ACS Green Chemistry Institute Staff
Adelina Voutchkova
Adelina Voutchkova is the Director of Sustainable Development at the American Chemical Society and leads the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®. Adelina joined the ACS from George Washington University where her research program spans the two frontiers of green chemistry: the development of green synthetic methods through supported catalysis, and the development of predictive methods for identifying chemicals of toxicological concern. She is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award, the 2020 Early Career Researcher Award from GWU, and the 2021 Thieme Chemistry Journals Award, among others. Adelina was previously a Research Associate and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering. She completed her Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry at Yale with Bob Crabtree, focusing on atom-economical catalytic transformations facilitated by NHC complexes. She earned her BA from Middlebury College, where she worked with Prof. Sunhee Choi on the chemistry of Pt anticancer complexes.
Cecilia Smith
Cecilia Smith is an Administrative Assistant at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®. Prior to joining the ACS, Cecilia earned her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Maryland’s creative writing program, where she also worked as an instructor for undergraduate writing courses. Cecilia received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Texas Tech University. As a National Merit Scholar and Undergraduate Research Scholar at Texas Tech, she studied transition metal catalysis and worked on the synthesis of less-toxic alternatives to rare earth metal catalysts. In her role at the ACS, she helps coordinate the GCI team’s finances, events, and outreach efforts. She aims to use her background in writing and the arts to communicate the importance of green chemistry and strengthen the sustainability community.
Christiana Briddell
Christiana Briddell is the Sr. Communications and Marketing Portfolio Manager at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®. In this role, she enables the Institute to fulfill its mission by providing greater visibility and uptake of sustainable and green chemistry tools, resources, programs, and events. She is the editor of the Institute’s newsletter and blog, The Nexus, and a frequent contributor of green chemistry news and articles to journals and news publications. Christiana joined the American Chemical Society in 2013 having previously co-founded a web development and marketing company where she was an early innovator of social media campaigns and online educational platforms. She has a master’s in Communication from John Hopkins University and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Dickinson College.
David A. Laviska
David A. Laviska is the Portfolio Manager for Green Chemistry and Sustainability in Education. Prior to joining the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®, he was an Assistant Professor at Seton Hall University where he is co-director of the Academy for Green Chemistry, Stewardship, and Sustainability. As a pedagogical innovator, he led the effort to incorporate the principles of Green Chemistry throughout the Organic and General Chemistry curricula and was recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences as “Professor of the Year” in 2020. As a first-generation college student and member of the LGBTQIA+ community, he took leading roles in working with undergraduate STEM students from across the spectrum of underrepresented groups. His research focuses on green(er) synthesis and characterization of late transition metal complexes with unique optical properties and hetero- and homogeneous catalysis. His research students also develop and pilot green(er) experimental protocols for use in undergraduate teaching labs. Prior to his second career in academia, Dr. Laviska worked for more than a decade as an Environmental/Analytical Specialist with the EPA (Region II) and earned degrees in chemistry from Rutgers University (Ph.D.), University of Washington (M.S.), and Cornell University (B.A.).
Edmond Lam
Edmond Lam is an Assistant Director of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute and Office of Sustainable Development, leading sustainability grants and other aspects of the nexus between industry and academia. Prior to joining the ACS, Edmond was a Senior Research Officer and Team Lead within the Aquatic and Crop Resource Development research center at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). His research interests include biomass valorization, catalysis, sustainable materials, and synthetic chemistry. He previously served as the Technical Service Lead for the NRC’s Bio-based Specialty Chemicals program which aimed to accelerate the commercial readiness of firms by improving the technologies used to produce higher-value, bio-based specialty chemicals. Edmond received his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Toronto, and a B.Sc. Honors in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia.
Isamir Martinez
Isamir Martinez is the Sr. Scientific Alliances and Business Engagement Manager at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®; leading efforts to enable the implementation of green and sustainable chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemical enterprise by working with the ACS GCI Industrial portfolio, engaging stakeholders and other strategic collaborative programs. Prior to joining ACS in 2016, Isamir held scientific positions at Neurogen Corporation, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and consulted for several years, building alliances, managing projects, and developing business with biotechs and Contract Research Organizations (CRO’s). She has also taught organic chemistry courses at Quinnipiac University & University of Connecticut. Isamir holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from University of Connecticut, and a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Puerto Rico. After her Ph.D. she served as a Dreyfus fellow at Connecticut College. She has a Master Certificate in Applied Project Management and is a PMP certified.
Sederra Ross
Sederra Ross is a Program Specialist at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®. She has dedicated her career to solving environmental injustices and researching methods to remove hazardous contaminants and chemicals contributing to global heating. Her research has covered various topics, including creating biodegradable composites that divert solid waste from landfills, developing programs to galvanize environmental grassroots activists, and employing molecular spectroscopy to identify and characterize gas-phase progenitors that give rise to soot, a PM 2.5 climate pollutant. Sederra holds a Ph.D. in Green Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a B.S. in Chemistry from Clark Atlanta University. In her role, she strives to inculcate green chemistry and engineering across the global chemistry enterprise to provide present and future generations with the knowledge and resources they need for a clean, sustainable environment and an equitable future.
ACS GCI's Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference
The 28th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference will be held June 2-5, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia, with the theme AI-Generated Green Chemistry.
