Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.  What is that you do?

        

A. I am a 38 year old, native of Fort Valley, Ga.  I have lived in DC for 5 years now. I attended Albany State University in Albany, GA from 2001-2005 and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology.  I am also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (Delta Rho Chapter- Spring. 2004).

In 2014, I earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (with a concentration in Pharmacology/Toxicology) from Florida A&M University.  After I graduated, I moved back to Georgia and worked at Central Georgia Technical College for 2 years as an Adult Education Instructor and Testing Administrator.  

   

In 2016, I became a Presidential Management Fellows Program Finalist (completed in 2018) and started my federal career with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspections Service (FSIS).  FSIS ensures that meat, poultry, and eggs are safe and are properly labeled and packaged. I have been in the Office of Policy for 5 years and am now a Senior Staff Officer.  The office of policy is responsible for recommending and developing all policies for FSIS, developing and reviewing production process and technology performance standards, evaluating labeling and additives used by the meat industry, and developing and evaluating inspection programs and methods. 

 

So basically, we ensure the safety of our nation’s meat, poultry and egg products supply through science driven policy interpretation and development, risk management, and hazard management.  Specifically, I am the Toxicology/Chemistry SME for our staff, and I oversee the implementation of our program that focuses on the evaluation of technologies utilized in meat, poultry, and egg products processing.  

​

Q. What was your formal introduction to science? What about it did you find alluring?

 

​A. I always loved and excelled at math and science.  Because I excelled at Science, I was recruited in the 7th grade to participate in a STEM summer program (Cooperative Developmental Energy Program-CDEP) on Fort Valley State University’s campus.  The CDEP program was created to be a pipeline for minorities to enter STEM careers.  It spanned 4 years from middle to high school.  Every summer we were exposed to different STEM careers, participated in STEM projects, took science and math classes. and did SAT prep.

 

What I find alluring about science is uncovering the WHY and HOW.  I was always a curious child and for as long as I can remember, I always wanted to know why or how.  Yes, the result was nice, but I was more excited about what led to the result.  When you look at everything around us, if you ask why or how, the answer always goes back to science.  I see life as a continuous loop of the scientific method.   Everyday, we make observations or ask questions, we research and learn, we make assumptions based on that information, we experiment or test our ideas, and we make a conclusion based on all of it.

 

Q. Did you foresee a future where you could incorporate your passion into your everyday life?​

​

A. Honestly, I thought I wanted to be a physician.  But I felt more connected to elucidating and understanding disease etiology from cellular and molecular level.  One thing I always knew I had an interest in was how pharmaceutical intervention, human behaviour (diet, exercise, etc) , and environmental factors influenced the human body.  Even in high school, I was highly interested in exercise and nutrition and how that played a part in disease etiology.  

​

Q. How are you using this aspect of STEAM to make your mark in the world?

​​

A. My job is literally this:  Everyday I work hard to ensure the safety of the food we consume.  It feels great to know that my work directly impacts public health in such a significant way.

​

Q. Do you feel Science is a tool of necessity with our upcoming generations? If so, why?

 

​A. Yes!!!  There is no progression without science.  I want upcoming generations to understand that the how and why are just as important as the outcome.  Understanding those underlying factors, allows us to continue to develop better strategies to keep pushing things forward.