Speakers
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Scott HantonEditorial Director, Lab ManagerScott Hanton is the Editorial Director of Lab Manager. He spent 30 years as a research chemist, lab manager, and business leader at Air Products and Intertek. He earned a BS in chemistry from Michigan State University and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Scott is an active member of ACS, ASMS, and ALMA. Scott married his high school sweetheart, and they have one son. Scott is motivated by excellence, happiness, and kindness. He most enjoys helping people and solving problems. Away from work, Scott enjoys working outside in the yard, playing strategy games, and coaching youth sports.
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Sean GraceCommunications Specialist, Grace Media WorksSean Grace is a communications specialist with over 25 years of experience helping brands, organizations and teams become better communicators. His own creative brand of communications training is forged from his long career as an executive in the advertising, publishing, and entertainment industries.
Sean’s leadership development philosophy is based on the art and science of empathic communications – listening to understand, objective self-awareness, and clear, concise communication built around mutual trust.
Specializing in high-performance learning and leadership development from early-in-career to senior management, Sean’s workshops develop skills in presentation, public speaking, storytelling, persuasion & influence, critical thinking, and innovation.
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Lori ToddSenior Partner, Geek LeadershipDr. Lori Todd has 20 years of experience as a Professor of Engineering at UNC Chapel Hill and an Industrial Hygienist. Lori received the NSF Presidential Faculty Fellows award and was a finalist for Discover Magazine’s Technological Innovation award. For 20 years, Lori has been an international leadership coach and trainer. She earned a BS from Antioch College, an MS from Cornell University, and a PhD from UNC Chapel Hill.
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Bill SpreitzerSenior Partner, Geek LeadershipBill Spreitzer has worked for over 26 years in Corporate America in global supply chain, business development, sales and marketing, global account management, and human resources. For the past 16 years, Bill has focused his energy in the areas of leadership, team development and employee engagement for corporations and individuals. Bill holds a B.A. degree in business from Michigan State University.
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Rob KatzSenior Partner, Geek LeadershipDr. Rob Katz has 12 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the high-tech industry. Over the past 25 years, Rob has led transformational and leadership programs and has worked with 30,000 professionals globally. Rob maneuvers easily between technical and non-technical worlds having earned an BSEE degree from MIT and a PhD in Computer Science at UNC Chapel Hill.
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Thad GurleyAsst. Director of the Accessioning Unit and Biorepository, Duke Human Vaccine InstituteThad Gurley, MS, is the Assistant Director of the Accessioning Unit and Biorepository at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI). In addition, he is the Scientific Research Laboratory Manager for Dr. Tony Moody’s laboratory and the Accessioning Unit Core, a core laboratory in the DHVI Shared Resource Core Facility. He has more than ten years of laboratory, biorepository, and core laboratory management experience with DHVI. As Assistant Director of the Accessioning Unit and Biorepository, he leads a team of eight staff that provide specimen accessioning, processing and storage support for multiple laboratory programs at Duke University. He is also the Manager of the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs) Clinical Core Biorepository. He is the 2023 President of the Association of Laboratory Managers (ALMA) Board of Directors and has been actively involved with ALMA since 2018. He is also a member of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER).
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Javin HatcherianPhysical Science Technician, U.S. Geological SurveyJavin Hatcherian is the laboratory manager for the Organic Petrography Laboratory at USGS National Center in Reston, VA. Since joining the USGS in 2016, Javin has assisted in the implementation of the current center-wide QMS in the Geology, Energy, and Minerals Science Center, served as an internal auditor for other USGS science centers, and has participated in multiple round-robin exercises and accreditation programs. Prior to his work at the USGS, Javin worked in the private sector for a geotechnical firm and participated in academic studies as a student researcher at Texas A&M. Javin is a US Army veteran, accredited organic petrographer, and received his B.S. in Geology from Texas A&M.
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Greg PointerFounder, GP3-ConsultingGreg Pointer is the founder of GP3 Consulting which stands fo r who he is and what his is passionate about: Educating, Motivating, and Elevating others to the next level. With more than 25 years of experience in Corporate America and Ministry, Greg is a Leadership Expert, Change Strategist, and Master Builder with a passion for helping Leaders, Businesses, and Ministries strategically to get to the next level.
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Amy PlaceQC Analytical Manager, Grand River Aseptic ManufacturingAmy Place is the QC Analytical laboratory manager for Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM), a parenteral Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since joining GRAM in 2017, Amy has steered the team while the company has been named in the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies from 2017-2022. Amy has led numerous 21 CFR part 11 compliant equipment implementation projects, conducts contract facility audits, and hosts regulatory audits for GRAM as a laboratory subject matter expert. Amy is passionate about teamwork, continuous improvement, and quality training. Prior to GRAM, Amy worked as a Quality Control Chemist for Amway. Amy received her B.S in Human Biology from Michigan State University and was also a Division 1 student athlete.
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Maria DennisLab Manager, Weill Cornell MedicineMaria Dennis is a current Lab Manager at Weill Cornell Medicine in a Pediatric Vaccine Development lab. As she learns more about the ins and outs of academic research, she has become passionate about mentoring the younger generation of researchers, as well as including more diversity, equity, and inclusion in research training. When she is not in the lab, you can find her in the fiction and science fiction section of local bookstores and exploring her new home of New York City!
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Rebecca BeermanSystems Compliance Manager with Quality Assurance, Duke University School of MedicineRebecca Beerman, Ph.D. is a Systems Compliance Manager with the Quality Assurance for Duke Vaccine Immunogenicity Programs (QADVIP), in the Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine. This role focuses on carrying out data audits, managing the electronic quality management system, and supporting data management and computer systems validation initiatives for the clinical research programs under QADVIP oversight. Rebecca’s Duke career started in 2011, as a postdoctoral researcher in the department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. In 2017, she joined the newly established Duke Office of Scientific Integrity – ASIST team, helping to develop and implement several research integrity programs and software/data management tools. Rebecca holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Tarshae DrummondResearch Technician/Lab Manager, Department of Biological and Forensics Science, Fayetteville State UniversityTarshae Drummond is the Research Technician/Lab Manager in the Department of Biological and Forensics science at Fayetteville State university. She has been in the academia sector for over 12 years and worked in industry as a senior technologist, hospital test clerk, and accessioner at LabCorp for over 11 years. She earned her BS in Biology with a Chemistry minor at Campbell University and MA in Management and Leadership at Liberty University. Tarshae enjoys family, softball, church, and continuously learning new things. She aims to be a part of solutions to make the world a better place by serving, learning, and bringing joy to others.
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Dennis Stolle, JD, PhDSenior Director, Office of Applied Psychology, American Psychological AssociationDr. Dennis P. Stolle is the Senior Director of Applied Psychology for the American Psychological Association, where he oversees applied psychology initiatives across a variety of subject areas, including workplace psychology. Dennis is also a licensed attorney. He received his PhD in social and personality psychology and his law degree from the University of Nebraska, where his research and writing were funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. Stolle is also a licensed attorney, and until his APA appointment, he was a capital partner in an AmLaw 100 law firm. He was also a co-founder and president of a private consulting firm, where he applied psychological science and methods to advise Fortune 500 clients on strategies relating to legal, business, and policy issues, including employment litigation. Stolle has published widely on the application of psychological science to solve real-world problems and promote emotional wellbeing. He also frequently provides commentary for print and broadcast media, appearing for such sources as CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Fortune, The Chicago Tribune, Law360, People Magazine, ABC News, and many others.
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Patrice JimersonAssociate Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, Agilent TechnologiesPatrice Jimerson joined Agilent as associate vice president, Diversity and Inclusion in October 2020. As Agilent’s global leader for D&I, Patrice has developed strategies and programming that drives a sense of belonging and connection for all employees, and a culture where diverse perspectives are valued and appreciated. Her initiatives proactively support and enhance our One Agilent culture, where we work as a global collaborative team with a broad set of experiences that drive innovation and consistent results.
Most recently, Patrice was with the Salesforce consulting company Appirio, where she served as the global diversity leader and director of onboarding and recruiting. Over the past 25 years she has held key diversity and inclusion leadership positions at General Electric, Northrop Grumman, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the nonprofit the Online Computer Library Center.
Ms. Jimerson holds a bachelor’s degree in management and economics from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and has earned advanced diversity and inclusion certifications from Cornell and Georgetown Universities. With more than 20 years of experience as a practitioner, her expertise includes ERG oversight, D&I learning & development, executive coaching, communications, and people management. Patrice leads Agilent’s D&I program for 18,000 employees in 32 countries.
In her free time, she enjoys listening to audiobooks, working in her art studio, and spending time with her partner Mike and their dogs Decker, the enormous English Mastiff and Ghost – the recently rescued Husky.
Sponsors
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Histowiz
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MilliporeSigma
ALMA2023
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Hourly Schedule
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 Workshops
- 7:30 am - 8:00 am
- Continental Breakfast
- 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Morning Workshop
- Pre-registration for Workshops is Required - Choice of: All Geeks are Not the Same: Powerfully Engage with Diverse Styles, Managing (Leading) an Academic Laboratory, or Next Level Leadership - Today's Leader.
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Speakers
Greg Pointer, Lori Todd, Thad Gurley
- 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Lunch
- Join us for a networking buffet lunch (included with your conference ticket).
- 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Afternoon Workshop
- Pre-registration for Workshops is Required - Choice of: Harnessing Your Unique Contribution Bring your Passions, Purpose, and Best Self to Work Everyday, Implementing & Improving a Quality Management System, or Management Essentials.
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Speakers
Amy Place, Bill Spreitzer, Javin Hatcherian, Sean Grace
- 5:15 pm - 7:15 pm
- Opening Reception
- Enjoy drinks and snacks while networking and viewing vendor exhibits.
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 Conference Day 1
- 7:30 am - 8:00 am
- Continental Breakfast
- 8:10 am - 8:20 am
- Welcome & Opening Remarks
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Speakers
Thad Gurley
- 8:20 am - 9:00 am
- Communicating with Impact: Causing Action and Results in Others
- “Why isn’t my message getting across?” “Why aren’t people doing what I tell them to do?” Your communication is effective when it causes the outcomes that you want. This session will show you how to communicate in a way that spurs people into action and inspires results. In this interactive session you will: • Learn the three essential ingredients to effective communication • See how you can think on your feet and speak powerfully without preparation • Understand how to present your ideas with a compelling impact
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Speakers
Rob Katz
- 9:00 am - 10:00 am
- Sponsor Flash Presentations
- 10:00 am - 10:45 am
- Vendor Exhibits & Break
- 10:45 am - 11:25 am
- Inclusion as a Leadership Skill Set
- Diversity and Inclusion has become an expectation not just with current employees but potential employees, industry analysts, stockholders, and investors. People leaders across all sectors and industries are challenged to be purposeful in building teams and cultures that are not only diverse but welcoming, engaging, empathic and open to new perspectives and ideas. Inclusive leadership is not a personality trait, it’s a skill set. It can be taught and measured and evolves over time. Learn how Agilent has built multimedia learning paths that drive self-awareness, behavior change, and professional growth and at all levels of the organization and how we measure success.
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Speakers
Patrice Jimerson
- 11:25 am - 12:05 pm
- The Management Journey: The Transition from Tech to Manager
- There is a lot that goes into being a manager: time management, organization of not just yourself but everyone in your lab setting, all while constantly communicating with the lab’s Principal Investigator. Technicians in the lab don’t necessarily have these skills as they train on experiments and data analysis, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking about lab management. During this presentation, I will take you through my journey from a research technician to a laboratory manager and give you tips and tricks to help other technicians make a successful transition.
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Speakers
Maria Dennis
- 12:05 pm - 1:05 pm
- Buffet Lunch
- 1:05 pm - 1:45 pm
- Creating and Sustaining Change
- The impact of change from organizational faculty members often does not turn into sustainable change that allows each member to experience maximum results and fulfillment. This is due in large part to the lack of understanding when it comes to the technical aspects of change, which are often miscommunicated in the change process. For change strategies to be effective they must answer the why, what, who, and where of change. This presentation addresses major elements of the change process and answers key questions that are essential to creating and sustaining change that brings success.
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Speakers
Greg Pointer
- 1:45 pm - 2:25 pm
- Managers and Mental Health: Strategies for Fostering Psychologically Healthy Workplaces
- Most people spend the majority of their waking hours at work. And a significant amount of that time is spent interacting, directly or indirectly, with their managers. Psychological science confirms the major impact managers can have on the mental health of employees. Some survey data even suggests a relationship with a manager can have a bigger impact on a person’s mental health than their relationship with their spouse. That impact can be positive or negative. This presentation will illuminate the many ways that managers can influence the mental health of their teams, both through their direct interactions and through the workplace culture they foster. We will discuss concepts such as fostering “psychological safety,” recognizing and dealing with “workplace burnout,” and building “psychological capital.” We will also discuss the Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being and ways you can implement that framework with your team. The presentation will focus not just on identifying the key issues, but also on providing practical tips that you can implement immediately to begin building a more psychologically healthy workplace.
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Speakers
Dennis Stolle, JD, PhD
- 2:25 pm - 3:10 pm
- Vendor Exhibits and Break
- 3:10 pm - 5::10 pm
- Round Table Discussions
- Attendees will cycle through each topic over the course of the session. Topics: (1)What are your biggest challenges?, (2)Engaging and leading people who do not report to you, (3) Making work fun
- 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Networking Reception followed by a buffet dinner
Thursday, October 12, 2023. Conference Day 2 (Half Day)
- 7:30 am - 8:00 am
- Continental Breakfast
- 8:00 am - 8:40 am
- An Approach to Retain Key Talent and Critical Knowledge for the Lab
- People are the key to everything the lab does. To be successful labs need to retain their talent and knowledge. Talent retention requires lab managers to provide the key employee needs including trust, clear objectives, recognition, coaching, and development. To deliver on these needs requires lab managers to care about staff as individuals and get to know them as people. Providing these needs requires time, effort, and a desire to see people grow and improve. Retaining the lab’s critical knowledge requires an understanding of what the key knowledge is, and a cross-training plan to ensure that knowledge stays in the lab, even when key personnel leave. Developing an internal process to evaluate who possesses critical knowledge and how to share it is critical to knowledge retention. This presentation will explore the approaches to retain staff and the critical knowledge they contribute to the lab, including: • The benefits of employee engagement • Retention through delivering key employee needs • Mapping critical knowledge • Tools to retain key knowledge
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Speakers
Scott Hanton
- 8:40 am - 9:20 am
- Effective Practices in Sharing Data: Promoting Collaboration and Increasing Productivity
- Whether you are planning a new scientific collaboration or have already established some ongoing collaborations, it’s never a bad time to evaluate your data sharing processes. A well-constructed data sharing process has several benefits, including the potential to reduce data analysis errors, speed-up data analysis workflows, improve data security, and minimize future headaches around finding specific data sets for publications/presentations/grants etc. This session will focus on how to build a sound data sharing workflow, discuss some features and limitations of common technology platforms used for data sharing, and review some lessons learned from specific data sharing projects.
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Speakers
Rebecca Beerman
- 9:20 am - 10:05
- Break
- 10:05 am - 10:45 am
- Panel Discussion: Lab Manager Career Growth
- 10:45 am - 11:25 am
- Getting More Done with Less
- Each year the budget seems to decrease, but the lab efficiency and quality is expected to be better. Therefore, we must adjust and find ways to get more done with less. We will discuss ways to get more done with less by evaluating the budget, manpower, and laboratories while simultaneously maintaining and/or increasing the laboratory’s quality and efficiency.
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Speakers
Tarshae Drummond
- 11:25 am - 11:40:am
- Conference Wrap Up and Closing Remarks
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Speakers
Thad Gurley