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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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Kierra Archer Plans to Change the World of Health and Medicine

by User Not Found | March 17, 2017

Kierra Archer is a junior biology major from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a student, Archer has accomplished many things both inside and outside of the classroom. She has been recognized for her academic achievements, receiving awards such as being a LSAMP Scholar, Cultural Vistas Fellow, and recently a Johnson & Johnson STEM 2D Scholar.

The work she has done in her biology major has allowed her to conduct research as well as travel outside of the country. As a research assistant in the lab with Tiffany Oliver, Ph.D., Archer observes organochloride levels in Eskimos effect DNA methylation of participants with cancerous tissue and non-cancerous tissue. This past summer, Archer was a participant of the SMDEP program at Yale School of Medicine. She participated in clinical exposure to develop an understanding of the doctor-patient relationships. Archer's research has also taken her outside of the country. She has traveled with Cultural Vistas to Berlin and Munich Germany for a STEM tour of international jobs available to stem majors making connections and becoming a global citizen.

In addition to using her biology major to change the world of health and medicine, she serves as leader in the Spelman community. She is a resident advisor in Howard Harrell Hall as well as a SpelTech assistant. Archer has also volunteered at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston this past semester. As a volunteer in the family library, she assisted patients with check out of books and DVD’s. She also designed activities for patients to partake in or complete in their room as well as delivering smile-o-grams to patients from family members.

As Archer moves onto her senior year here at Spelman College, she is also gearing up to complete some short-term and long-term goals. Her short term career goals include attending medical school and using her residency to become a great pediatric doctor. Her long-term career goals include working in a children's hospital or owing her own private practice.

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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.