed, so she

needed to be her own boss, to run her own

STEM-based company.

Mental health issues for men are real, yet

due to cultural stigma and/or masculinity

“norms,” they often don’t seek the assistance

they need. Why did you choose to tackle this

issue with Khalil?

Here I have to go back to the experience of

Khalil just showing up and “talking to me.” As

I followed the inspiration and his character

was developing, he seemed fun, engaging,

endearing… just the perfect guy. I was more

and more interested in what his story could be,

but there was one big problem—nothing was

wrong with him. Any author will tell you that

each leading character must have something

“wrong” with them, there must be some fatal

flaw that endangers the success of their story.

And I realized that Khalil was hiding his from me.

So I asked myself what would a man seek to hide

about himself at all costs? Mental health.

Also, depression is something I know well. If I

used my personal experience, the novel would

be more realistic. Once I settled on depression,

I explored a bit more because mental health

issues are simply issues, they are not a workable

flaw for a novel. Then I realized that his flaw was

hiding it. His shame about his struggle and what

that meant about his masculinity was the flaw

he had to overcome through the course of the

novel. That was why he wasn’t “talking” about it

during moments of inspiration, that was why he

wanted to seem perfect and all together. He was

ashamed.

Tell us about the process of writing this book.

Is it a linear experience for you? Do

you start with the end in mind? Do you let the

characters lead you?

My characters run the show! In the initial stages

of Getting His Game Back, it felt almost like I was

tuned in to a radio signal. I was simply listening

and writing down what I heard. Generally

speaking, I start by taking notes of ideas. Often,

I note snippets of conversations between

characters as they come to me. Later, I sit down

and those develop into scenes that I may or may

not include in the first draft.

The process of creating that draft is not linear at

all! The inspiration may take me to chapter four,

then chapter seven, then back to chapter two.

I have a general idea for my ending, but as the

characters lead me, I defer to what they want.

For my first two books, I wrote at my desk for

several hours each morning after my children

had gone to school. Life has changed a lot since

then, so now I find time to write and edit when

I can, most often sitting in bed as it’s more

comfortable than my desk.

Although it has a “romcom” flavor, you

tackled difficult social and cultural issues

in this book. Did you research these topics?

Pull from lived experiences?

I pulled the key issues from my personal life –

they do say “write what you know.” There’s a

scene early on in the book when Vanessa and

some friends are commiserating about racially

charged pick-up lines men have used with them.

(p. 6) Research among my own friends provided

useful examples I could pull from. Vanessa

voiced my worst experience. Concerning

interracial relationship hesitations and the

experience of depression, those were also part

of my own lived experiences.

I do more research before I truly dive into the

writing. Once I’ve completed an initial outline,

I spend a lot of time googling the aspects of

things that are unfamiliar. As an example, I

knew that depression often presents differently

in men than in women, but I wanted to know

more. Some of what I learned changed Khalil’s

character – broadening it and providing greater

depth. As I also seek to educate with my

work (I think learning through entertainment

can sometimes be easier than an academic

experience), I wanted to place the reader in

Vanessa’s shoes as she tries to understand what

Khalil is experiencing. As she is in STEM, and

peer-reviewed research is important to her, I

had her read a Harvard health article listing the

symptoms of depression in men and compare

them to Khalil’s behavior. My hope for that

scene is that if a woman reads it and recognizes

behaviors in a loved one’s life, she may gain

answers she might not have otherwise thought

to look for.

What is the most important thing you want

readers to take from your book?

The message I hope my readers take away

from any of my books is rather basic: “I’m okay.

Deep down, no matter what I’m struggling

with, I’m human, I’m okay.” I want my readers

to understand the same thing I want for my

children, for my students: they aren’t innately

bad or wrong. They are individuals with different

experiences and challenges, and that’s okay.

I write about mental health, interracial

relationships, neurodivergence and second

chances because I want my readers to feel seen,

to begin to ask questions about their challenging

relationships, to see the things they may

struggle with in a new light.

When and how did you begin your

writing career? How would you describe

the publishing path? Why do you use a

pseudonym?

The very beginning of my writing career

happened when I was about four years old. That

was when I learned that I could not live multiple

lifetimes—I could not study to be a surgeon,

for example, work in that profession as an

adult and then become a child again to study a

new career. I was livid! Once I’d calmed down, I

decided to become a writer so that I could “live”

as many lives as I wanted. Concretely, my

career started when I became too ill to work

in my mid- thirties. My (now ex) husband said,

“okay, no more excuses, time to write.” Prior

to that, I’d had trouble allowing myself to


because it didn’t feel like a “real job.” I wrote

a terrible first manuscript, participated in a

mentorship program and then a Twitter contest

(of all things), which allowed me to meet my

agent. After several rounds of submissions to

publishers and writing a brand-new manuscript,

I signed a contract with Penguin Random House,

and the rest is history.

My publishing path has been a winding road,

filled with bumps and surprises. When I was in

the querying trenches (several years), I thought

about self-publishing. But that was never my

goal. That little four year old wanted to be

traditionally published. So I trudged through

many disappointments and sought help and

advice to improve my work, and in the end it

was all worth it. I like to think that she is proud.

I use a pseudonym because I have children. If

one day I write something they don’t like or don’t

wish to be associated with, my pseudonym gives

them distance from it.

If you could tell your younger writing self

anything, what would it be? Do you

have any advice for aspiring writers?

I’d tell my younger writing self that conditions

don’t have to be perfect. Just write. Follow what

you need to do.

For aspiring writers, I’d give the same advice

I have to give myself every now and then:

Write. Just write. Sit down, keep dumping sand

into the sandbox and worry about making

sandcastles later.

What are you reading now? Do you have any

recommendations for our readers?

Ha. No fiction for me at the moment. The teen

years have arrived in my home, so I’m currently

reading The Teenage Brain, by Frances E. Jensen.

In terms of fiction, I took a little detour from

romance and women’s fiction and read the Aska

Trilogy by Timothy A. Terra. I don’t consider

myself a Viking fantasy fan but it’s well written,

and it features a disabled lead. The character is

not defined by his disability. As I was reading,

I kept forgetting that he had one! I’d also

recommend the trilogy to aspiring writers—it’s a

great example of a well-crafted character.

What’s next for you? Are you working on

anything new you’d like to share?

I am currently on deadline for the fourth book in

the Sarda Brothers Series. It’s a second chance

romance about Darius and Lisa, the best friends

of Khalil and Vanessa from Getting His Game

Back. Some key themes are mental health (no

surprise) and family challenges. Readers will get

to spend time with characters from my previous

books, including Vanessa, Khalil, Bibi and Rachel.

Some of Khalil’s brothers may also make an

appearance. But it is still a work in progress. I’ll

let the characters lead me where they want to

go!

EXCERPT from Getting His Game Back: (p. 75)

This is a snippet of a conversation between Khalil

and Vanessa as they are getting to know each

other; Vanessa is worried about Khalil’s reasons

for wanting to date a Black woman:

“She [Vanessa] didn’t know what to do with her

hands. If her dress had had pockets, she would

have slid them in. Instead, she smoothed the

fabric along her thighs.

“Well, like, I don’t know what she [Khalil’s

former girlfriend] did for a living, but how could

you understand the frustration that comes with

having to balance being seen as an ‘angry black

woman’ when she was just trying to defend

her ideas at work? Or having her skin color

trigger all sorts of assumptions even before

she could show who she is? Those are common

experiences for any black woman and it’s just

confusing to me how you could understand.”

“I can only understand a little. I know what it’s

like being the only one in the room and having

people be wary of you or making sure you get

the impression that your ideas shouldn’t have

space. But the intersection of being both a

woman and black? Of course there’s no way I

can truly get that. I can respond with as much

empathy as possible, though. I imagine it’s

been difficult for you at work. Especially in

such a male-dominated field. But have I ever

experienced having to prove myself again and

again in that way? No. Like I said that day at

the coffee shop, by junior year I didn’t have to

worry about that anymore. And now that I’ve

proven myself to just be Kahlil, not the weirdass

white guy trying to prove something, things

have been pretty smooth sailing as an adult.”

Vanessa tried to take it all in, to understand

how his experience of being the other was

similar to her own…

Books presented in

the Inspiring Reads

feature are available for

purchase via the

FAWCO website in the

“List of Books by Members” or

“Books by Clubs” sections.

Enjoy!

Gia de Cadenet is the author of

Give Me a Shot, Not the Plan,

and Getting His Game Back.

A Maggie Award finalist,

BCALA Literary Award

nominee and lifelong romance

reader, she was also a business

school professor and former

translator and editor for

UNESCO.

Give Me a Shot and Not a Plan, The Sarda Brothers Series

A native Floridian, she lives

in Paris, France, with her

children. She celebrates Fridays

with champagne and takes

leisurely strolls along the Seine

with her Pomeranian, Sumo.


our next issue

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Call for

Nominees!

In every corner of the globe, women are at the forefront of human rights activism. We want

to celebrate the power, resilience and leadership of women championing human rights. From

grassroots organizers to global policymakers, this issue will shine a spotlight on those who

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Click here to view all upcoming 2026 issues and the related deadlines.

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We end each issue with a full page photograph

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The photo can be provocative, amusing,

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"That's Inspired!" for each issue.

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more about

this issue

The Inspiring Women Team

That's

Inspired!

Connie Teddie Elsie Rose Carol-Lyn Shaza Hollis

For more information about this magazine, please contact a member of the Inspiring Women team:

Editor in Chief: Connie Philpot, iw.editor@fawco.org

Assistant Editor: Teddie Weyr, iw.assted@fawco.org

Contributing Editor: Elsie Bose, iw.conted@fawco.org

Layout Coordinator: Kristin D. Haanæs, iw.layout@fawco.org

Assistant Layout Coordinator: Rose Finlay, iw.asstlayout@fawco.org

Features Coordinator: Carol-Lyn McKelvey, iw.features@fawco.org

Profiles Coordinator: Shaza Gahiga Bwakira, iw.profiles@fawco.org

Marketing Manager: Hollis Vaughen, iw.marketing@fawco.org

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to this issue’s contributors: Bella Davis, Rani Shah, Julien McKinney Young, Anjali Oberoi, Stella

S. Oladapo, Isabel Pires, Kris Harper, Gia de Cadenet, Hannah Saavalainen, Dana Freling, Kim Smith,

Hope Moore and Lindsay Mann for their work on the articles and also for the use of their photos and

those of their friends and families.

On the Cover: Bella Davis, AWC Berlin

Back Cover: Anjali Oberoi, ACL Lyon

Special thanks to the proofreading team of Jill Amari (AAWE Paris), Laure Brooks (FAUSA), Barbara

Bühling (AIWC Düsseldorf), Sallie Chaballier (AAWE Paris), Janet Davis (FAUSA/AIWC Cologne),

Liz Janson (FAUSA), Gail Johnsen (AWC Madrid), Janis Johnson (FAUSA), Janis Kass (AAWE Paris),

Stephanie Allen Matlock (AWC Hamburg), Carol-Lyn McKelvy (FAUSA/AIWC Cologne), Stacey

Papaioannou (AWO Greece), Laurie Richardson (AWA Vienna), Shawn Watson (AWC Bern), Sallie

Webersinke (AIWC Cologne) and Roberta Zöllner (Munich IWC).

Please note: images used in this publication are either sourced from our team, the authors

themselves or through canva.com, commons.wikimedia.org, pixabay.com or unsplash.com.

Please post a link for this issue of Inspiring Women,

"Women in STEM," in your club publications until

"Human Rights"

is published on Thursday, September 24, 2026

Harvesting fruit in

the mountains of

Lebanon, where Anjali

Oberoi’s family spends

every August with her

husband’s family.


InspiringWomen_Summer2026 Rough Draft May 6

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