Small/Medium Business Innovation & Leadership Finalists

Awarded to a woman who has at least three years of managerial or technical experience in technology, science or engineering who has managed a program, project, or business unit in an exemplary way in a small/medium company (fewer than 499 employees).

ERIKA ARAUJO

Small/Medium Business Innovation & Leadership Finalist

Occupation
Research Investigator
Organization
Arvinas, Inc.
Hometown
Woodbridge, CT
Passion

Erika is a passionate drug discoverer aspiring to create opportunities for women in medicinal chemistry.

Bio

Erika designs novel molecules with the objective of helping patients and their caretakers prevail against serious disease.  As a project team leader at Arvinas, she works to advance innovative targeted protein degraders from conceptualization to the clinic. Erika also volunteers her time in service of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry of the American Chemical Society where she connects with and advocates for the professional needs of young scientists.  

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CHUN LI

Small/Medium Business Innovation & Leadership Finalist

Occupation
VP, Informatics
Organization
Diameter Health
Hometown
Wethersfield, CT
Passion
To build a healthcare system that unleashes the power of data
Bio

Chun is a passionate informaticists who believes the power of the data. She has been the core person in leading the development of the data refinement strategy at Diameter Health. The work of her team has made data more interoperable for healthcare providers, health insurance, life insurance, life sciences and more stakeholders. Chun is also instrumental in sharing what the company has learned with the policy makers and the public by publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

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BILLIE JO MITCHELL

Small/Medium Business Innovation & Leadership Finalist

Occupation
VP, Manufacturing
Organization
RSL Fiber Systems, LLC
Hometown
Mansfield, CT
Passion
Billie Jo has pride in her job manufacturing and installing advanced fiber optic lighting systems on US Navy ships
Bio

Billie Jo Mitchell started her career as a sales clerk at a cable manufacturing company after attending a 1 year computer processing certification program.   Her skills and motivation to learn as much as possible quickly earned her promotions in sales and then engineering.    She had a special interest in the technical side of the business which lead her to become the VP of Manufacturing for RSL Fiber Systems, LLC.  In this role she does manufacturing, mechanical engineering, supervision, technical support, and field support for Advanced Fiber Optic Lighting Systems on Navy Ships.  

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MELISSA TAIT

Small/Medium Business Innovation & Leadership Finalist

Occupation
Senior Vice President, Technology
Organization
Primacy
Hometown
Redding, CT
Passion

I feel blessed that I get to use technology to create a more empathetic, inclusive world.

Bio

Melissa is SVP of Technology at Primacy, a full-service agency. An ardent advocate for digital technology’s potential to improve the world, Melissa’s pragmatic approach to innovation has positively impacted clients over her career such as Delta Air Lines, GE, Cornell University, Aetna, and 3,000 Miles to a Cure. The Webby Awards recently recognized Melissa and her team alongside SCAN Health Plan for creating an empathy training course using Virtual Reality.

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MARIE ZUCKERMAN

Small/Medium Business Innovation & Leadership Winner

Occupation
Patent Agent
Organization
Precision Combustion, Inc.
Hometown
North Haven, CT
Passion

Marie is passionately drawn to green and clean energy technologies, converting innovations into patents for new products and an improved quality of life. 

Bio

Marie Zuckerman began her six-decade STEM career with a B.A. in chemistry (Cornell), Ph.D. in physical chemistry (University of Pennsylvania), and postdoc at Princeton (among its first women). She is a licensed U.S. Patent Agent. After a career spanning college teaching, industrial research, and global patent obtention for Dow Chemical, Zuckerman joined Precision Combustion, Inc. She modernized PCI’s Patent Office and built intellectual property portfolios, including 66 granted patents, across PCI’s clean energy and green technologies. 

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