Attendee List

Conference Evaluation

NPSMA National Leadership

2024 NPSMA CONFERENCE BIOS

Cynthia Bainton is senior programs operations manager of professional programs in the College of Science at Northeastern University. She has administered the university’s Professional Science Master’s in Biotechnology since its inception in 2003 when 3 students were enrolled to its current size of over 750 students today. She works closely with the program’s faculty and staff to implement systems and improvements with an emphasis on quality and efficiency. Cynthia has been involved with the National Professional STEM Master’s Association since its establishment in 2007. She served on NPSMA’s Peer Review Committee and was then elected to two terms on the board of directors. While on the board she served as convener, finance officer, Strategic Planning Committee chair, and Awards Committee chair.

Cynthia holds a BA in English from Bowdoin College and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Tim Born - NPSMA President, Interim Dean, Padnos College of Engineering, Grand Valley State University.   Tim Born received his BS in Biochemistry from Calvin College in 1990 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School in 1996.  After spending four years as a post-doc at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he joined the Chemistry faculty at George Mason University in 2000.  In 2013 he moved back to Grand Rapids and joined GVSU, first as the Coordinator of the Professional Science Master’s programs and then as the Associate in Dean in PCEC.  He currently serves as the Interim Dean of the Padnos College of Engineering.  He has been a member of the National Professional STEM Master’s Association Board of Directors for 8 years and served as President of the Board in 2020 and 2024.

Tim and his wife have three children who keep them busy with their hockey games and horse jumping competitions (yes, he actually owns a horse!). He also tries his best to avoid yard work and has been known to go out for the occasional bike ride with friends.  His goal is to work up to a 100-mile ride. He enjoys most sports, loves to play golf, and is a fan of the Washington Nationals and the Washington Capitals.

Kathleen Cashman-Walter - For over 30 years, Kathleen has been empowering leaders from all industries to become more confident, accountable, and courageous. As the President of Cashman Consulting LLC, a Leadership Development and Coaching Organization, Kathleen's branded coaching, "Conversations with Kathleen," has become synonymous with effective leadership coaching that delivers results.

Kathleen provides individual, executive, and team leadership coaching to senior leaders, coaches, and their organizations and teams. Her expertise in Leadership and Performance and Career Coaching has helped countless clients overcome challenges, find answers, and unlock their full potential.

Kathleen's experience in various senior positions while supporting the recruiting function has kept her relevant to her clients and earned her a reputation as a trusted advisor. Her ability to interact with organizations across industry spectrums and at all levels, beginning at the top, allows her to tailor her coaching approach to meet the unique needs of each client.

Kathleen is a certified Professional Coach – PCC and is currently the 2024 President of the New Jersey Charter Chapter of the International Coaching Federation.

As a Professor of Communication & Leadership, Kathleen has created and executed a premier program that is considered a critical component of the overall program. Additionally, she has been an advisor, Industrial Advisory Board Leader, and Executive Coach for the Rutgers Professional Science Master's Program for the past 12 years. Kathleen holds several coaching certifications, including Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and Professional Coach (Robbins-Madanes RMT Certified Life Coach), as well as Professional Development Certification in Assessments such as DISC, LIFO, MBTI, Emotional Intelligence - Travis Bradberry, Strategic Communication System - The Kraft Concept, Hogan, and Strengths Finders.

Kathleen holds a dual Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and management from Seton Hall University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Tait Chirenje holds a PhD in Trace Metal Biogeochemistry from the University of Florida (Florida), an MS in Earth Science from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) and a BS from the University of Zimbabwe (Harare, Zimbabwe).  He works in the area of aquatic chemistry, brownfields assessment and redevelopment and the urban geochemistry of trace elements. He is the current and founding Chair of the Professional science Masters Degree in Environmental Science at Stockton University. He is a current member of the National Professional STEM Master’s Association Board of Directors. Tait currently runs the Stockton University Environmental Internship Program (SUEIP) and he and his team of 10 students and four scientists help the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NJDMAVA)’s Environmental Monitoring Bureau (EMB) meet environmental compliance at their 27 sites in the state of New Jersey. He also advises local communities on stormwater quality and watershed management projects.
 
Tait teaches courses in the field of environmental chemistry, including water chemistry, environmental remediation and biotechnology, environmental toxicology and environmental pollution and regulation. He also teaches and engages students in international sustainable development projects in Zimbabwe, Ecuador and Brazil.

Meghan Dovick is the Director of the Professional Science Masters program at the University of Utah, bringing over fifteen years of experience in higher education. Her roles have spanned course creation, instruction, research, and administration. Meghan’s expertise lies at the intersection of environmental science, sustainability, and policy, with a passion for interdisciplinary, practical application, and experiential approaches. Her goal is to prepare tomorrow's workforce to be leaders and change agents. Currently, Meghan serves on the Board of Directors for the National Professional STEM Masters Association as President-Elect. She is a regular presenter at the annual NPSMA national conference, discussing professional development and ways to enhance the graduate student experience. Additionally, Meghan is part of the leadership team for the Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine, focusing on workforce development within the National Foundation Regional Innovation Engines program.

Meghan has a BS in biology, an MS in environmental law and policy, and a PhD in geomicrobiology.

Seema Freer is the Director of Research Development in the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) at Temple University. Research Development is often the first step in the grant lifecycle and in her role in OVPR, Seema engages Temple's outstanding research faculty to explore intramural / extramural funding and assist in creating opportunities for Temple research teams to seek interdisciplinary research grants. OVPR Research Development also hosts multiple events during the year providing collision spaces for our faculty to look for alignment in research interests across the campus.

Previously, Seema served as an Associate Professor (T/I) in the Department of Biology and Managing Director of the Professional Science Master's Programs (PSM) in the Department of Biology. The PSM programs create a career path for STEM majors who are seeking opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. Seema has been involved in the Temple PSM programs since its inception in Biology. Along with building the individual Steering Committees of each PSM program, Seema oversaw program development, student professional formation, internships and job placements.

Seema was elected as President of the Board of the National Professional Science Master's Association in 2023, and she oversaw the broadening of the vision and name change to National Professional STEM Master's Association. Seema continues to serve as an adjunct in Biology teaching Ethics in Biotechnology and the Professional Development Seminar.

Juliet Chin Hart | Founder & CEO Hart & Chin Associates, LLC - Juliet Hart specializes in developing the leadership capabilities of scientists and their organizations. She is the founder of Hart & Chin, a company that offers workshops, coaching, and consulting services. She believes that strengthening the leadership and interpersonal skills of scientists will make them more effective leaders, who will have a larger impact and create greater value for the organizations they serve. Previously working as a scientist at Johnson & Johnson, she has seen the impact of her work drive employee engagement, increase collaboration, and stimulate innovation across functions. She has led trainings on developing leadership & management skills, cross-cultural awareness, presentation pitching, & communications skills.

Juliet established her expertise in learning and development through progressive roles within Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb. In addition, she has obtained management training from the Yale School of Management. She began her journey in drug discovery as a laboratory scientist at small to mid-sized biotech companies and at Janssen (J&J) in San Diego, CA. Juliet earned her Bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York - Hunter College in psychology. There she conducted research in biopsychology as a National Institutes of Health - Scholar Fellow, published papers, contributed to the National Academy of Sciences, and presented at international conferences.

Sanaa Jehi, Ph.D. -Northeastern University - Dr. Sanaa Jehi is an Associate Teaching Professor and a Lead Faculty in the Professional MS in Biotechnology (PSM) program at Northeastern University. Dr. Jehi pursued her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine Specialization at Cleveland State University, focusing on molecular parasitology, telomere biology and aging. Dr. Jehi identified a novel telomere-specific protein TIF2 in Trypanosoma brucei and characterized its function in the maintenance of the telomere/subtelomere integrity and suppression of subtelomeric DNA recombination. Her work was published in high impact journals, such as Cell Research and Nucleic Acid research. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Dr. Jehi has focused on the study of DNA repair pathways and genome instability, in particular the Break-induced-replication (BIR) pathway in mammalian cells. Dr. Jehi discovered a novel role for the PIF1 helicase in BIR relevant to hematological and breast cancers.
After acquiring Industry experience in Gene Editing as a Research & Development Scientist in Thermo-Fisher Scientific (Carlsbad), Dr. Jehi joined Notre Dame University-Louaize as an Assistant Professor in Biology. Dr. Jehi had extensive experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses and served as an academic advisor for many years.
Passionate about teaching and engaged learning, Dr. Jehi bridges her experience in both research and industry with an academic application in the PSM program at northeastern University. Since January 2022, Dr. Jehi has had the opportunity of teaching at Northeastern University. She has been developing new graduate courses in Vaccines and Immunization, Pharmaceutical microbiology and continuing to teach core courses such as Protein Chemistry. Dr. Jehi is passionate about experiential learning in higher education and integrating artificial intelligence into teaching and learning methodologies.

Bio Link: https://cos.northeastern.edu/people/sanaa-jehi/

Dr. Kristin Kuter is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She earned her PhD in Mathematics, specializing in probability theory, from the University of California, San Diego, in 2009. At Saint Mary’s, Dr. Kuter pioneered the Master of Science in Data Science program, serving as its founding Program Director and successfully fostering partnerships and support networks to sustain and grow the program. An active member of the National Professional Science Master's Association (NPSMA), she served as President of the Board in 2022 and continues to lead initiatives that enhance the value and visibility of professional STEM programs. Dr. Kuter is also committed to advancing STEM engagement among women and girls, evidenced by her leadership in initiatives such as Hypatia Day, a conference aimed at encouraging young girls in STEM, and her contributions as the primary author of the Status of Girls in Indiana report. Her research interests include mathematical and statistical modeling, with a recent focus on the gender pay gap. Earlier this year, Dr. Kuter was a Fulbright Scholar in Zimbabwe, where she was hosted by the Harare Institute of Technology, working to promote data science education in an international setting.

Beth Ann Murphy, Ph.D. - Beth Ann Murphy is a dynamic leader, educator, and consultant with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and strategic consulting. With a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Rutgers University and extensive work in drug discovery, she has led impactful pharmacology programs at Merck, advancing multiple therapeutic discoveries to critical decision points. As Founder and President of BAM Consulting LLC, Beth Ann advises scientist-entrepreneurs on how to translate innovative ideas from the lab to commercially viable products, leveraging her deep knowledge of preclinical pharmacology, project strategy, and scientific communication.

In her academic role as an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers University, she has redefined ethics curricula, pioneered academic integrity remediation programs, and mentored hundreds of students, focusing on bridging the gap between science and business. Her unique teaching approach emphasizes critical thinking and real-world problem-solving, preparing the next generation of "business-ready scientists."

Beth Ann is a passionate advocate for women in STEM fields, fostering inclusive environments where diverse voices are heard and valued. Her speaking engagements draw on her extensive leadership experience, offering insights into innovation, ethical decision-making, and strategic thinking at the business-science interface.

Desmond Upton Patton is the Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor and the thirty-first Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor. He holds joint appointments in the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication, with secondary appointments in the Department of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine and at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Professor Patton’s groundbreaking research explores the relationship between social media and gun violence, grief, and loss, specifically how online communities can influence harmful offline behavior. This work has established him as the most cited and recognized scholar in this vital area of social science. His early research aimed at detecting trauma and preventing violence on social media has led to his current roles as an expert on language analysis and bias in AI, a member of Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council, the EEAC at Axon, a consultant at TikTok, and a safety advisor for NAVER Z.

As a social work scientist, Patton recognized that traditional data science techniques could not accurately capture key cultural nuances in the language of predominantly Black and Hispanic youth. To address this, he developed the Contextual Analysis of Social Media (CASM) approach, which emphasizes culture, context, and inclusion in machine learning and computer vision analysis.

Dr. Patton is an National Academy of Medicine member, an Obama Foundation USA Leader, a Mozilla Rise 25 Change Agent, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a Top 50 in Digital Health at RockHealth. He also serves as an AI start-up advisor.

Provided by Shana Kleiner

Full Bio Link: https://sp2.upenn.edu/person/desmond-upton-patton/

Dan Strongin received his A.B. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1984 and Ph.D. from the University of California- Berkeley in 1988. From 1988 to 1989 he was a postdoc at the IBM-Almaden Research Center. He began his independent academic career in 1989 upon joining the Department of Chemistry at Stony Brook University. He joined Temple University in 1996 as an associate professor and was promoted to the rank of professor in 2001. Dan served as the Chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2015 to 2021. He is currently Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in the College of Science and Technology (CST) at Temple University. His office oversees MS, PSM, and PhD programs in CST. Dan's research effort over the years has included investigating the oxidation of sulfide minerals, the sequestration of toxic metals by carbonate minerals, and currently includes the use of nanomaterials for environmental remediation and electrocatalysis for sustainable energy applications.