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STEM2D at Spelman

Johnson & Johnson, a leading multinational medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturer, recently partnered with Spelman College and several universities across the globe to provide incentives and awards that will attract women to STEM2D fields of study.

Recently, Taira D. Bell, PMP, the director of global brand protection, consumer, at Johnson & Johnson and Lauren Carter-El, MPH, the company's supply chain strategy manager, spoke to the Spelman community during the Johnson & Johnson STEM2D Town Hall Conversation. Johnson & Johnson aims to engage girls and women of all ages and throughout every cycle of their educational and professional lives in STEM2D fields, as well as expand the field of focus by including manufacturing and design.

Spelman's Johnson & Johnson STEM2D Scholars

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Amani Lee Takes Her Love for Veterinary Science to a New Level

by User Not Found | February 16, 2017

Amani R. Lee, C'2018, is a junior biology major at Spelman who is striving for success in every area of her life. Lee aspires to become a veterinarian who specializes in cardiovascular surgery of large mammals. She intends to work with exotic animals at a zoo as well as in a lab where she will help create cures/vaccines for animal-related diseases.

A Deep and Consistent Love for Animals

A volunteer in many animal clinics and shelters, such as the Solano Animal Shelter and the Fulton County Animal Shelter, demonstrates Lee's passion for animals. Last summer, she traveled to Barbados with Kai McCormack, Ph.D., vice chair of psychology, G-STEM director and associate professor, to conduct psychological research on primates.

Of her trip Lee said, "I wanted to pursue a primate research experience to gain a sense of how the natives in Barbados interact with the primates who live there and how they respond to violent situations. Additionally, I wanted to study the response that the monkeys have to various loud sounds and possible aggression. I am interested in learning more about how this species deals with aggression when it comes to violence to their own species and compare that to how a human would react."

A Passion for Academics and Excellence in STEM Research

At the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), Lee was recognized as a Behavioral Research Awardee. She has also been granted numerous scholarships including the Johnson and Johnson STEM 2D Scholarship, the WISE-UP STEM Scholarship, the Dr. Amna Plummer Veterinary Scholarship, and the Gordon-Zeto Scholarship Award.

Aside from animals, Lee volunteers as a teacher's assistant with the Vision 2000 Reading and Math Summer Camp. Lee also volunteers as a tumbling coach for kids ages 6-12 at the Rosel Fan Community Center with the Dance Moves Dance Company.

Lee plans to graduate from Spelman College with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology with a 3.6 or higher GPA. Upon graduation, she will attend veterinary school at either Auburn, Purdue or Tuskegee University; and she is determined to graduate within the top 10% of her class.

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Johnson & Johnson Town Hall Conversation Speakers

Taira D. Bell, PMP, director of global brand protection and consumer at Johnson & Johnson, is a results oriented leader with 20 years of experience at J&J. The New Orleans native is the ambassador for the J&J Women in STEM program at Spelman and has a passion for people leadership and development. Over the course of her career at J&J, she has been active in recruiting and mentoring top talent, supporting the African-American Leadership Council, and implementing organizational training for major diversity and inclusion efforts.

Bell's career began as a co-op opportunity with McNeil Pharmaceuticals, a J&J subsidiary that manufactures over the counter medications such as Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec. Upon graduating from Southern University A&M College in electrical engineering, she returned to J&J as an operations associate and assumed various roles including procurement, manufacturing, and international operations. Later roles increased her responsibility in external manufacturing and innovation project management and also afforded Bell the opportunity to partner with commercial teams to launch new products. She also received her project management professional (PMP) certification.

In one of her more recent roles in J&J Supply Chain, Bell served as senior manager, customer logistics; and was responsible for the customer service and replenishment aspect of J&J’s Consumer Walmart team which $1 billion in sales across beauty/skincare, oral care and baby products. In her current role as director of global brand protection, Bell is primarily responsible for preventing and mitigating the risk to patient safety and business value from counterfeit and illicit trade of consumer products worldwide.

She has been an active participant in community service initiatives through her job supporting Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, among other initiatives; and outside of work through her church, Chosen 300 homeless ministries, and through her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, Inc.

Lauren Carter-El, MPH, is indeed a demonstration of Johnson & Johnson's mission and organizational legacy: “Caring for the world, one person at a time, inspires and unites the people of Johnson & Johnson.” The Columbus, Ohio native remains active in her community and is dedicated to causes that improve the lives of women and children through a focus on higher education, professional development and access to healthcare.

A supply chain professional with more than 10 year's experience, she currently serves as a strategy manager for the Johnson & Johnson U.S. Over the Counter Supply Chain organization. She began her career as a co-op at Johnson & Johnson in 2004, was permanently hired as a full-time employee in 2006, and began working in customer logistics, supply planning, production planning and operations team leading.

As a testament to her knack for directing teams and her ability to meet rigorous organizational standards, Carter-El assumed a range of responsibilities within procurement. She also headed global sourcing strategies, market engagement projects and complexity reduction initiatives which led to delivering over $5 million in total value to the business.

In her current role, Carter-El continues to champion more efficient business processes as she works to improve costs for mega brands like Tylenol, Motrin and Zyrtec. She also actively recruits and mentors co-ops and advises veterans transitioning into the workplace through the American Corporate Partners program. Outside of work, she supports various initiatives through her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., and is a member of the Fund Development Committee for People’s Emergency Center in Philadelphia, which provides homeless women and children with shelter and services to improve their quality of life.

Carter-El holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in public health from Drexel University.