Our Mission
The mission of the Seattle Area Chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is to create a broad, interdisciplinary, welcoming environment to advance the careers of women in science and technology, and promote the participation of Girls in the sciences.
Our Vision
We envision a world where Seattle Women of all ages are actively supported in STEM hobbies, studies, and careers. We believe that the entire Seattle community will benefit when women are positively represented, compensated, and recognized for their achievements in all STEM pursuits.
2024-2025 Seattle AWIS Board Members
Contact Us
President Tracy E. Popowics, PhD, president@seattleawis.org
Vice President Isil Hamdemir, PhD programs@seattleawis.org
Secretary OPEN (contact president@ for more info)
Events OPEN (contact president@ for more info)
Treasurer Reitha Weeks, PhD treasurer@seattleawis.org
Awards & Banquet Ijeoma Kalu, MSc, Reitha Weeks, PhD awards@seattleawis.org
Programs Mariah Riviera, programs@seattleawis.org
Girls in Engineering Math & Science (GEMS) Sulagna Bharat, Ria Purohit, Jiang Shang gems@seattleawis.org
Group Mentoring OPEN (contact president@ for more info)
Membership Miriam L. R. Meister, PhD membership@seattleawis.org
Publicity & Website Laura Szkolar Sienkiewicz, PhD, PMP, RAC webmaster@seattleawis.org
Scholarship Fran Solomon, PhD, Rian de Laat scholarship@seattleawis.org
Our History
Seattle AWIS was founded in 1985, through graduate students and post-doctoral researchers at the University of Washington (UW). Early days for Seattle AWIS focused on UW graduate students, postdocs, and faculty in the biological and health sciences with chapter meetings held at UW South Campus Center