Agatha is an Account Manager at BASF, and she joined the interview from Nigeria, making her our first Woman of the Week interview from Africa. Agatha came from a large family and was one of eight siblings, and this is where she learned her parental values which she applies to her own family as a mom of four daughters. Growing up, Agatha wanted to be a microbiologist, and her first career was as a laboratory scientist focusing on quality assurance and quality control. After four years, Agatha decided to move onto a new role after a contact told her that she had the right skill set and right personality for a career in sales, so without sales experience, Agatha took a leap of faith and moved into a career in sales. After almost nine years, Agatha took a role at BASF which is where she is currently employed. Agatha truly has a passion for sales and the industry in which she sells into, and believes that as a female, it is always important to drive towards success. Thinking back to early in her career, Agatha never knew she would have a career in sales and she had different career aspirations to fix the world, but after being offered an opportunity, she pushed herself to be successful.

Sandra received her degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin then went on to build a "back of the house career" where she focused on functions such as quality, R&D, operations, and project management. She was urged by a sponsor to obtain her executive MBA, which she received from Kellogg School of Management, and subsequently, she moved to a "front of house career" holding various commercial roles in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.  Throughout her career tenure, Sandra remains inspired at the opportunity to drive positive business performance through high-performing teams and cross-functional collaboration. In 2017, she landed in her current role at W. R.  Grace & Co. (Grace) as President of their Materials Technologies business.

Claire is currently an account executive at The Stepan Company and she is a member of their surfactants division. She has been at Stepan for 13 years, and she started her career at Stepan straight out of college. Claire has a business degree with a chemistry minor, and she was first introduced to Stepan through seminars that her college offered from chemical companies. Throughout her tenure with Stepan, Claire has had a variety of roles include sales trainee, market focused (HI&I) direct accounts, consumer national accounts, geography based territory, and now global consumer products.

Erin is responsible for sustainability at Brenntag and reports to the VP of Sustainability. She is also the North American lead for Brenntag's DEI journey. She holds a bachelor's degree in communications with a concentration in marketing and received her certificate in corporate sustainability from NYU Stern School of Business. Erin started her career in beer distribution, and in June 2010 she started as a marketing specialist for Brenntag. She held various roles at the company including commercial analyst, sourcing and then sustainability, which she began in January of 2020 after validating with her management that sustainability was here to stay, Brenntag needed a dedicated resource, and they needed to be a leader in the space. Erin is also Brenntag's contact for their Together for Sustainability involvement.

Emily has a bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering and started her career as a corrosion engineer in the petrochemical industry at ExxonMobil. Throughout her career, she has obtained experience in additive manufacturing in the aerospace industry and polymers research and manufacturing in the automotive and adhesives industries. Emily transitioned to ICIS to pursue her love of sustainability with a career in recycled plastics reporting, primarily focusing on the circular economy of plastics. Emily chose engineering as her major because of her parents - her father is electrical engineer and her mother was a working mom who also has a successful career. Growing up, she always exceled with math and that led her to a career in the STEM field. She stated that there was a large learning curve when she jumped into a journalistic-focused career even though she had the technical background to assist with her responsibilities.

Angie Schewe is the Vice President of the Industrial Division at Valudor Products, a mid-sized chemical distributor headquartered in Encinitas, California. She is an energetic and trusted leader responsible for the strategic direction, growth, and financial performance of the division. With 25 years of experience in the domestic and global chemical industry, Angie has garnered a wide range of experience in operations, finance, marketing, procurement, and sales. During her formative years, Angie worked in her father’s businesses where she developed the tenacity to be fearless with her career trajectory. With his mentorship, she confidently changed disciplines, pursued challenging assignments, and accepted lateral moves in a deliberate effort to expand her expertise and strengthen her leadership skills.

Not only does Christine have a flourishing career with Brenntag, but she is also Women in Chemical's Mentorship Chair, and she is incredibly passionate about building the Mentorship program for the industry. Christine believes she "fell" into the industry and admits that she did not know much about chemicals when she started in the industry in a sales role. Part of her mission is to bring women into the industry in an intentional way by providing an appropriate support system. Christine has been with Brenntag for most of her career, and two years ago, she made the transition from sales to product management.

Shana has 20+ years of experience in commercial roles, ranging across a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, software, and chemicals. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in management from Washington University in St. Louis. Shana never planned on having a career in the chemical industry, but after speaking at a non-profit event, she was approached by a chemical company, and shortly after she became a part of the chemical industry.

Blair is a Louisiana native, high school valedictorian, and graduate of LSU Baton Rogue, where she studied biological engineering. Early in her career, Blair worked on the BP oil spill plankton samples and focused on microscope lab analysis and understanding the impacts to aquatic life. She always believed she would go to medical school, but after working in a research lab, she progressed into the chemical plant atmosphere with a role in a lab at Honeywell. She started at Honeywell in 2015 where she was on a rotating shift in the lab for 4 years. She then progressed to a role as a quality specialist and ultimately morphed into a role as a quality engineer. After working in the quality field, Blair decided she wanted to do chemical engineering work, so she spent her last 6 months at Honeywell as a chemical engineer. She joined Linde in 2022 as a plant engineer.

Dr. Ooka has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and shared her work experiences in both small and large organizations with us during her interview. She started her career as a chemist at Clorox where she focused on product development and innovation. She enjoyed working at Clorox because it set a good foundation for her in CPG, providing excellent professional development and training, demonstrating best practices in the industry, and introducing her to great leadership. After Clorox, Dr. Ooka spent time at smaller companies such as method and J.R. Watkins and is now at the Independent Beauty Association (IBA), a non-profit trade association.

Mai Mai's journey started with the influence of her father, who was an engineer. She exceled in math and science, so Mai Mai knew that this would be a great foundation for her desire to study Engineering. Upon graduating with her B.S. in Materials Engineering, Mai Mai landed her first job in the electronic materials division of a large, $2B chemical company which housed divisions including chemicals, metal, and ammunition. Mai Mai's role in the organization was in the engineering group, supporting electronic materials within the semiconductor industry, but upon sale of that business unit, she had the opportunity to enter into the chemical division of the company. She spent time in roles such as technical services, market development, and account management, but once again, her business unit was sold. At the same time, Mai Mai's husband had an opportunity out of Boston, so instead of moving on to the new owner, she decided to take a break from her career to focus on family and relocate to the Boston area. After the break, Mai Mai began looking for a job that would allow her to use her transferable skills. After years of searching for the right opportunity, she found a job at Jungbunzlauer; Mai Mai has been with Jungbunzlauer for 15 years.

Dr. White holds her Masters in Biology and her Doctorate in Environmental Toxicology, and as a part of her role at ACC, she has the opportunity to work with some of the leading scientists and key regulators engaged with the chemical industry. Throughout her education, Dr. White thought she would work in a research lab for her entire career, but during graduate school she accepted an internship working on science policy with the state department, which ultimately led to her career in environmental compliance and regulation. Dr. White sought out a career where she could make a larger impact in the industry and working at ACC allows her to engage with leaders in the business of chemistry focused on research, sustainability and innovation. She thoroughly enjoys the combination of R&D and policy, and in particular, sharing this information with the public. Dr. White does not come from a family of scientists, but her love for science started when she was eight years old when her parents gifted her a red microscope. From that day forward, Dr. White spent hours on end utilizing her microscope and exploring all things science related.