Chemistry Olympiad Lecture at Westmont College

Abstract: Students of chemistry are commonly led to believe that there are two typical career paths for chemists: 1) to become an academic; or 2) to work for a large chemical company. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to connect with a mentor who shared her story of pursuing a third path— that of becoming an entrepreneur—that I really even considered how real and tangible this alternative path could be for me. As such, I’m excited to share my story and the story of our company with you, so that you may see a path for your own opportunities in the future! Please join me as I share my account of how my team members and I have found a way to combine our passion for science and engineering to tackle the global challenge of food waste, and create and build a company that we can really call our own—right here in Santa Barbara!

Biography: Jenny earned her Bachelor’s Degree in
Engineering Chemistry and her PhD in Chemistry
from Queen’s University (Kingston, ON, Canada)
where, during her graduate studies, she was
awarded an Alexander Graham Bell Canada
Graduate Scholarship by the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada in
recognition of her research work. Following
completion of her doctoral degree, she joined the
Chemistry Department at UCSB as a postdoctoral
researcher where she worked for 2 years prior to
joining Apeel Sciences as the Director of Extraction Engineering. She is now the Vice President of Operations at Apeel Sciences, where she is responsible for leading the company’s efforts in Regulatory Affairs & Compliance, Facilities, and Supply Chain & Logistics.