As the Immediate Past Chair of PDA and a longtime volunteer, I have had the exciting opportunity to work closely with many volunteer leaders within the Association. These leaders have come from a variety of backgrounds, industry segments and countries. And many of these leaders have been women.

Take a look at the PDA Board of Directors, here we have a special focus on diversity. The current Board consists of five officers and 12 directors for a total of 17 members, and the majority of those serving are women. Nine of our board members are women and six of these members represent areas outside the United States.

For the next two years, Rebecca Devine from the United States will be the PDA Chair and Jette Christensen from Denmark will be the Chair-Elect.

Women also hold leadership roles in various volunteer capacities for the organization, including task force members, officer positions for PDA local chapters, and interest group leaders, among others. Women play a key role as members of program planning committees and they serve as moderators and speakers at PDA conferences. The West Coast Chapter also hosts a very popular “Women in Biotech” event.

The women of PDA continue to play a vital role in delivering results to serve patients and fulfill the PDA mission. I want to personally invite anyone interested in volunteering to support women in pharma to contact PDA’s Volunteer Coordinator.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, here are some female leaders from PDA’s past.

In 1998, Joyce Aydlett was PDA’s first female Chair

Jennie Allewell (left) and Nikki Mehringer (right) were two female leaders who also served on the PDA Board; Mehringer served as Chair 2004–2005

Nina L. DeMuth of DeMuth Development Corporation was the first woman to deliver a paper at a PDA conference and to serve as a program chair for an annual meeting

Save the Date!

The PDA West Coast Chapter will host its third “Women in Biotech” panel Aug. 23. Check the chapter website for updates.