Cynthia L. Simpson, M.Ed, CAE

Chief Business Development Officer, Association for Women in Science

Cynthia Simpson, M.Ed, CAE is Chief Business Development Officer with the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Ms. Simpson is responsible for developing and overseeing all business development aspects with emphasis on institution partnerships, as well as development and implementation of all talent and leadership programs. She has given close to 200 talks on topics of importance to women in STEM at universities, corporations, and professional societies. Ms. Simpson has co-authored various publications including “Mentoring Postdoc Women from an Institutional Perspective” in From Ph.D. to Professoriate book and “Work-Life and Childcare Resources for Postdoc Women” in Advancing Postdoc Women Guidebook. Growing up in Seneca Falls, NY (the birthplace of women’s rights), she is a graduate of Syracuse University with a B.S. in Business Management and George Mason University with a M.Ed. in Curriculum Instruction and Design.

In 2010, she earned her certified association executive credential from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), with less than 5 percent of all association professionals having achieved this mark of excellence. She was named to the National Girls Collaborative Project’s Champions Board and is a Co-PI on the AWIS STEM to Market Program, a two-part program that stimulates inclusive and productive STEM entrepreneurship ecosystems. Ms. Simpson currently serves on the National Postdoctoral Association’s Advisory Council, Phi Kappa Phi’s Bylaws Committee, ASAE’s Professional Development Section Council, and is a member of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) and the Virtual Association Network.

Donna J. Dean, Ph.D.

Senior Federal Executive (retired), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Executive Consultant, Association for Women in Science (AWIS), Career Consultant, American Chemical Society (ACS)

Since 2010, Dr. Donna J. Dean has focused on leadership and talent development, career enhancement, and mentoring strategies for organizations and individuals as Executive Consultant (pro bono) to the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) and as Career Consultant for the American Chemical Society (ACS). She previously was Senior Science Advisor for 5 years with Lewis-Burke Associates LLC, a Washington D.C. based government relations consulting firm. During Dr. Dean’s 27-year career at the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration, she held senior management positions in NIH’s grants peer review system and was senior scientific advisor to three NIH Directors. In 2001, Dr. Dean was designated the founding/acting Director of the new National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. In 2004, she was appointed Senior Scholar in Residence at the National Academy of Engineering of the National Academies and Senior Advisor for Engineering to the NIH Director, focusing on the interface of engineering and the health and life sciences.

Dr. Dean is a pivotal leader on scientific and technical workforce issues, in career development and mentoring strategies for scientists, and in women's health. She has written two books that draw upon her career experiences: Equitable Solutions for Retaining a Robust STEM Workforce (with co-author Janet Bandows Koster, Academic Press, 2014) and Getting the Most out of Your Mentoring Relationships: A Handbook for Women in STEM (Springer 2009). Her recent professional activities included the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the national Board of the Association for Women in Science (2007-2008 national President), the Board of Advisors for Tulane University School of Science and Engineering (2007-2012; now emeritus member), advisor to the joint biomedical engineering program of the University of North Carolina/North Carolina State University, and Board member of the Washington Academy of Sciences. She has served serves on external advisory boards to projects at Middle Tennessee State University, Florida State University, West Virginia University, and the University of the District of Columbia. Dr. Dean has given over 500 invited presentations and workshops to universities, colleges, medical schools, research institutions, and at meetings of professional organizations.

Raised on a tobacco farm in eastern Kentucky, Dr. Dean earned the B.A. in chemistry from Berea College, Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University, and conducted postdoctoral research in cell and developmental biology at Princeton University. She is an elected fellow of the AAAS, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Association for Women in Science. In September 2010, she received the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health 20th anniversary award in recognition of her efforts on women’s health research and career development. Of all the awards she has received, she is most proud of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Berea College in 2007 in recognition of her career achievements in the public sector and for her advocacy for historically underrepresented groups in science and engineering.