Susan Windham-Bannister, PhD, will serve as the new President of the Association for Women in Science's (AWIS) National Governing Board. AWIS is the leading organization that advocates for women in STEM. Dr. Windham-Bannister was elected by the 16-member AWIS Governing Board, which is comprised of STEM leaders from academia, industry, the start-up and investment communities, and national scientific organizations.

"Dr. Windham-Bannister will bring to the role not only a depth of expertise from her leadership in the life sciences sectors, but also a deep-seated commitment to advancing diversity of thought throughout the STEM community," said Bahija Jallal, President of MedImmune and Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca, and Immediate Past-President of the AWIS Governing Board. "I have no doubt she will guide AWIS into its next chapter – inspiring solutions that advance women in STEM, spark innovation, promote organizational success, and drive systemic change."

Dr. Windham-Bannister will continue the organization's work of breaking down barriers that impede women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) from achieving their full potential in management, leadership and governance roles. "Diversity and inclusiveness of thought, skills and perspectives are especially critical in the STEM sectors, where innovation is the basis for competition," said Dr. Windham-Bannister. "When I look at women in STEM, I see a major talent pool that is not being sufficiently tapped or leveraged. This must change. In my role as Governing Board President, I want to broaden the recognition of the business imperatives for diversity and inclusion, as well as establish AWIS as a major connector to the talent pool of women in STEM."

A national and internationally-recognized innovation executive, Dr. Windham-Bannister built her 45-year career on advising major biopharma companies on the tough strategic decisions needed for market access, growth optimization and portfolio management. From 2008-2015, Dr. Windham-Bannister served as founding President and CEO of the $1 billion Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, the brainchild of former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Dr. Windham-Bannister's role was to develop, implement and lead the ground-up strategy for the $1 billion investment. She currently is President and CEO of Biomedical Growth Strategies, a boutique strategy advisory firm serving the life sciences industry.

Dr. Windham-Bannister has been recognized for her achievements by the Boston Globe as one of the "10 Most Influential Women in Biotech" and by Boston Magazine as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Boston." She has co-authored two books: Competitive Strategy for Health Care Organizations, and Medicaid and Other Experiments in State Health Policy. She also has written numerous articles on competition in today's health care marketplace and is a frequent speaker at national and international life sciences conferences. Dr. Windham-Bannister received a B.A. from Wellesley College, a Doctorate in Health Policy and Management from the Florence Heller School at Brandeis University, and a Doctor of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (honoris causa). She served as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School and as a Fellow in the Center for Science and Policy (CSAP) at Cambridge University, Cambridge, England.

Dr. Windham-Bannister completed her doctoral work at the Heller School under a fellowship from the Ford Foundation.

The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is a global leadership network with 80 grassroots chapters and affiliates connecting more than 100,000 professionals in STEM with members, allies and supporters worldwide. To learn more, visit www.awis.org and @awisnational.