Could you tell us about your current role at ACELYRIN and your career history?
From a very young age I knew I wanted to be a nurse and help others, and so I started my career as an oncology nurse. From nursing I moved into the pharmaceutical industry where I have been fortunate to be part of bringing to patients some of the most impactful medicines developed for immunologic diseases. Today I lead a team of talented professionals across various functions all focused on achieving our vision of delivering transformative medicines.
Did you have a female mentor during your childhood or in your professional development?
I have been incredibly fortunate to work with and learn from incredible women throughout my career. In all cases these women helped me to appreciate the importance of diversity of thought, perspectives and experience. At ACELYRIN I am extremely proud that 66% of our employees –including our senior leadership team – are women as that diversity helps to ensure our teams reflects the diversity of the patients we serve. This only helps to make us more productive in our work for patients.
How has being a successful female executive impacted your personal life?
Balancing work and family is always a constant challenge, especially as a working mom. But I practice gratitude and a mindset of appreciating “what I get to do” instead of “what I have to do.” At work, I get to do this job every day and work and learn from amazing colleagues. At home, I get to raise two amazing teenagers who I learn from every day and who hopefully see my success as a female executive as an example that there are no ceilings to what they can achieve in life.