Charter 1 Collaborative Members

Tara Meyer, Ph.D.

Tara Y. Meyer received her B.A. from Grinnell College in 1991 and her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1991 (Advisor Louis Messerle). She carried out postdoctoral work at both the University of Iowa (1991-2) under the supervision of Prof. Richard F. Jordan and at the University of California, Berkeley (1992-4) under the joint supervision of Prof. Robert G. Bergman and Bruce M. Novak. Dr. Meyer joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemistry in 1994 and currently holds the rank of Full Professor. Her research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of sequenced copolymers. She has previously served as the Asst. Dean for Graduate Studies (2016-2019) and, since January 1, 2020 as the Senior Advisor to the Dean on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She is a faculty advisor for the student NOBCChE group in Pittsburgh and has been an active participant in NOBCChE activities, including helping to organize a joint Northeast/Midwest Regional meeting in Pittsburgh in 2017.

Bakarr Kanu, Ph.D.

Dr. A. Bakarr Kanu is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). He obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Manchester (formally UMIST) in the United Kingdom. He completed his postdoctoral research at Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Dr. Kanus research focuses on developing instrumentation techniques to rapidly analyze chemical and biological compounds, forensic toxicology analysis to address equity issues, and setting sustainable goals in the race to address climate change. Dr. Kanu is also investigating the ingredients from plant sources to identify chemical compounds that may promote health equity and fight diseases. Additionally, he is interested in the chemical synthesis of novel polymers useful in alternate energy and military-type applications. Dr. Kanu is an expert in separation-type instrumentation techniques, including gas and liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, ion mobility mass spectrometry, to name a few. Dr. Kanu has mentored several undergraduate and graduate students in researc and is very interested in developing broadening participation activities to increase minority students enrolled and retained in STEM disciplines. Dr. Kanu has an extensive record of collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to improve student success. He also has a vast interest in K-12 outreach. Dr. Kanu is a member of ten professional organizations. He is the current WSSU representative of NOBCChE Collaborative. He is also the PI for the NSF grant is sponsoring the NOBCChE Collaborative poster competition. Dr. Kanu has developed curricular materials and pedagogical methods for general chemistry, instrumental analysis, quantitative analysis, environmental chemistry, and forensic chemistry. He has also developed and implemented guided inquiry projects in forensics, quantitative, and instrumental analysis laboratory portions. He enjoys hiking, lifting weights, mixed martial arts, traveling, and watching sports in his free time. Before COVID, he served as an instructor of kickboxing for fitness at the DJR gym in WSSU.

Michelle Waddell, Ph.D.

Michelle K. Waddell, Ph.D. is an assistant professor, within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Hampton University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Hampton University, a Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue University, and was a post-doctoral associate at the University of Delaware. Since starting her career at Hampton University, she has served and led on numerous committees on campus and in the community. She has been recognized as a QEM HBCU-Up LDI Fellow at the Princeton University Complex Composite Materials Research Center (2010), Member-at-Large (2008-2009 and 2016-2017) and Secretary (2010-2012) of the Hampton Roads Section of the American Chemical Society. In addition, she is the HamptonUniversity representative in the six institutions NOBCChE collaborative cohort 1. On the campus of Hampton University, she has chaired the Liaison Committee to the President and the Committee on Committees in addition to serving on numerous universities, school of science, and departmental committees. Dr. Waddell has mentored numerous minority high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who have been employed in the medical field, conducted biomedical research at the NIH, been awarded the Hampton University president’s cup and obtained a Ph.D. As a researcher, she has made presentations at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and University of Delaware. Furthermore, she has presented at conferences held by the Virginia Academy of Sciences, Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Science Careers, NOBCChE, and the American Chemical Society (national and regional) meetings. She has been Co-PI on proposals from the Department of Defense Army Research Office and NIH: MARC U-STAR program. Currently, she is serving as Co-PI on the NSF Targeted Infusion proposal to revamp the organic chemistry courses at Hampton University. She holds professional memberships in the American Chemical Society, NOBCChE and the Virginia Academy of Sciences.

Valorie Hutson, M.A., Ed.D. Candidate

Valorie K. Hutson, M.A., Ed.D. Candidate is a Business Consultant with over 25 years of innovative and compassionate leadership in nonprofit management, organizational development, and strategic educational change initiatives. Hutson’s work has garnered the reputation of being a subject matter expert in organizational transformation, educational leadership, comprehensive programs, and educational pipelines and pathways. Among her work, she is the Founder and CEO of Hutson Solutions LLC, a global leadership consultancy designed to help small business owners and leaders build strong infrastructures to promote scalability and growth. Before being a Consultant, Hutson was the Founding Executive Director of a nonprofit organization. During her tenure, she led an organizational systemic change initiative to reduce the barriers to resources, programs, and services while improving the health and wellbeing of students, families, and school communities. Combating the roadblocks, including lack of resources, low academic performance, poverty, and violence, she created a strategy that coordinated relationships and resources with local, state, and national organizations. This work led to one of the first Full-Service Community Schools in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), in which they acknowledged Huston as “a leading expert in the development of community schools in the district”. Moreover, Hutson developed and implemented a STEM project in partnership with NOBCChE and the OUSD middle school administration to establish the first pilot NOBCChE Middle School Science Academy in Oakland, California. The establishment of the community school and the development of the science academy created equitable access to a holistic and comprehensive education that included academic, cultural, mental health, and family services for over 6000 students and families. Before her years as an Executive Director, Hutson worked for nonprofit social justice organizations. Her passion, dedication, and commitment ensured young people from diverse backgrounds were equipped with the tools and skills to be change agents in their communities. Active in the community, Hutson is a member of the Alumnae Association of Mills College and a meditation practitioner at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She also serves on both the NOBCChE National Collaborative and the K-12 National Committee. Additionally, Hutson presents her work around organizational transformation and effective collaborative partnerships at national conferences throughout the United States. Hutson received the 2021 NOBCChE K-12 Presidential Award. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communications, Radio and Television. Hutson earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Mills College in Oakland, California where she is currently a Doctorate Candidate in the Educational Leadership Program.

Christine Thomas, Ph.D.

Dr. Christine Thomas received her B.S. in chemistry from Lafayette College (Easton, PA) in 2001, where she worked with Professor Chip Nataro. She received her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry in 2006 at the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA) under the direction of Professor Jonas C. Peters. Her graduate research focused on a wide range of synthetic projectsrelated to inorganic and organometallic chemistry and catalysis. Christine went on to pursue postdoctoral work in experimental/computational bioinorganic chemistry under the direction of Professors Marcetta Y. Darensbourg and Michael B. Hall at Texas A&M University (College Station, TX). In 2008, Christine began her career as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Brandeis University (Waltham, MA). Christine was selected for DOE's Early Career Research Program in 2010, was named a 2011 Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, and received an NSF CAREER award in 2012. She was selected as a 2012 Organometallics Fellow, was named a 2013/2014 Chemical Communications Emerging Investigator and was selected for the 2015 Dalton Transactions Lectureship. She was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2014. Christine's dedication to teaching was recognized by the 2012 Michael L. Walzer & Award for Excellence in Teaching at Brandeis University. At Brandeis University, Christine was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in May 2013 and to full Professor in July 2016. Christine joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The Ohio State University in January 2018 as the Fox Professor of Chemistry. She has been on the Editorial Advisory Board of Chemical Communications and Chemical Science since 2012 and 2019, respectively, is on the Board of Directors of Inorganic Syntheses, and has been serving as an Associate Editor of Dalton Transactions since 2014. Christine was Chair of the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Organometallic Chemistry and served as the 2020 Chair of the Organometallic Chemistry subdivision of the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry. Christine is currently the Vice-Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Ohio State University, a role she has held since 2019.

J.V. Ortiz, Ph.D.

J. V. Ortiz was born in Bethpage, New York in 1956 and attended public schools in Plainview, New York until 1973. After obtaining a B.S. in Chemistry with High Honors at the University of Florida in 1976, he began graduate work in the Quantum Theory Project of the same university and completed his dissertation in 1981 under the supervision of Yngve Öhrn, earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry with a certificate in Chemical Physics. Dr.Ortiz has taught a variety of topics, from basic chemistry for nontechnical majors to advanced methods of quantum mechanics. He supervises a research group of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows that specializes in his area of research, quantum chemistry. Professor Ortiz has published more than 250 papers in scientific journals, has delivered over 220 invited lectures, is a part of various scientific societies, and has received a plethora of prestigious awards during his career such as the Faculty Research and Service/Outreach Awards of the College of Sciences and Mathematics and the 2014 Charles H. Stone Award of the Carolina-Piedmont Section of the ACS for the most outstanding chemist in the southeastern United States.

Victor Ogungbe, Ph.D.

Victor Ogungbe is a Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. He received academic training in chemistry, biotechnology, and chemical biology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Scripps Research. His scientific interests are in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, drug discovery, and molecular recognition. His current research focuses on using early-stage drug discovery tools to identify new biologically active small molecules infectious diseases, crop protection and pest management, and cancer therapeutics. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Pharmacognosy.