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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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Taylor Williams-Hamilton Is Committed to Helping Others Heal

by User Not Found | February 16, 2017

Taylor Williams-Hamilton, C'2017, is a senior biology major on the pre-med track at Spelman who is diligently working towards her goal of helping others heal. Williams- Hamilton plans to become a physician and eliminate the health care disparities that many people of color experience, including the language barrier between immigrants and healthcare professionals in the United States.

A Desire to Educate & Motivate Her Peers

Chief Justice for the Spelman Senior Class Council and both a residence hall and Teaching Resource & Research Center assistant, Williams-Hamilton is passionate about encouraging people in any way she can. Her personal tenacity, focus and determination often help her motivate other people to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them; and she is committed to making sure they approach every situation purposefully and to the best of their abilities. The Georgia native also volunteers at Piedmont Hospital in the labor and delivery department, and has shadowed medical professionals at the Yale-New Haven Hospital twice.

A Passion to Help Underserved and Underprivileged Communities

Upon graduating from Spelman, Williams-Hamilton, wants to provide care and support to under served and underprivileged communities, and plans to attend medical school. Her long-term educational goal is to receive her M.D. or Ph.D. from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and specialize in dermatology. She intends to focus her research on age-related diseases or melanoma. She ia one of the recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s STEM2D program. The program is designed to help increase the number of undergraduate women enrolling in and declaring majors in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design.

"I am open to change and welcome it because I know change gives me the opportunity to adapt and grow. Growth is a sign of progression. I will always strive to make progress in hope of helping others to do the same," Hamilton said.

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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.