Past STEM Circuits

Dr. Alice Eagly

Women As Leaders: Do They Make a Difference?  – Dr. Alice Eagly

December 5, 2018

Speaker Bio:  Dr. Alice Eagly is a Professor of Psychology, James Padilla Chair of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Psychology, Faculty Fellow of Institute for Policy Research, and Professor of Management & Organizations – all at Northwestern University.

Why are there so few women in leadership? And how do societal norms and stereotypes play a role? 

Dr. Alice Eagly is well-known for her research on how gender stereotypes emerged and evolved based on the social roles that men and women adopt. Her work on leadership includes the book, “Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders”, written with Linda Carli and published by Harvard Business School Press. Eagly has won many awards, including the 2018 SAGE Award for Scholarly Contribution, from the Academy of Management, Division of Gender and Diversity in Organizations. 

Following Dr. Eagly’s inspiring story, we held round-table discussions. Women in STEM are regarded as intelligent and highly competent. But what steps do we need to take to be considered for leadership roles?


Mini-STEM Circuits Kickoff:  Leadership

October 19, 2018

Speaker Bio:  Colleen D. Egan is currently the Director of People at Clarity Partners but has previously founded her own companies, led teams as a CEO, and even worked as a registered nurse.

What does it mean to be a leader? How do we make our own opportunities?

In addition to working at Clarity, Egan is an advisor for Kinzie Capital Partners and Freelance Anonymous Movie, Moderator for General Assembly, and alum of StartupBus.  She has been a Principal Consultant at Tiger Puppet Studios, CEO and co-founder of My Best Rx, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Akoo International, Vice President of Client Solutions – the list goes on.  She has also won numerous awards for her leadership, including Illinois Technology Association’s 2018 Prominent Women in Tech, Crain’s Chicago Business 2018 list of Notable LGBTQ Executives, and Connected World magazine’s 2018 Women of M2M/Iot award.

Colleen’s LinkedIn profile describes herself as “Impact Leader, Entrepreneur, Operator, Empowering People, Board Member, Advisor, Speaker, Good Human, Decent Poet.” While there were no sonnets at our kickoff event, everyone would agree with this description. Colleen’s story was truly inspiring and reminded us that we can do anything we set our mind to. Treat each other with respect, don’t be afraid to push yourself, and make your own opportunities.