Women’s History Month is an annual declared month, celebrated in March that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The 2016 theme honors women who have shaped America’s history and its future through their public service and government leadership. JBEI is celebrating the occasion with a number of activities for its staff and local students.
On March 3, “Women and Investing”, a Financial Education Workshop by the University of California was organized for JBEI’s staff. The aim of this workshop was to tackle a potential lack of confidence about money management and investment that women may face. Our staff learned about how to get organized; build and own a plan; and retirement and income planning options for singles.
In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, JBEI partnered with Young Women in Bio for an after school event for middle school girls. It was an event bursting with activities: after a pizza party, the students learned about what is bioenergy, then they toured JBEI’s labs, had a panel conversation about careers in science and concluded with three hands-on table top activities about bioenergy. The students had a great time, with one of students stating she wished to return to JBEI the following day!
On March 9, Catherine Adams, a Plant & Microbial PhD Student at UC Berkeley (Bruns Lab) gave a seminar to JBEI’s staff on “How to use social media to advance your research career”. In addition to a busy research career, Adams is passionate about communicating science to the public and has written for Slate and BBC Earth. At the seminar, Adams gave advice on how to use social media effectively to disseminate research, help shape public policy, and even generate research funding. To learn more about Adams, visit her website.