As a female engineer, I am well aware that women are still a minority in math and science professions and although the gender gap is closing, women are still paid 18-22% less than men. Today I want to honor a few trailblazing women:
Dr. Rhonda Patrick
Rhonda Perciavalle Patrick has a Ph.D. in biomedical science from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis TN and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis TN. She also has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in biochemistry/chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. She has done extensive research on aging, cancer, and nutrition.
Here is a great podcast with Joe Rogan- Dr. Patrick discusses sugar addiction, fiber, and gut health: HERE
Dr. Sarah Hallberg
An expert on metabolic control and type 2 diabetes, Dr. Hallberg is also the executive director of The Nutrition Coalition, a nonprofit organization that aims to educate the public and policymakers about the need to strengthen national nutrition policy so that it is founded upon a comprehensive body of conclusive science, and where that science is absent, to encourage additional research.
A low carb enthusiast, Dr. Hallberg practices what she preaches by living a ketogenic lifestyle and her TEDx Talk, "Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines" has been viewed 1.2 million times.
Dr. Tara Brach
Our survival brain has hundreds of strategies for resisting emotional pain. But according to Tara Brach, clinical psychologist and renowned teacher of Buddhism, resisting pain only increases our suffering.
She advocates another solution—actually engaging what’s emotionally painful—a process she calls cultivating deliberate practice. Here, she talks about the personal and professional benefits this practice yields.
Women of Color That Pioneered Scientific Fields
Read this Article to learn about women that broke the mold!
Sheri Lynn Baird
This amazing science teacher gave birth to me and ignited my curiosity about the natural world. As an elementary and middle school science teacher, she built hydroponic gardens in her classroom, constructed an outdoor greenhouse, led robotics lessons, and took her students to a yearly ecology camp… the list of her creative endeavors goes on and on. Most importantly, she taught science with an infectious exuberance that made her students excited about learning!
My sister and I were raised in the woods in rural Michigan. We grew up picking asparagus, morel mushrooms, wild blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. We caught crayfish, bullfrogs, garter snakes, and salamanders …and we knew the life cycle of almost every insect in our ecosystem. We rescued strays and helped feral cats and dogs give birth to their young. We identified trees by their leaves, bark, and seeds; and we learned to observe and steward both the micro and the macro in our wild community.
I couldn’t begin to list everything we learned from my mom…we used to tease her that, “everything was a lesson” but now, in my adult life, I am so grateful that she took the time to teach my sister and I about the natural world; and most importantly that we fell in love with learning at such an early age! My sister is a VP in Biotech and I am a Biosystem Engineer…I know those roots grew from her influence…I love you mom…;)