What are other ways we can attract people to the WCC?

[bevinwiley]

We are trying to use outside networking sites, like LinkedIn and FaceBook, to advertise the WCC and attract further interest.

On FaceBook you can become a fan:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/ACS-Women-Chemists-Committee/214819051672?v=wall&ref=mf

On LinkedIn you can become part of the group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2581891&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

Are there other places we should be reaching out?

[Hedya]

Hi,

I have questions rather than answers. I would like to know the benefits of being a member of the Committee. Does joining Linkedin mean I have registered with the committee? Furthermore, is the committee strictly for chemistry graduates?

[bevinwiley]

Though I had intended this thread for discussion of how current members of the Women Chemists Committee could reach out to the public and make our resources known, I would be happy to answer your questions as much as I am able. I'll number your questions and answer them in order.

1. Does joining LinkedIn mean I am registered with the committee?

No.  First, there is no formal registry.  And second, the links given for LinkedIn and Facebook are just two information portals to the main WCC site (given below).  We are trying to use public networking sites such as these as a way to reach out and increase our visibility to the public.

2.  Is the committee strictly for chemistry graduates?

No!  The Women Chemists Committee serves the membership of the American Chemical Society. Our mission is to be leaders in attracting, developing and promoting women in the chemical sciences.  This includes men and women in industry, academia, or government positions with any range of education.

If you are inquiring because you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the American Chemical Society, copy and paste this address to your browser: http://www.acs.org/getinvolved

For further information specific to our committee, please see the WCC website: http://membership.acs.org/W/WCC/

[JanetBryant]

The Women Chemists Committee (WCC) is part of the Governance structure within the ACS.  It is a Joint Board/Council Committee with formal appointments by the ACS President and Chair of the Board of Directors.

That said, the "national", if you will, WCC encourages and networks with Local and Regional WCC organizations that can take on many forms.  Some Local Sections have separate Local WCC groups; some have standing committees (e.g., Diversity Committee, that includes women and minorities); some Region Boards have standing Region WCC Committees and events at Regional meetings.

So I view this social media site as an area where we can all share info (best practices for example) about our projects, programs, successes; where we can ask questions of each other; an alternative e-networking opportunity, and the like.

As current Chair of the ACS WCC, I encourage you to help spread the word about this forum.

Janet Bryant

Chair 2010

ACS WCC

[jenlook]

Many local sections at the Leadership Institute mentioned they have a yearly "Girls Night" meeting, even if they don't have a Local WCC. Does anyone have suggestions for topics / activities? The suggested "hygiene products" topic is not something I think would attract people in my section, even though I'm sure there's great chemistry there.

[JudyCohen]

Hi Jennifer

Some very popular programs we have seen in the recent past includes:

A visit to a museum with a private tour of the gems collection by a geologist

A visit to a winery/brewery with a tour of the production process

A tour of a chocolate factory with a speaker from food sciences

Hpe this helps in your planning process and I hope you are enjoying the ACS Leadership Institue!

Judy Cohen

WCC Chair

[jenlook]

Hi Judith,

Thanks. I'm in a small town and we don't have any of those things (although we did do a Science Cafe at a liquor and wine store). We could drive to a city, but adding several hours of travel is probably not the best way to get more people involved. Maybe I can see if any of the local chefs, art galleries or jewelry stores would be interested in sponsoring an event. Finding someone who wants to talk about the science behind their business might be hard, though.

[Lexxburn]

It is really hard to attract people to the communities. Most of the time it is done by creatng some kind of events where you give stuff for free, but how they will know about events when they do not know about a community. Facebook and LinkedIn is OK, but who knows about this group? I found it by accident. I will tell about it to few of my friends who is in science and engineering. And that is it. The good thing would be to create a blog (google Blogger or similar), and write there. Choose few officers to keep it updated with latest news about science and technology (more oriented on girls/women). And the most importantly, comment, comment and comment! From time to time upload some fun things over there like comics etc. I don't know...what do you think?