Dear Members, 

Our chapter continues to celebrate its 30th Anniversary this year. Mary O’Connor and a small group of women were invited by the national organization to start an ARCS chapter in Atlanta and the rest is history. Today our chapter continues in its mission to support STEM education. Some things change and some don’t, as is evidenced by our members who continue to raise funds for scholar awards, plan events to showcase our scholars, to educate us, to entertain us, and create materials to keep us informed. Your Board of Directors has been very busy this summer preparing for an action-packed fall, which you will hear more about in the following articles.      

Our chapter is very pleased to welcome 7 new members, Lyn Asbill, Marie Carr, Laura Gruber, Cathy LaMon, Maureen Lobb, Pace Parsons, and Tricia Rosenbaum. These ladies bring incredible talents and experience to our chapter. We are honored that they have joined us to help support young scientists pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and medical research.  The New Member Orientation was held on September 14th at the home of Liz Mori Lauer.          

Ninety of our members and guests gathered on Sunday, September 18th for the Welcome Back Barbecue at the beautiful home and gardens of Carolynn Cooper and Pratap Mukharji. A great time was enjoyed by all.   

The Funds Development team’s work will enable us to award $390,000 to 52 scholars this year. Our chapter has raised almost $7m to date. Please mark your calendar for Thursday, November 17, 2022, 4-6 pm to celebrate with our scholars. The reimagined Scholar Awards Celebration will be at Georgia Tech Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience. 

Atlanta hosted an All Member Conference in Atlanta, October 10-13. The committee planned a variety of speakers and experiences for our members from 15 chapters across the country. To show our southern hospitality, Atlanta members hosted dinners for small groups in their homes.

On November 3 at 11:30, Dr. Ray Kotwicki, will speak on mental health issues and the incredible work being done in mental health. The program will be held at Skyland Trail and a box lunch will be served. Please carpool or rideshare for parking is very limited. 

I would like to thank each of you for your generous financial support of our scholars and for the countless hours of service you give. Also, I am most grateful for your support of me as I serve as president this year. 

Sara Jean

NEWS FROM NATIONAL
Collaboration Networks
Last year a new initiative, Collaboration Networks, was launched. These Networks represent the various function areas of our boards, Funds Development, Finance, Membership, etc. The groups will meet 3 times over the year to discuss successes, problems, and solutions with representatives from each of our 15 chapters with a moderator from the National Board. These sessions have been very well received and provide many take aways. The meetings are open to anyone to attend, but the initial invitation will be sent to each function leader. Please share the information with your committees so the CN chairs can build a more inclusive list.

ARCS Forward
Another new initiative is in its second year, ARCS Forward/Scholar Speaker Series. Each chapter was asked to suggest 2 scholars for consideration to be a presenter. The scholar is then paired with another scholar or scholar alum to present their research with a moderator. Elizabeth Sajewski, Emory University, was featured on November 9, 2021, with the topic, “Public Health from a Research and Clinical Perspective.” Please watch you email for the next session on December 1 at noon EST.