On March 31st, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s (AFOSR) Basic Research Innovation and Collaboration Center (BRICC) held a successful Women's Science and Technology (S&T) Senior Leadership Forum. The one-hour event attracted over 200 live participants and brought together a variety of speakers. The panelists shared engaging stories and advice especially geared towards women in or seeking leadership roles in S&T fields. Their insight included the military, government, and civilian world. This resulted in an honest dialogue on a broad array of challenges, opportunities, and experiences in navigating a S&T career. 

The discussion ranged from subjects such as varying leadership styles, the importance of mentorship, the critical skills needed in an S&T leadership position, finding your own path to success, gender-specific challenges or barriers, how women in leadership positions can change the environments they are in to surmount those challenges, maintaining confidence in the face of detractors, and much more.

“We have so much work to do sometimes it feels like we make two steps forward and one step backwards,” said one panelist, “but we are making progress. Success large and small at all levels where people can see role models ahead of them is how we chip away at bias that girls, even in preschool and elementary school experience. The more successful women we see in science and technology the more inspiration we will give to them.”

The forum included Incoming Chief Scientist for USAF Dr. Victoria Stavridou-Coleman, AFOSR Director Dr. Shery Welsh, Former Chief Science and Technical Advisor for Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Dr. Merri J. Sanchez, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University, Dr. Andrea Goldsmith, Deputy Director of AFOSR Colonel Michelle Ewy, and Special Guest Host, AFOSR Executive Officer, Captain Stephanie Spiker. 

The BRICC, enabled through a partnership intermediary agreement between AFOSR and the Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation, aims to provide connections between industry, individuals, universities, and government research centers with experts inside the Air Force science and technology enterprise.

Originally Published: May 13, 2021