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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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Symone Fowler-Canty Shines While Pursuing Pediatric Career

by User Not Found | March 20, 2017

symone fowler canty Symone Fowler-Canty, C'2018, is junior biology major and a member of the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program and Johnson & Johnson STEM2D Scholars program.

The Chicago native has taken bold steps towards her career goals by participating in several summer programs. Through the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) with Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, she was able to conduct valuable research and shadow several leading researchers. During a summer program at the University of Washington, Fowler-Canty collected data and conducted research for a project on semantic information retrieval through the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering.

A member of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society and a Health Careers Opportunities Pipeline Preparation Program (HCOPPP) Scholar, Fowley-Canty received first place poster presentation honors at Research Day 2016 for her project, "Specific Facilitation of the Identification of Foot Objects Following Stimulation of the Dorsal Premotor Cortex."

Learning, Growing and Giving Inside and Outside of the Classroom

Formerly an undergraduate teaching assistant in the mathematics department, Fowler-Canty has a gift for assisting others in need of help. In fact, her dedication to the College's surrounding community continues to influence her volunteer work. As secretary of FunLab, an educational non-profit organization founded by Spelman alumna Breagon Ricks that focuses on making laboratory experimentation fun for kids, she leads and conducts hands-on experiments with students and educates them about various scientific concepts.

The Chicago native is also a mentor and teaching assistant with the Insight Initiative, a program designed to sharpen the focus of 4th and 5th grade students through a yearlong mentorship and tutoring curriculum. Fowler-Canty's short and long-term goals are to become a healthcare specialist for minority populations. Passionate about medicine and early childhood education, she intends to pursue a career in medicine as either a pediatrician or dermatologist.

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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.