Gender

Female

Location

Grand Rapids, MI

Job / Title / Position

Executive Director

Organization

Ciencia Puerto Rico

Twitter / Skype / Other Messaging Contact

@sefini

More About Me

I am the Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico (CienciaPR), a community network to promote science education and research, and to raise awareness about the contributions of scientists from or in Puerto Rico. After a bachelors in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, I transitioned to a career in science policy through an internship at the National Academies in Washintgon, DC. It was there that I discovered my passion for supporting efforts to improve public understanding of science, government practices that impact science, and the working and training conditions of the biomedical workforce. For nearly four years I worked in science policy, strategic planning, and program evaluation at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and then went on to build new research programs at the Van Andel Research Institute, an independent, nonprofit research organization in Michigan. After nearly six years working on a voluntary capacity in various role for CienciaPR, I accepted a position as Executive Director. Throughout my tenure with CienciaPR, I have actively promoted the expansion and application of the network, increasing dissemination of research opportunities through the website, its newsletter and social media accounts; helping to organize scientific networking and professional development events; designing science outreach programs; establishing key partnerships with media outlets and academic, non-profit, and governmental organizations; and more than doubling registration of student and scientist profiles to more than 6,380.