CCPA Roster

Member Bios

Dr. Mick Hurrey, Chair

Mick lives outside San Francisco with his wife Susie and his three kids and enjoys playing football (soccer) and cooking gourmet food. He currently works as Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development at Revagenix. Before joining Revagenix, he worked at InCarda Therapeutics developling a drug/device combination therapy for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Prior to InCarda, he helped SteadyMed submit a market application for a steady state infusion pump for pulmonary arterial hypertension, as well as launch Harvoni at Gilead Sciences, a cure for hepatitis C and a blockbuster drug. Before moving to California, Dr. Hurrey worked at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston and helped gain approval for Incivek and Kalydeco, treatments for hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis.

Mick earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Central Florida and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Over his career, Mick has earned numerous awards for outstanding contributions both at his employer and for external organizations such as the ACS and IUPAC. Dr. Hurrey has organized several conferences and symposia, given lectures and interviews, published peer reviewed articles, and has 7 patents. He has served as Chair of both a technical division and a committee at the American Chemical Society as well as serving on several taskforces. Mick was selected as an ACS Fellow in 2016. He was also elected as Selectman for the Town of Maynard, MA in 2012 before moving to California in 2013 for family reasons.

Dr. Graham Abramo, Associate (2024)

Graham Abramo has worked in the chemical industry for 22 years and is currently a Global Product Technology Leader at the Dow Chemical Company where he is responsible for strategy and technology development focused on additives for thermoplastic processing. He has spent time in central R&D, manufacturing, and technical service roles with a primary focus on the synthesis and applications of acrylic polymers such as energy efficient building products and water treatment systems. He is a strong advocate for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity initiatives at the Dow Chemical Company having led multiple discussion groups and trainings focused on DI&E topics. He regularly participates in STEM outreach activities like the Philadelphia Science Festival and the “You Be The Chemist” Challenge.

He has a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University, and he spent time as a postdoctoral researcher in the Northwestern University Chemistry Department.

Dr. Gretchen Baier, Member (2023-2025)

Gretchen Baier is currently Executive External Strategy and Communications Leader, where she is responsible for monitoring for disruptive technologies, applying for external awards that recognize Dow products or researchers, and being the R&D liaison to Dow’s sustainability goals.  Previously, she was Associate R&D Director of External Technology, leading a group responsible for creating strategic external research collaborations.  Earlier she was a technical leader in Ventures and New Business Development and a chemical engineer in the Process Optimization group and the Process Separations Skill Center.

She is on the NSF Engineering Advisory Committee, the Visiting Committee for Chemical Engineering at MIT, the American Chemical Society Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs, the Advisory Board for the MIT Practice School, the Standing Committee for the NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance, and Advisory Board for the Michigan Materials Research Institute at the University of Michigan.  Other recent responsibilities have included Chair of the Advisory Board for the Department of Energy Critical Materials Institute, and co-Chair of the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership Project Committee.  She has held Board positions for ASTRA and the Council of Chemical Research, as well as a member of the Industrial Research Institute’s External Technology Network. 

Prior to joining Dow, Gretchen was a Process Engineer at Dow Corning Corporation and later at Shell Oil Company.  She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Dr. Novella Bridges, Associate (2024)

Dr. Novella Bridges works for the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation Research and Development’s Office of Proliferation Detection. She is the Senior Program Manager for Plutonium Production Detection Portfolio.   Dr. Bridges spent 18 years at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and has extensive experience leading research in radioisotope composites for cancer, radiochemistry separations, reduction on emissions on large vehicles and locomotives, production of hydrogen for fuel cells and development of novel catalytic systems. She has worked with two agencies within the Department of Homeland Security - US Customs and Border Protection and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction. She has a B.S. (Chemistry) from Jackson State University; and a Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry) from LSU. Bridges was named one the 24 Most Distinguished Women in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering for the International Year of Chemistry and several other awards.  She holds several invention reports and one patent.

Personally, Bridges is the owner of Bridging Youth To STEM, LLC. She works with organizations to develop stem-based learning and curriculum development for service-learning programs. She has previously sat on boards of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) high schools, STEM-based charter schools and STEM-focused organizations dedicated to education advancement and career advancement for minorities in STEM fields. Bridges still finds the time to organize an annual science engagement for young ladies, judge graduate fellowship applications, and volunteers as a mentor/tutor with young ladies. She is originally from Detroit, Michigan and the youngest of five siblings.

Mr. JoonHyung Cho, Associate (2024)

Mr. JoonHyung “Joon” Cho is the Director of Corporate Relations and Business Development at the University of Virginia. He has an extensive background in academic-industrial research partnerships, technology transfer, and innovation management. In this role, Joon works with UVA faculty and leadership to identify the highest value industry partners and structure mutually-beneficial collaboration models to provide opportunities to create new research partnerships, share complementary resources, enable co-location, develop talent exchange, and create joint ventures.

Most recently, he was the founding Director of Industry Relations at UNC Chapel Hill for managing industry research partnerships and led UNC’s technology development for managing a diverse portfolio of faculty technologies and startups in the physical sciences. Before he joined UNC, he managed agricultural biotechnology intellectual property portfolios at the LSU Agricultural Center/Louisiana Agriculture Experiment Station.

Joon is a member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO). He also actively participates in many university-industry partnerships working groups including the University Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP). He has also served two terms on the U.S. federal advisory committee to the USDA’s Plant Variety Protection Office.

He received an M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire and a B.A. in Chemistry from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.

Dr. Deborah H. Cook, Member (2022-2024)

Dr. Deborah Cook has worked at all levels of education from K-16 as well as in informal science education settings. After teaching high school mathematics and science, she transitioned to school administration and then to the New Jersey Department of Education where she was the science coordinator for the state, in charge of the development and adoption of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.  She was then recruited by Rutgers University to direct the New Jersey Statewide Systemic Initiative (NJ SSI), a National Science Foundation (NSF) and State-funded project to reform mathematics, science and technology education statewide.  The NJ SSI partnership with several state colleges, business and industry influenced state educational policy for STEM and provided professional development, technical assistance, and support for most of New Jersey’s 600+ school districts. More recently, she has worked as a consultant for the Trenton Public Schools, the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation), and as an Adjunct Professor at Rider University and at Temple University.

Dr. Cook serves on many advisory boards and is very active with the American Chemical Society where she has held leadership positions and served on many committees and task forces, including the Society Committee on Education and a task force to revise ACS Guidelines and Recommendations for Middle and High School Chemistry. She has a B.S. in chemistry from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Ed.M. and Ed.D. degrees in science education from Temple University.  She has several publications and has been recognized for her work and service with many awards, including becoming an ACS Fellow.

Dr. Louise J. Criscenti, Member (2023-2025)

Louise J. Criscenti is a geochemist with over 30 years of experience modeling reaction phenomena in aqueous systems, and the fate and transport of organic and inorganic contaminants in the environment.  She has been an active member in the ACS Geochemistry Division serving as Membership Chair from 2005-2006 and 2011-2012; Secretary from 2006-2008 and 2012-2014; and Alternate Councilor from 2017-2019. In addition, she has chaired over 10 ACS symposia within the division. She has experience working at two national laboratories: Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington and now Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. Her research has involved the use of models at several scales including ab initio quantum calculations, classical molecular dynamics simulations, and field-scale reactive-transport modeling.  For over 15 years, her research has focused on using different molecular modeling tools, including classical force field and ab initio techniques, to understand processes at the mineral- or material-water interface such as contaminant adsorption to oxide surfaces, electric double layer formation, nuclear waste glass dissolution, and coupled chemical-mechanical effects on fracture formation.  Other systems she has investigated at the molecular scale specifically for projects on CO₂ sequestration and gas shale production are the interface between aqueous brines and supercritical CO₂; and methane migration through mesoporous kerogen.  Dr. Criscenti’s education includes a B.S. in Geology from Brown University, M.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.  

Dr. Maksim Dolmat, Associate (2024)

Maksim is a dedicated scientist and advocate based in San Diego, Ca. As a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California San Diego, he specializes in conducting research within polymer design and synthesis, leveraging this expertise to innovate nanomedicine-based solutions for unmet medical needs using multifunctional polymeric materials.

Maksim has authored fifteen peer-reviewed publications and has developed new coursework to introduce students to polymers, drug delivery, and nanomedicine, with the results published in two co-senior author publications in the Journal of Chemical Education. Maksim has hands-on science policy and advocacy training and will be sharing his experience when meeting with policymakers in 2024.

Maksim earned a doctoral degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he demonstrated exceptional academic and research excellence. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his contributions to the field, including Leadership Development, Recognition of Excellence in Mentoring, and Outstanding International Student in Chemistry awards.

In addition to his professional achievements, Maksim is deeply committed to science outreach and advocacy. He actively engages in ACS Science Coaches Program and ACS and ASMBM advocacy programs, aiming to inspire the next generation of scientists and raise awareness about pressing scientific issues.

Mrs. Meredith Gutierrez, Associate (2024)

Meredith Gutierrez is the Laboratory Manager at ATOZ Laboratories, an independent testing laboratory in the Massachusetts legal cannabis industry, where she analyzes cannabis and cannabis products for potency and contaminants. She holds a B.S. in chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin (2016) and an M.S. in chemistry from University of Massachusetts Boston (2019), and she recently graduated with a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Northeastern University (2023). Her MPP program focused on climate change and sustainability policy, and she completed an internship with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2022-2023. Meredith has been a member of ACS since 2013 and has held multiple positions in the Northeastern Local Section, including leadership in the Younger Chemists Committee (Secretary 2018-2019, Chair-Elect 2019-2020, Chair 2020-2021) and as a Councilor or Alternate Councilor (2021-present). She also co-organized national meeting symposia in 2017 and 2018 relating to science policy and green chemistry. She lives in central Massachusetts with her spouse and their dog.

Dr. Ann C. Kimble-Hill, Member (2023-2025)

Ann has a broad background in biophysical chemistry, with specific expertise in small angle scattering, x-ray crystallography, and fluorescence microscopy/spectroscopy. Ann’s research merges the use of synthetic membranous environments and cancerous signal transduction cell based models to study dynamic protein-lipid interactions as a means to correlate structure with function in tumorigenesis. The long term goal of the research is to translate this basic science approach of membrane biophysics in ways that allow for modulation of cellular signaling. Much of this work has been funded by a K01 award from the National Cancer Institute to understand the role of Angiomotin in the progression of atypical ductal hyperplasia to breast cancer. Ann’s work has continued expanded to using lipidomics and lipid dynamics to study the nexus of Type 2 Diabetes and epithelial cell cancers like that of the breast, a dominating factor in the cancer disparity statistics.

Outside of Ann’s research, Ann has a long history of working in the diversity and inclusion space. This includes forming, leading, and supporting student support groups including those on the IUPUI campus including the Underrepresented Professional and Graduate Student Organization (UPnGO). Ann has held several governance roles for ACS including being the national chair of the Committee on Minority Affairs, a member of the Diversity, Inclusion and Respect Advisory Board, and the taskforce on broadening ACS partnerships. In addition to this national committee work, Ann provides research experiences and mentoring to students in several programs from the Indianapolis area such as the Urban Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (UCASE), the Life-Health Science Internship Program (LHSI), Bridges to the Baccalaureate, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), Diversity Scholars Research Program (DSRP), Project Seed, Purpose of Life Ministries and Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP).

Dr. Patrick S. Lee, Member (2024-2026)

Patrick Lee is currently the head of computational chemistry at Maze Therapeutics. He has over 15 years of experience in the biotech/pharma industry having contributed to several clinical stage programs for metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, and oncology while at Maze, Novartis, Eli Lilly, and SGX Therapeutics. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Pomona College and a Ph.D. from UCLA in Organic Chemistry and carried out his postdoctoral studies at Yale University with a NIH fellowship award.

Patrick is currently the chair-elect for the California section of the ACS. This is his second stint as chair after serving as Chair-elect/Chair in 2018-2019. He was a committee associate for CPRC in 2014-2018 and also served as an alternate councilor for the COMP division 2009-2015. He has been an ACS member for over 25 years.

Dr. William W. Leong, Member (2024-2026)

William Leong is Executive Vice President, Head of CMC, at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals. He is responsible for leading all CMC operations, including analytics, chemical development, formulation and product development, packaging and labeling, supply chain logistics, and regulatory activities. William has 30 years of experience in progressing medicines from the laboratory to market in the areas of antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammation, cardiovascular, oncology, and neurology.  He has held development, technical operations, chemistry, and scientific leadership roles at Kymera Therapeutics, Complexa Inc., Newron Pharmaceuticals, Celgene Corporation, and the Schering-Plough Research Institute. Dr. Leong holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of San Francisco and a PhD from the University of California, Davis. He completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Iowa State University, Ames. He has authored research publications, book chapters, and holds numerous patents.

William has been a member of the American Chemical Society for just over 40 years. Having previously served councilor, he is member of the North Jersey section. William’s service in ACS governance includes multiple terms on the Committees on Copyrights, Ethics, Publications, Safety and Hygiene committees. William was most recently the Chair of the Committee on Ethics.

Dr. Emily A. Lewis O'Brien, Member (2023-2025)

Emily Lewis O’Brien is a Principal with Trellis Climate, a program of Prime Coalition focused on scaling climate technologies with catalytic capital. She has a broad background in clean energy, where she has focused on data-driven approaches to impact investing, program design and implementation, state and federal policy development and advocacy, and scientific research. She has carried out this work through leadership roles at Acadia Center, VEIC, Actuate, and currently at Trellis. Emily also served as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy and as an American Chemical Society Congressional Fellow on the democratic staff of the House Natural Resources Committee. Emily holds a PhD in physical chemistry from Tufts University and an MS in chemistry Northeastern University, where her research investigated catalysts for clean energy technologies.

Dr. Karlo M. Lopez, Member (2024-2026)

Karlo M. Lopez is originally from Peru and immigrated to the United States in 1985. He has lived in Peru, the United States, and Sweden and is fluent in the languages of the countries he has resided in. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from CSU Bakersfield and a Ph.D. in Chemistry with an emphasis in protein chemistry and enzymology from Clark University. He was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Pomona College and became an assistant professor at the University of Central Missouri in 2010. After a year in Missouri, he was offered a position at his Alma mater in Bakersfield, CA. He rose through the academic ranks and became chair of the department he graduated from in 2019, following a sabbatical at Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. In July of 2022, he became the associate dean for the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering at CSU Bakersfield, a role he held in an interim basis since 2020. Karlo’s research interests are in chemotherapeutic drug design and enzyme characterization.

Karlo is a 27-year member of the American Chemical Society and has served as a member of the Committee on Ethics and the Task Force for Safety Education Guidelines (Committee on Chemical Safety). In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his children, referee competitive soccer matches, and provide service to the community, especially through the ACS Science Coaches program. Karlo’s most favorite leisure activity is to travel all over the world.

Dr. Michael A. Meador, Member (2022-2024)

Michael A. Meador received a B.A. in chemistry from Ithaca College (1978) and the PhD in organic chemistry from Michigan State University (1983).  In 2019, he retired after a 35+ year career in the Federal government during which he held a variety of positions including Chief of the NASA Glenn Polymers Branch (1988-2011), Manager of the NASA Game Changing Development Program’s Nanotechnology Project (2011-2014), and NASA Program Element Manager for Lightweight Materials and Manufacturing (2016-2019).  From 2014-2016 he served as Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.  Throughout his career he has been involved in various aspects of R&D planning, including leading a NASA-wide team that developed NASA’s Nanotechnology Roadmap – a 25+ year plan for the development of high impact nanoscale materials and devices and their application in NASA missions.   Meador has been active in the ACS for many years, including as Member-at-Large of the Polymer Chemistry Division (POLY), POLY Chair (2020), as a symposium and workshop organizer, and as Thematic Programming Co-chair for the ACS Spring 2019 National Meeting.  He is the recipient of several NASA awards including the NASA Medal for Equal Employment Opportunity, NASA Medal for Exceptional Service, and the inaugural Space Technology Technical Achievement Award.  Meador is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.

Dr. James Moran, Member (2024)

Jim Moran is originally from upstate New York and received his B.A. (chemistry and geology) from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.  His Ph.D. work (Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University) was extremely interdisciplinary in nature and laid the framework for continued interest in science at the interface of traditional disciplines.  His post-doctoral experience (McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario) focused on deep subsurface processes and led to some interesting field work up to 10,000 feet below the Earth’s surface in northern Canada.  Jim is currently an associate professor within the Department of Integrative Biology and Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. His primary research focus is on the use of light stable isotope (including ²H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N, ¹⁸O) measurements in support of a variety of environmental, chemical forensic, ecological, and microbial ecology applications. Recent research emphases include using and developing stable isotope analysis techniques to better understand the spatial controls of biogeochemical processes that regulate nutrient exchange between soil and plants, applying emerging measurement approaches to advance chemical forensics capabilities, and supporting instrument development efforts.  

Dr. Sherine O. Obare, Associate (2024)

Dr. Obare has been since 2019 Dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), an innovative collaboration between North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from West Virginia State University and the University of South Carolina, respectively, and was a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral fellow at The Johns Hopkins University before starting her independent career at Western Michigan University (WMU) in 2004.

Dr. Obare is an environmental chemist whose research focuses on nanotechnology. Her work has led to innovations in the detection and remediation of environmental contaminants, designing nanoscale materials for drug delivery, improved healthcare, biomass conversion, and alternative energy, as well as understanding the fate, transport, and toxicity of anthropogenic nanomaterials. Her research program has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Army Research Office, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Education, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and is documented in more than 100 publications. She was named as one of the top 25 Women Professors in Michigan in 2013 and a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2019. She is particularly proud of the more than 100 students who have trained in her laboratory at both WMU and the JSNN.

Dr. Mary Jo Ondrechen, Associate (2024)

Mary Jo Ondrechen, PhD is a scientist, educator, researcher, and activist. She serves as Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and as the Principal Investigator of the Computational Biology Research Group at Northeastern University in Boston. Her research deals with understanding enzyme catalysis, genomics, predicting the function of proteins, protein design, and the computational aspects of drug discovery. Some of her current research projects include using machine learning methods to understand genomes, evaluating the protein structures of SARS-CoV-2 (the viral pathogen that causes COVID-19), and seeking drug-like molecules that can inhibit the viral life cycle of SARS-CoV-2. She was previously President of the Board of Directors of the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB). She has recently served on the Board of Advisers of the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council, where she advocated for new technologies for environmental clean-up and for the inclusion of affected citizens and tribes in environmental decision making. She was also the 2011-2013 Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). She is a co-Principal Investigator on the 2014-2024 project “Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM,” an initiative to provide guidance and support to Native STEM students who want to become faculty members at colleges, universities, and tribal colleges. The Northeastern University Skills and Capacity for Inclusion (NU-SCI) project, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is spearheading institutional change to make the natural science majors more welcoming of minority and first-generation college students; this project is directed by Professor Ondrechen. 

Katharine Orr, Associate (2024)

Katharine derives from a family dedicated to public service and currently serves Los Alamos National Laboratory as a Research Technologist. She earned her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences, B.A. in Political Science, and M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction of Secondary Science (Chemistry) from the University of South Florida. She is also a lifetime member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. She taught high school chemistry for 3 years after graduating to share the tips and tricks she learned about the subject to help make it accessible to novice learners. Through her participation in a STEM teacher research opportunity at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, she learned of the imminent threat posed by insect-vectored diseases on the nation’s food supply and spent 4 years in full-time research roles investigating novel strategies to combat them prior to joining LANL. Her lab work career is best known for protocol development and multidisciplinary troubleshooting. In her spare time, Katharine serves the ACS Central New Mexico Local Section as Secretary and travels to local schools as a Challenge Ambassador with the Bradbury Science Museum to inspire students to leverage their curiosities with STEM as a foundation for problem-solving.

Dr. Dale L. Orth, Member (2024-2026)

Dale Orth lives in Arlington, VA, and currently serves as the Associate Dean of the College of Sciences and Humanities at Marymount University.  He has previously taught at Wisconsin Lutheran College and Western Colorado University.  In his time at Western Colorado University he also chaired the department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, directed the Center for Teaching Excellence, and served a term as the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees.  Outside of chemistry and education Dale enjoys attending theatre, craft and Belgian beers, bike riding, snow skiing, and general outdoor pursuits.

Dale was an American Chemical Society/AAAS Congressional Fellow in 2010-2011.  He served in the office of Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV working on a range of issues many centered around rural education and science funding.  He has contributed to the fellowship application review process since then, and he served on the Gunnison Watershed RE-1J School Board.  Dale has contributed to the Advanced Placement Chemistry exam grading process since 2003 in a variety of roles.

Dale earned a B.A. in chemistry from Colorado College and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Robert D. Sindelar, Member (2022-2024)

Dr. Sindelar is a Professor and Dean Emeritus, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia (UBC).  Dr. Sindelar is also an elected fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and elected fellow of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), and Member of the External Advisory Board, Trinity College Dublin, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.  In addition, Robert Sindelar was appointed Vice President of Innovation, Research & Academic Affairs at Providence Health Care, President of the Providence Health Care Research Institute and Associate Dean Research in the UBC Faculty of Medicine (2013-2016).

Dr. Sindelar completed a M.S. degree in 1975, and a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products in 1980 at the University of Iowa School of Pharmacy. His research expertise is in medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug discovery, and pharmaceutical biotechnology. His research on the immune system and related diseases resulted in approximately $14 million in extramural funding, 60+ journal articles, six U.S. patents, several international patents, and over 125 invited presentations. Dr. Sindelar is the recipient of several School and University-wide teaching honors.  Dr. Sindelar has co-edited 5 editions of the highly successful textbook entitled “Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications.”

Dr. Heidi Vollmer-Snarr, Member (2022-2024)

Heidi R. Vollmer-Snarr is the Director of Advanced Undergraduate Laboratories at Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. She has authored an organic textbook, Organic Chemistry with Biological Topics. Heidi was a Chemistry Lecturer at Stanford and an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University. Her research involved retinoid chemistry in the development of a targeted and triggered drug delivery system for cancer therapy and mechanistic studies of age-related macular degeneration. To this end, she has served on the Small Business Sensory Technologies and Visual Systems National Institutes of Health Study Sections. Heidi was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Utah, where she taught organic chemistry. Heidi was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia University and the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute. She completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Oxford University and her B.S. in Chemistry and B.A. in German at the University of Utah, where she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies.

Heidi has served on CCPA on the Member Advocacy Subcommittee since 2016. She supports Act4Chemistry and is interested in influencing federal funding and policy decisions in the chemical sciences, research, and education. She also served as an alternate councilor in the Santa Clara Valley section of the ACS. She is engaged in outreach activities, including chemistry magic shows for the community, schools, and scouting groups. She is passionate about chemistry and strives to find ways to help others recognize the importance of chemistry in their everyday lives.

Dr. Donald J. Wink, Member (2023-2025)

Donald J. Wink has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He has been at UIC since 1992. He is also a program faculty member in Learning Sciences. In undergraduate chemical education he has materials development projects that emphasize inter-departmental instruction.  He has also been very active on issues of teaching in K-12 settings, including on projects for curriculum and teacher professional development. At UIC, he has also served UIC as Department Head and Director of Undergraduate Studies (Chemistry), Director of Graduate Studies (Learning Sciences), Academic Chair of UIC Global, and as a member of the Education Policy Committee in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is the Presiding Officer of the UIC Faculty Senate and a member of its Executive Committee. Within ACS he has served as Secretary, Councilor, and Chair for the Division of Chemical Education, and also was a member and Chair of its Board of Publication. He also served Member and Chair of Subcommittee on Higher Education, American Chemical Society Committee on Education. This work involved advising and setting policy and work for the ACS’ Education Division. It includes co-chairing of the ACS’s General Chemistry Performance Expectations task force and workshops and the advisory board of the New Faculty Workshops program. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Chemical Education.

Consultants

Dr. Bonnie Charpentier

Bonnie Charpentier served as President of the American Chemical Society in 2019. She previously served on the ACS board of directors, including as the Chair of the Board.  She has served on and chaired a variety of Society committees and task forces at national levels, as well as being active in local sections, divisions and regional meetings. At the local level, she has been instrumental in establishing chemistry workshops for teachers, workshops on interviewing skills for students, and an outreach program for hands-on chemistry with children in homeless shelters.

She is currently Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Compliance at Cytokinetics, Inc., in South San Francisco, California, a company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics that modulate muscle function. Prior to Cytokinetics, Bonnie worked in drug research and development at other companies, including Syntex and Roche, and as an analytical chemist at the Procter and Gamble Co. She holds a B.S. degree in anthropology and a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology.

In her ACS work, Bonnie has emphasized the importance of communicating the value of chemistry through public outreach and education. She is a strong advocate for ACS programs that increase the effectiveness of ACS's legislative advocacy through member involvement, and for increasing effective collaboration within ACS, and between ACS and other professional societies. The overarching theme of her presidency was collaboration, with focus on Advocacy and Safety and the Environment.  She is passionate about the importance of public service, and about turning molecules into medicines.