Past Members

Thank you to the following people for their contributions to the initiative!


Katy Trotter, MS, STEM Circuits Team Member, Research Manager, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University


Jaqueline (Jackie) Rojas, IWD Committee Member, Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois at Chicago


Sarah Philbin, MPH, STEM Circuits Team Member, PhD Candidate, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University


Michelle Teplensky, PhD, IWD Committee Member, Postdoctoral Fellow, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University


Julia Quinlan, PhD, Advisory Committee Member


Nasreen Choudhury, PhD, STEM Circuits Committee Member


Jennifer Bogs, MBA, JD, Social Media Coordinator – LinkedIn, Graduate Student, Loyola University Chicago’s School of Environmental Sustainability


Erika Ramos, PhD, Treasurer & Fundraising Chair, PhD Candidate, Northwestern University


Rachel Burga, PhD, Advisory Committee Member


Thao Pham, PhD, (Former) Marketing Director, Postdoctoral Fellow, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University


Jill Wenderhott, PhD, (Former) STEM Circuits Coordinator – Evanston Campus, Postdoctoral Fellow, Materials Sciences and Engineering, Northwestern University


Blanca Gutierrez, (Former) STEM Circuits Coordinator-Chicago Campus, PhD Student, Driskill Graduate Program, Northwestern University


Kristoffer Myczek, PhD, (Former) Operations Manager


Caren Nassif, (Former) STEM Circuits Coordinator- MA Candidate, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University


Arianne Rodriguez, PhD, (Former) Symposium Coordinator


Maggie Chan, MSL, (Former) Treasuer & Fundraising Chair, Northwestern University


Valerie Fako Miller, PhD, (Former) Liason

Valerie served as a liaison from the University of Chicago Postdoctoral Association. She helped bring UChicago postdocs and speakers to ChiSTEM events including the annual IWD symposium. We are grateful for the work Valerie did regarding outreach and IWD!







Grace Bellinger, (Former) STEM Circuits Study Design and Implementation Director, PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Grace was a vital part of the STEM Circuits initial organization committee. She organized the first STEM Circuits survey which provided valuable insight from our participants. Thank you Grace for your contributions to the Initiative!








Claudia B. Späni, PhD, (Former) Social Media Coordinator, Postdoctoral Fellow, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

During her time at Northwestern University, Claudia was a vital member of the Chicago Women in STEM Initiative. She is the founder of our blog and did an amazing job as our Social Media Coordinator on Twitter. Best of luck to her as she continues the work of the initiative in Switzerland. We will miss you Claudia!