Editor’s note: This press release was provided by the Friends of the Pelham Library.

On the evening of Thursday, October 10, the Friends of the Town of Pelham Public Library hosted a panel discussion: Women in Science: Challenges & Careers, featuring Pelham women who have forged careers in STEAM areas. Speaking to a packed room at The Town of Pelham Public Library, panelists candidly discussed how they broke into traditionally male-dominated sectors, how early educational moments set the groundwork for careers in science, ways in which to encourage girls and young women to pursue STEAM-oriented jobs, and firsthand experiences of balancing careers and personal lives. The discussion, which was moderated by Pelham teacher Karen Cirillo, was inspired by this year’s Pelham Reads! book selection, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. The event, which ran from 7 PM to 9 PM, included a Q&A session during which attendees, which included Pelham middle-schoolers and high schoolers, could ask panelists questions such as, “how do you approach pay inequality?”

The panel featured Rachel Cochie, the General Manager of Logistics Operations for Con Edison Company of New York; Heather Eliezer, PHD, a Climate Science and Energy Sector Finance Consultant; Lucy Kappel, PHD, Director of Business Development and R&D Strategy at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; Heather Landis, PE, President and Owner of Aquarius Engineering, PLLC; Alina O’Brien, PHD, Head of Wholesale Stress Testing, USA HSBC; Kimberly Riegel, PHD, Assistant Professor of Physics, Acoustics
CUNY/Queensborough Community College; Jessica Wang, MD, Medical Doctor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Medical Director of Hyperbaric Medicine, Jacobi Medical Center; Robina Shepherd, Pelham student and recent graduate of Space Academy at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

The final Pelham Reads! event will take place this Friday, October 18 at 10:30 AM, when the Pelham Library’s daytime adult book club will hold a discussion of Hidden Figures, facilitated by Carol Ipsen.

Pelham Reads! is sponsored by The Friends of the Town of Pelham Public Library, the Town of Pelham Public Library, Pelham Art Center & The Picture House.