Where Does Your Journey STEM From?

Carina Minardi, PhD MPH

An exploration of careers and research all having to do with the glorious STEM.

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  1. S3 Ep1: Chaya Mallavaram, Technologist and ADHD Advocate

    EPISODE 1

    S3 Ep1: Chaya Mallavaram, Technologist and ADHD Advocate

    Driven by a blend of formal education in accounting, a thriving career in technology for over 22 years, and a profound passion for art, I've embraced every facet of my life with a growth mindset. Living with ADHD has been my greatest teacher, guiding me through triumphs and trials and fostering personal growth at every turn. From navigating the complexities of distraction to discovering the power of hyperfocus, each experience has shaped me into who I am today. Harnessing my strengths in transformation, creativity, emotional intelligence, and unconventional thinking, I've learned to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. My journey shifted dramatically with my son's ADHD diagnosis in 2020, revealing the broader impact of neurodiversity on individuals and their communities. Understanding the effects on parents, educators, and peers and their reciprocal influence ignited a renewed commitment to advocating neurodiversity. As the Founder of Spark Launch, I bring a deeply personal perspective to ADHD support and advocacy. My mission is to empower the neurodivergent community in homes, schools, and workplaces through coaching and training. Regardless of neurodivergence, every mind possesses remarkable potential and warrants acknowledgment and respect.

    41 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    S3 Ep2: Shaundra Toy, Solution Engineer

    Shaundra Toy is currently working as a Solution Engineer for Clari, a company working with AI in the Sales Process. Previously, she worked with Groove, a Sales Enablement Solution built on Salesforce, and previous to that, as a Solution Engineer at Salesforce Service Cloud working with High Tech Strategic Accounts. Prior to jumping into Tech she also had a career in the Print Industry, where she worked for Screen, Pantone, Kodak and Creo developing Professional Services for Color and Automation, and Global Brand Initiatives for clients like P&G, Target, 3M and Colgate-Palmolive. Toy is PMP certified, double certified in change management, holds a certificate in UX Research, a certificate in Human Centered Strategy, has mentored new project managers, taught many advanced seminars for the Project Management Institute (PMI) and recently finished a minor in User Experience Research along with her Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies and Integrative Problem Solving. Toy has combined years of certifications in leadership and communication with experience in project management to speak on topics such as Thinking in Systems, Innovative problem-solving, and building momentum for Change. Inspired by the complexity of systems and their flow, Shaundra Toy’s 2021 TedTalk “Catching the Wave of Organizational Change” explores the Who-Why-How-What of organizational change, which when strategically implemented together can produce a rapid change initiative that is highly successful, less painful, and more fiscally responsible.

    40 min
  3. S3 Ep3: Samuel Oyefusi Nigerian Entrepeneur

    EPISODE 3

    S3 Ep3: Samuel Oyefusi Nigerian Entrepeneur

    Samuel Oluwakorede Oyefusi is a Mechanical Engineering student at Pan Atlantic University, Ex-president of the Living Green Club, the co-Founder of Ridebuddy and Global Ambassador of Thierworld. He has a passion for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which drives his focus on Energy Transition and Robotics innovation, alongside advocacy for quality education. With a knack for research, analysis, and strategic planning, He utilises his expertise in innovation and sustainable development to foster positive change across Africa. As a community leader, he mentors the youths close to him with the aim to inspire a new generation of innovators dedicated to creating a brighter future for the continent. He hopes that by working to achieve his dreams, he can inspire others to achieve theirs too. He is currently engaged in a groundbreaking project involving a smart irrigation system for farming and an Agrobot equipped with computer vision and AI for precise farm navigation, crop yield estimation, weed detection, and removal.

    36 min
  4. S3 Ep4: Ali Divan Entrepeneur in Life Sciences Industry

    EPISODE 4

    S3 Ep4: Ali Divan Entrepeneur in Life Sciences Industry

    Dr. Divan is the founder of Trulitica, a professional career services company that focuses on strategy, communication, and career development for scientists in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Divan has experience in reagents manufacturing & development, and diagnostics. He has served the San Diego biotech industry in Quality Control, Product Development, Technology Transfer, Operations and R&D. Among his most notable contributions, he supported the launch and operational scaling of BioLegend’s Totalseq product line during the COVID-19 pandemic. He holds a Ph.D. In Medical Sciences from Texas A&M University and completed his postdoctoral studies in microbiology and medicinal chemistry at the University of North Dakota.

    45 min
  5. S3 Ep5: Jason Garborino Nursing Leader

    EPISODE 5

    S3 Ep5: Jason Garborino Nursing Leader

    Jason Garbarino is an experienced nurse educator, clinician, and leader whose 16-year career in nursing spans across various speciality areas. Jason remains clinically active within primary care nursing, overseeing patient Annual Wellness Visits while teaching undergraduate and graduate nursing students. He taught nursing full-time for 11 years as a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Vermont (UVM). He served as the Vice Chair/Director of the Undergraduate Nursing Program. In 2022, he was the recipient of the UVM Kreps-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award for his innovation, creativity, and community-building endeavors. Throughout his career, Jason has demonstrated a commitment to advancing nursing through research and scholarship. His areas of focus include nursing education, professional workforce development in nursing, and health promotion among older adults. He has shared his expertise at numerous national and international conferences and has contributed to peer-reviewed publications, including book chapters on innovations in nursing pedagogy. Jason currently serves as a faculty liaison for the Dartmouth Centers for Health and Aging and served as chair of the ANCC Gerontological Nursing Board Certification Content Expert Panel. He serves in advisory roles on both the Forbes Education Advisory Board and the Forbes Medical Advisory Board. Jason Garbarino assumed the role of Talent Director for Healthcare at inSpring in 2023. At inSpring, Dr. Garbarino's primary objective is to contribute to the growth, diversification, and global advancement of professional nursing practice. He resides in Vermont with his wife and two children.

    39 min
  6. S3 Ep 6: Lainie Mataras, Senior Director of the Consultant Architecture and Design Group at Planar

    EPISODE 6

    S3 Ep 6: Lainie Mataras, Senior Director of the Consultant Architecture and Design Group at Planar

    Lainie Mataras is the Senior Director of the Consultant Architecture and Design Group at Planar, a global leader in visualization technology. In this role, Mataras leverages her extensive professional network to foster relationships with industry partners and further develop the company’s consultant and architecture and design programs. With 30 years of experience in the audio-visual and digital signage industry, Mataras worked as a regional sales manager for the consultant industry at Sapphire Marketing, where she worked for 14 years. Prior to that, she held a technical sales role at Crestron, where she worked for a decade. Mataras is a board member of WAVIT, an organization created by and for woman in the AV/IT industries and the AVIXA Women’s Council.

    37 min
  7. S3 Ep7: Sohnee Ahmed Genetic Counselor

    EPISODE 7

    S3 Ep7: Sohnee Ahmed Genetic Counselor

    Sohnee Ahmed is a board-certified genetic counselor and variant analyst involved in genetic analysis and report writing for whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing, and panel tests. She graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science, specializing in Genetics & Biotechnology with a minor in Anthropology. She then attended Wayne State University to achieve a Master of Science degree in Genetic Counseling. Following graduation, Sohnee was recruited to the University of Rochester in New York State, where she was a joint faculty member in the Departments of Neurology and Medicine and provided in-person genetic counselling to adults, parents, and families regarding cancer genetics alongside adult and pediatric neurology. While there, she established the first regional Adult Neurogenetics clinic, a Child Neurology Neurogenetics Consultation service, the first multidisciplinary Hereditary Ataxia program in upstate New York, and she also helped develop Lynch syndrome (HNPCC) universal screening within the hospital system and community. She then returned home to Toronto and joined the Division of Clinical & Metabolic Genetics at The Hospital for Sick Children, specializing in Pediatric Neurogenetics and teaching and supervising Masters students through the Genetic Counselling MSc program at the University of Toronto. She joined GeneDx in 2016 and began working remotely, providing variant interpretations to healthcare providers that order genetic testing through GeneDx. Most recently, Sohnee shifted her focus to be between report writing on the Neurology and Clinical Genomics teams and performing variant analysis for whole exome and whole genome sequencing cases. Sohnee was previously the President of the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors (CAGC-ACCG) and currently is an active member of the CAGC and its American counterpart, the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC). She also spends her time mentoring prospective and current genetic counseling students who identify as minorities in medicine.

    42 min
  8. S3 Ep 8: Kayla B., Product Manager in Tech

    EPISODE 8

    S3 Ep 8: Kayla B., Product Manager in Tech

    Kayla Bassett (she/her/hers) is the Head of Product at Ensis, a company developing AI-powered proposal software for responding to government RFPs, RFIs, and more. Prior to Ensis, she was a Director of Product Management by way of their acquisition of Limbix. At Big Health she directed the modernization of the key platform services and tooling supporting apps for insomnia, anxiety, and depression. And at Limbix, Kayla was the Director of Product Management and led a team of Product Managers building digital therapeutics for adolescent depression and anxiety. Previously, she built data products to accelerate clinical research at Truveta, improved COVID response with machine learning at DataRobot, and tackled scam advertisements at Facebook. Prior to her career in tech, Kayla was a Marine Corps intelligence officer and served in a variety of posts around the world. She co-founded a non-profit dedicated to improving mental health among veterans through peer support. She received her BE from Vanderbilt University in Biomedical Engineering and her MS from Carnegie Mellon University in Information Technology. Kayla is married with two kids. In her spare time, she can be found cycling, trying new donut and coffee shops in Portland, and engendering in her kids a love of the outdoors through hiking and skiing.

    40 min
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An exploration of careers and research all having to do with the glorious STEM.

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