On October 26, 2024, the Washington D.C. chapters of the KWiSE held a joint annual

symposium, “Unlocking Potential: Women in STEM,” at the University of Maryland, College

Park. The event aimed to connect graduate students, post-docs, and junior and senior scientists,

fostering future collaborations and introducing KWiSE to a broader audience to attract new

members.

The symposium featured keynote addresses from Dr. Hyun Lillehoj, a distinguished senior

research scientist at U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Dr. Dong-Yun Kim, an experienced

statistician at the National Institutes of Health, offering scientific insights and career advice from

their experiences as women in STEM. The afternoon sessions shifted to networking and non-

scientific topics, including financial planning and mental health, with small group discussions

facilitating deeper connections and shared experiences.

Attendees, over 65% of whom were graduate students and early-career scientists, gained

valuable perspectives on building successful and sustainable scientific careers and learned about

each other’s research. The symposium successfully promoted knowledge sharing, community

building, and collaboration among women scientists.