Members
Northern California Chapter
Members are what makes ARCS Northern California special!
ARCS Foundation (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) advances science in the United States by providing unrestricted financial awards to academically outstanding scientists pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and medical research at our nation’s leading research universities. ARCS is a volunteer member-led organization. ARCS members work together to raise scholar award funds, plan events, run marketing/communications, and more. To learn more about ARCS Northern California Chapter membership, please reach out to ncalifornia@arcsfoundation.org.
2025-2026 Members
*New members and members re-joining ARCS Northern California
Janet Abbott
Susan Acquistapace
Elizabeth Kibbey Adams
Megan Anderson*
Susan Andrews
Pat Applegate
Roulhac Austin
Joanna Beam
Janet Berry
Allison Bhusri
Ellie Bingham
Joan Boothe
Leslie Brenman
Chris Simpson Brent
Rada Brooks
Laine Buckingham
Nancy Bush
Carolyn Butcher
Barbee Callander
Elizabeth Callander
Charlie Campbell
Donna Miller Casey
Karin Chamberlain
Deborah Chesky
Cynthia Coolidge
Katie Cooper
Marion Cope
Pamela Rummage Culp
Lisi Bailliere Dean
Gretchen de Baubigny
Jerry DiVecchio
Dagmar Dolby
Carol Doll
Sheila Dowell
Lisa Ludwig Duffell
Glennie Eisele
Natalie Engmann
Anna Ewins*
Sally Fay
Noelle Filippenko
Jane Gardner
Barbara Glynn
Jan Goodson
Michele Goss
Janice Haris
Cynthia Willoughby Haueter
Leah Hearst
Cathie Hehman
Carol Henwood
Tina Bartlett Hinckley
Susan Cook Hoganson
Fifi Holbrook
Stacy Holland
Jill Armstrong Hope
Katy Hope
Melanie Horn
Heidi Huchberger
Leslie Hume
Peggy Huntington
Sallie Huntting
Christine Hutchinson
Lander Hynes
Arlene Inch
Pepper Jackson
Edina Jennison
Anne Kaiser
Sarah Stimson Karis
Paulette Kessler
Gretchen Kimball
Gabrielle Kivitz
Irene Kivitz
Patricia Klitgaard
Jill H. Kramer
Kendra Kramlich
Laura Lambert
Elaine Larkin
Sheila Larsen
Marie Lipman
Diane Shelby Loranger
Ann Ogilvie Macdonald
Deborah Mann
Connie Mardikian
Eve Masonek
Laura Mateo
Nan McDowell
Dolores McMullen
Marcia Messmer
Bailey Meyer
Linda Dyer Millard
Rita Benton Milner
Cathy Crane Moley
Susan Mooradian
Diana Rice Moore
Nancy Mueller
Gail Murphy*
Nancy Nebeker
Ellen Magnin Newman
Peggy Newton
Elaine Oldham
Francie Osthimer
Carolyn Patrick
Victoria Penfield
Mary Ann Peoples
Kiki Pescatello
Tiffany Piecewicz*
Merrill Randol
Susan Raynes*
Nancy Reilly*
Julie Reis
Andrea Resnick
Katharine Rogers*
Venetta Rohal
Cindy Rutter
Martha Carlson Ryan
Lita Sam-Vargas
Sara Schneider
Debjani Sen
Anjali Sharma
Gail Smelick
Camilla Smith
Mary Beth Starzel
Elisa Stephens
Kelly Draper Steremberg
Jackie Stewart*
Lynne Otto Stickrod
Adrianna Pope Sullivan
Judy Swanson
Susan Taylor Kistler
Anne Thorson
Carmi Ticehurst
Andrea Tiller
Marguerite Tompkins
Leelee Treadwell*
Libby Tyree Taylor
Leslie Van Houten
Molly Vatinel
Betsy Vobach
Laura Waste
Stephanie Piecewicz Watters*
Judy Webster
Jeanne White
Vanessa Whitfield
Diane Wilsey
Barbara A. Wolfe
Debbie Wreyford
Anne Zerbst
Micah Swann, University of California, Davis
“I’m conducting applied limnological research on the pristine lakes of Northern Patagonia, in collaboration with Fundación Chile Lagos Limpios. This model will be used to investigate how the physics and water quality of these pristine lakes wi1l be impacted by climate change and watershed development over the course of the 21st century. In September 2019, I had my first opportunity to visit Northern Patagonia … but due to Covid-19 safety and travel restrictions, I have not had the opportunity to return to Chile. With your financial support, I will be able to return to the region in January 2022 and continue collecting data to improve the accuracy of the lake model under development.”
Rachelle Stark, University of California, Berkeley
“I grew up in a low-income community in San Bernardino, California where I directly saw the harsh reality of how diet contributes to many diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc.). These preventable diseases tragically took the lives of many people in my community. For these reasons, doing research related to nutrition/metabolism is extremely important and fulfilling to me. The [ARCS Award] gives me more options for labs because I will not have to rely on the funding of the lab I choose and can instead choose a lab purely based on my research interests. The funding will also give me more time to work on the research that I find so important and fulfilling.”
Katherine Montana, San Francisco State University
“I will be pursuing my master’s degree in integrative biology at San Francisco State University and conducting my research at the California Academy of Sciences. I am thrilled to get started on my research and mentoring projects. … This combination of research activities will offer me the opportunity to build my technical lab skills, storytelling abilities, and capacity to help other students succeed in science. ... I am deeply honored to receive the [ARCS Award] and take great joy in starting graduate school. I thank you for making this possible for me. I am ready to get to work.”
Jeremiah Tsyporin, University of California, Santa Cruz
“As I enter the final year of my PhD, I am beginning to look for mentors to oversee my post-doctoral training. One of the significant ways I can find a mentor is through the networking opportunities offered at conferences. Without this generous support, these opportunities to share my work with the greater neuroscience community would have been impossible for me. In addition to attending conferences and connecting with neuroscientists worldwide, support from ARCS has helped ease the economic burdens associated with the cost of living in Santa Cruz. Because I don’t have to focus so heavily on dealing with basic needs, I have the freedom to spend more time and mental energy focused on research and intellectual pursuits central to a successful PhD.”
Julie Chang, Stanford University
“The ARCS Award will allow me to focus on my PhD studies without worrying about finances. My research focuses on understanding the physics of breast cancer cell migration using 3D hydrogels and time-lapse imaging. The PhD journey itself has been a rollercoaster and I’m excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! After my PhD, I am hoping to land a role as a clinical scientist in the biotech industry in the Bay Area. In this role, I can help analyze and interpret clinical trial data to develop drugs that can cure human diseases. Thank you again for the ARCS award—funding the next generation of scientific thinkers is truly an impactful mission!”
Nicholas Elder, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
“I am grateful to earn my degree at UCSF which is world-renowned for its stem cell research. Likewise, it has been a pleasure to be supported by the ARCS Foundation and wider community. Research is a costly endeavor and being awarded this fellowship has given me the time and space to focus on impactful research while also sharing it with an interested group of donors and other scholars. The fellowship has also been a reassurance. This fall, my supervisor announced that he was leaving academia for an industry position. As I searched for a new supervisor and lab in which to complete my research, I knew that I had financial support to ease my transition.”
