Guest post by Renee Stewart, Women In Bio Philadelphia Metro Chapter Chair. She also shares a discount code for $20 off an annual general or student membership (regular yearly membership rate is $95 for general members and $50 for students). The discount is valid through the end of March 2022.
In 2018, I was looking for opportunities to expand my reach as a startup co-founder. I happened upon a flyer about a panel discussion hosted by the Philadelphia Metro chapter of Women In Bio. The panel was good, and I still stay in touch with one of the panelists, but the highlight of the evening was discovering Women In Bio. Never had I been to a networking event where everyone was so genuinely warm and welcoming. I stayed and talked until the wine ran out and the hors d’oeuvres were exhausted. I joined the organization, and then the Leadership Team, and now as chapter Chair, I strive to lead a team creating that same quality programming and warm welcome for everyone who walks into one of our events.
What is Women In Bio?
Women In Bio (WIB) was established in 2002 by founders Cynthia W. Hu, Robbie Melton, Anne Mathias and Elizabeth Grey. The goal was to support female entrepreneurs and executives in the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia area. They created a dynamic and supportive local community in the area. Over the 20 years of its existence, the mission and vision have expanded to include support for women in all sectors of the life science community and throughout North America.
WIB has achieved that vision. WIB now includes 14 chapters located in all major life science hubs. It has a membership base of over 3,000, and thousands of members and non-members attend WIB events each year. Our members are anyone who supports the WIB mission. They are from all sectors within the life sciences and those that impact the life sciences. Our members belong to pharma companies both large and small, biotechs, universities and institutes, legal and financial firms, marketing firms, CROs, CMOs, incubators and accelerators.
Our philosophy is ‘women helping women’
- From bench to boardroom
- From academia to industry
- From first job to last
- From idea to entrepreneur
Women In Bio - National level
We do this through a variety of events and program initiatives. These include special events and webinars held at the National level, including the Celebration events at the annual Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) conference which includes a keynote Executive Women’s Breakfast and a speed networking session. Programs and Initiatives include Executive Women In Bio, the Entrepreneur Center, Young Women In Bio serving the middle and high school population and our Mentorship, Advisors, Peers and Sponsorship (MAPS) program.
Women In Bio - Philadelphia Metro chapter
Here at the Philadelphia Metro chapter, we take the women helping women philosophy seriously. We hold a number of events throughout the year. Some are educational, focusing on professional development, female-focused topics related to the life science industry, and current happenings in the industry. We always include a networking component and also run some pure networking events. Our events generally have less than 100 attendees, so there is ample opportunity to create relationships, a vital component of what we do.
The Philadelphia chapter programs include Young Women In Bio (YWIB) where we are piloting a science experiment initiative, a MAPS program that is running its first mentoring cohort, along with both educational and pure networking programming. We have also added a yearly charitable organization event as well.
Our next event is one of the charitable organization events. We are working with the Dan Diaz Breakfast Club for their annual ALS Fundraiser. This is an evening of inspirational talks, silent auction, raffles and lots of networking. It will be held at the new building at the PA Biotech Center in Doylestown, PA. We, the Dan Diaz Breakfast Club and the other supporting organizations invite all to attend this worthwhile event. Register here!
Watch the Women In Bio website (womeninbio.org) for other upcoming events here in Philadelphia. These include:
- June – Focus on women’s health
- July or August – Annual golf event. This is tons of fun whether you play golf or, like me, are abysmal at it
- Nov – Industry focused event, subject tbd
- Dec – Annual Holiday Party. Come celebrate the season with us!
- We are also planning some networking events over the summer, so stay tuned!
Join Women In Bio now with discount code
This is a great time to join Women In Bio, with a discount running through the end of March 2022. Benefits of membership include free or discounted attendance at events for all chapters and National level events, access to the MAPS program, and access to a large library of recorded events and resources at womeninbio.org. For more information or to become a member visit womeninbio.org or reach out to Philadelphia Membership at philadelphiamembership@womeninbio.org. Use the discount code below…we’d love to have you join us!
Discount code: WIB20YEARS
$20 off a one year general or student membership
Thank you, Renee, for helping us learn all about Women In Bio and generously sharing this discount code so that our readers can join the community at a special rate!