What are your key roles and responsibilities in your current positions? What do you like most about your job and what do you find most challenging?
I run my company from end-to-end, from administration to client deliverables. I’m currently working on my consultancy’s first leadership book, Leadership Perspectives on Scientific Innovation, and it takes discipline, creativity, and hard work to achieve my daily goals. Entrepreneurship is beneficial for flexibility and autonomy but it’s challenging to raise capital and sustain business for women-in-science and minority-owned businesses like mine.
List or describe the top 5+ professional skills that are crucial to your role.
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The transferable skills that I gained from a scientist are core to my ethos as an entrepreneur.
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Project management
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Analytical skills
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Storytelling
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Communication
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People management skills are the most vital skills for my day-to-day life as the owner and principal of a small, diversity-certified business.
How did your time at Yale shape your career trajectory? For example, what skills and/or experiences did you acquire that have contributed to your career success?
Yale encouraged me to think bolder and to embrace my dreams of entrepreneurship. There were a wealth of resources from graduate consulting clubs to advisors at the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute who helped to prepare me strategically and operationally for the perks and perils of owning and running a small business.
What were the biggest challenges that you faced when transitioning to different workplaces and cultures? What advice and suggestions can you offer to current students to help them prepare for those challenges?
There’s no one size fits all advice for navigating career transitions, pitfalls, and setbacks. It helps to know what you want and surround yourself with peers, mentors, coaches, and sponsors who can guide and motivate you as needed.
