It is with great pleasure that we welcome each of you to the 15th Annual Diversity Alliance for Science East Coast Conference!
This is an exciting year as 2022 marks our organization’s 15th anniversary! It is extraordinary to think how far DA4S has come since its inception fifteen years ago, which started with a casual conversation between Leah Brown and Jackie La Joie – the power of two visionaries who recognized a need and created the environment to meet it. Since then, corporates and diverse suppliers in the Life Sciences have worked together to evolve DA4S into who we are today, the nation’s premier organization for diverse suppliers and buyers in the Life Sciences.
As we commemorate this milestone anniversary, let us recognize and celebrate the “Power of Us”! Over the last fifteen years, Diversity Alliance for Science has remained focused to enhance our conference experiences, member offerings and access to networking opportunities while also committing to the growth and development of diverse suppliers. Our programming has evolved to reflect our commitment to these objectives and to address current socio-economic challenges, such as continuing the Merck/Drexel education program, expanding the Mentorship program, adding monthly member lounges, providing engaging webinars, continuing the 8 That Innovate competition, conducting virtual matchmaking events, launching our Elevate Black program, and so much more! Most importantly, DA4S continues to serve as the connection point, a community focused on bringing together Life Science buyers and diverse businesses who share a common goal and the success stories stemming from these engagements are countless – just imagine the amount of economic impact DA4S has generated over the years!!!
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
The power of our community is strong and the possibilities of what we can achieve together are endless. As we look to the future success of DA4S, we must remain engaged and committed to supporting our DA4S community – working together to foster a collaborative environment where we identify innovative solutions for complex challenges. We encourage you to be part of this by joining a committee, which offers an insightful view into our organization and the opportunity to help shape our future success.
The Board of Directors, Executive Director, and committees have diligently prepared another outstanding conference and we are so excited to be back together with all of you in New Jersey! We hope that this conference will serve as a source of rejuvenation, an opportunity to learn, to create new connections, and to nurture existing ones.
Here’s to the Power of Us and a collaborative, successful conference!
