Hero Story

o Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan (formerly Mitten Bay GSC) (2005-Present)
 Volunteer hours: 4000+
 Served as: Troop Leader, Service Area (SA) 595 Manager, SA Cookie Manager, Juliette Coordinator
 Impact: Helped hundreds of girls aged 5-18 gain skills in a variety of areas/life skills through mentoring, leadership, patch programs, as well as instilling in them courage, confidence and character to believe in themselves and to bravely and logically tackle challenges they may encounter. Increased SA membership by 28% realizing over 600 SA members, cookie sales increased by 32%, Leader recognitions up by 60%, Scout Award participation rose by 16%, created a cohesive service unit and established a valuable working connection between volunteers and staff. Created new partnerships with community businesses, established new programs, reinvigorated old traditions.
o Mackinac Island Honor Scouts Troop 7901 (2009 – 2012)
 Volunteer hours: 1000+
 Served as: Adult First Aid Leader, Adult Coordinator
 Impact: mentored over 60 girls for 5 years in leadership opportunities, creating an inclusive atmosphere to help girls succeed as individuals with courage and confidence. Helped with fundraising to bring in over $6000. Established new protocols for first aid, and bat or snake catch & release.
o American Chemical Society (National Level) (2010 – Present)
 Volunteer hours: 2000+
 Served as: Science/STEM/STEAM coach at Northeast, Kolb, Auburn, Central Park, and Hemmeter Elementary Schools, and at Highland Pines Elementary (special needs school)
 Impact: Works with elementary educators to design science demos aligning to concepts being taught in the yearly curriculum. Gathers the supplies, puts together presentations, and enthusiastically spends 2-3 hours teaching students these concepts through hands on instruction and patience when questions digress into other science areas. These demos occur every month during the school year at each of the 2-3 schools she partners with as a science coach. Through this initiative, she has inspired a diverse cross-section of thousands of students to actively engage in the world around them and encouraging them to see the amazing science in everyday life. She also volunteers at science outreach events put on by the local section.
o American Chemical Society Midland Section (2008 – Present)
 Volunteer hours: 6000+
 Served as: Awards Chair (14 years), Outreach Volunteer, Project SEED Volunteer
 Impact: As Awards Chair -increased program participation 368%; increased high school recognitions 250%; actively encouraged deserving nominations in every category; presented more cheesy science jokes than one might ever otherwise hear in a lifetime; partnered with engaging/relevant speakers; recognized thousands of professionals, students, retirees, and volunteers over her 14 years as chair. Diana believes that recognizing these individuals will inspire them to stay involved….and that serves us all. She also has volunteered at a plethora of ACS community outreach events which engage everyone in the wonder of science; assisted dozens or socio-economic disadvantaged students interested in chemistry to find paid summer internships or worked with over 6 institutions to encourage them to develop programs for these summer opportunities through Project SEED.
o Mid-Michigan Technician Group (2008 – Present)
 Volunteer hours: 2000+
 Served as: Outreach Volunteer, Secretary, Chair, Treasurer
 Impact: Developed dozens of outreach activities and cultivated partnerships with community organizations to expose individuals of all ages (but mainly kids) to the wonder of hands-on science. Spent a year writing daily science snippets that were relevant, fun, and easily digestible for MMTG social media which resulted in an increase in group visibility 450% and reaching not only local educators and individuals, but people across the state, the country, and the world. She planned and executed events to recognize the contributions of industry technologists (i.e., professionals who don’t have a PhD) in a field filled with PhD’s and is continually working to remove bias so that everyone can succeed, regardless of their educational attainment. The board positions were just ancillary to all her outreach efforts, really.
o Humane Society (2014-2016)
 Volunteer hours: 120
 Served as: Pet Sitter (acclimate animals to humans to make adoption easier)
 Impact: Compared to all her other high-energy volunteerism, this is a quiet contribution that helps acclimate cats to humans as they wait to be adopted. Dozens of cats were made more adoptable because of her time. Cats are Diana’s spirit animal.
o VFW/Great Lakes National Cemetery (2010 – 2017)
 Volunteer hours: 120
 Served as: Flag Protocol Mentor, Volunteer Coordinator Cleanup/Wreath Laying
 Impact: Hundreds of individuals have learned flag ceremony/flag history/flag protocol from her seminars with local Veterans organizations. Organized several care package programs to send Girl Scout cookies and other essential items to troops overseas to let them know people back home are thinking of them. Organized youth groups to help with wreath laying or cleanup at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly so that our youth continue to understand the sacrifices made that allow them to enjoy the freedoms they have today (also to discuss some of the cemetery traditions and protocol they may encounter). Volunteers with the Traveling Viet Nam wall when it is in the area, as a guide, to help set up/take down, and to look up names for the public so they know where to find their person on the wall.

Diana’s motto is “Life is a participation sport”. So, when Diana decides to be a part of something, it isn’t to simply be a placeholder on a resume. Ever since she discovered the value and joy of volunteering while in high school, she has looked for opportunities to participate. One of her first long-lasting commitments was (is) to Girl Scouts. Her time as a scout segued into a lifetime membership where, along the way, she found herself first leading a troop of 16 girls. Diana exposed these girls to traditional/life skills (canning food, sewing, cooking, gardening, camping skills, pet care…etc.) but also to things that they would need (personal finance, auto mechanics, use of power tools, negotiating skills…etc.) as well as to new ideas that might help them decide a career direction (sales, STEM, public speaking, hospitality, history,…). When she was voted to be the next service area manager (of Midland County, the largest SA in Mitten Bay with over 500 girls and 300 volunteers), she took it on with gusto. She provided opportunities for multi-troop functions, increased membership by 28%, increased leader recognition 60%, spearheaded celebrations and activities for the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts (including hosting a successful council wide event in Midland County – attended by thousands), provided relevant leader trainings, increased Gold/Silver/Bronze Award participation by 16%, mentored her troop while they established a Honeybee Badge (available nationwide), and created an environment where leaders thrived. It wasn’t a stretch when this role spilled over into taking on the hat of Cookie Manager for the area. Overseeing about $1 million in sales, she increased area sales by establishing partnerships with area businesses and venues who would host troop cookie booths (or buy cases to use in their products: i.e. local ice cream shops), creating a safe drive-through cookie booth platform, introducing Square devices (ahead of council approval) for booth sales (which increased sales an average of 30% for troops), and working with a local warehouse owner to allow the area to use his space for our cookie delivery providing a safe, dry area to distribute pre-sale cookies to troops (rivaling bigger cities such as Lansing and Ann Arbor with 2 semitruck loads of cookies for one area). After passing the torch when her daughter became a Juliette scout, she took on the role of mentor for other area individual girls without troops. However, she still helped with troops as a temporary leader while parents became qualified or is still always willing to do a STEM demo when asked, including taking vacation time to present a day of science at Scout summer camps/weekends 7 years in a row. To this day, I am not surprised when some random girl comes up to mom and tells her of some activity, encouragement, observation, or responsibility she imparted on them that made a difference in their habits, confidence, or direction. Oh, and you never know when she will show up randomly at a troop cookie booth in her Cookie Monster costume to help boost sales!

In addition, Diana participated in the Mackinac Island Honor Scouts as an adult leader and first aid adult. This meant giving up 1 weekend per month and a week of vacation that included the Labor Day weekend to serve with a select troop of 60 girls from across the State of Michigan, on Mackinac Island for 10 days. This program is run by the Mackinac Island Park Services and is the last Scout leadership program of its kind in the United States. Diana would make sure girls were prepared to embark on this confidence building leadership program by working with girls to make sure they understood their duties, listen to them to gain their trust (as first aid adult, this was important to her so they would confide in her the things that may be psychologically stressing them), and to be part of a cohesive adult cadre that would mentor the girls when needed or be the person over 18 to pay or sign for the things that girls could not. Again, these girls, now adults, will still seek her advice and guidance. I have learned that I just need to share my Mom….as she has “acquired many kids” through her volunteering.

Over the last 10 years, the American Chemical Society has been the primary focus of her volunteer time. Diana is an analytical research technologist and has developed many trade secret processes and holds several patents. It is important to her to support and encourage the next generations of scientists by starting their exposure at the curious stage…the elementary level. Through ACS Science Coaches program, she aligns with 2-3 teachers each year to come into their classrooms once per month and teach a science concept that aligns with their curriculum. Not only does this expose kids to a new concept, assist the teacher, and provide additional supplies funded by the local section, but also, the National ACS sends the school $500 towards STEM supplies of their choice. Diana is adamant that free money opportunities should not go ungiven. Diana has worked with her employer to create her workday usually between 5am and 2pm so that she can do the demos at the end of the school day or bank hours to use for this purpose. She believes in this program that much. The teachers she aligns with make sure they nab her each year when applications open. They love the way she tailors concepts to just above the grade level and helps these students understand the complexities through fun demos, stories, jokes, and patience when the students ask questions and the conversation veers off into another science direction. Here are just a few of the concepts Diana presents: Lab Safety (fun graphics), Chromatography (sharpie tie-dye shirts that double as lab coats), Germs (she calls it “Cootie Class” as they learn about bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites with a hands- on agar dish to see what grows from their index finger, nasal cavity, tongue, bellybutton, and between their toes), Crystal Science (they grow Prussian blue trees or borax snowflakes and maybe she stumps them with picture of famous women named Crystal), Salt science (salt dough ornaments but the highlight is always when she electrocutes a pickle), Osmosis (fun with eggs after their shells have been dissolved), Forces (film cannister rockets, catapults, balloon cars…and maybe a Darth Vader reference), Non-Newtonian fluids (messy science with cornstarch and water in a kiddie pool), Polymers (Shrinky Dink keychains for their moms, or a bouquet of nail polish flowers), and of course others like spaghetti tower engineering, metals and magnetism, bubble science, escaping predation, surface tension, slime, sodium alginate worms, kaleidoscopes, or stoichiometry (with S’mores). She also will do these demos at afterschool science nights where parents and siblings attend. Unique to 2024, before the solar eclipse, Diana put together a presentation for all the 480 students at Auburn Elementary which included solar glasses, making paper plate solar masks, making UV bead bracelets, sun chips and moon pies, as well as a slide show that explained the science, mythology, and effects of our sun on our planet. Another popular demo she developed, with an ACS/Dow colleague, is a booth display at the Midland Area Farmers Market to educate the public on the importance of honeybees. This display features tasting of a variety of natural honey, first aid, bee gardens, honeybees vs. wasps, the life inside a hive, pollination, insecticides, honeybee biology, and interactive games (like demonstrating pollination with pipe cleaner bees and Cheeto dust). This booth was so popular that it has been adapted for the road and is being presented in elementary schools and retirement homes.

Because science supplies are expensive, Diana has also worked with her employer, Dow, spearheading an initiative to gather any unused lab/glassware that would land-filled during their annual lab cleanouts. She works with an outside agency to ensure the safety of the items, then donates them to local schools for their science/chemistry class inventories. Not only does this keep items out of the landfills (a very Girl Scout thing), but also helps local schools obtain instructional materials free of charge. To date she has gathered supplies to completely fill her truck 11 times and has donated the items to over 7 local high schools.

For the last eight years, she has challenged the students in her classes to learn a song from ASAPScience: “The Elements of the Periodic Table” (all 118 elements set to the tune of the “Can Can”). This is not an easy challenge, so Diana puts up a reward of $100 and an acrylic desk display of the elements of the periodic table. For the first time last year, one girl in the 3rd grade class nailed it. The teacher of that class said conquering this song had pulled this introverted girl out of her shell and she is, not only participating more in class, but also taking on leadership roles! Diana was absolutely giddy about this! (I encourage you to find the song on YouTube…it is catchy!) She hopes to plant the seeds of logic, set them on the path to critical thinking, and instill the value of the scientific method in these fertile minds. Diana’s goal is to have a positive and meaningful impact on the future of chemistry and related sciences (as she believes the transforming power of chemistry has worldwide impact). Here is a presentation one of the teachers she is aligned with (Ms. Suzanne Billette), had to say about her classroom volunteering:
https://www.loom.com/share/adc1f47e1bc74acd96d83f5a2a146b66

During one of the demos at Auburn Elementary, parents were present. One of those parents is an instructor at Highland Pines Elementary in Tuscola County (not part of the Midland Section area). He asked if she would consider presenting to their special needs kids, and, of course, she agreed. She planned her first demo to be sodium alginate worms, a polymer reaction in which worms form in a fluid. As she set up, instructors informed her that any students were sensory adverse and might not join in. How surprised they were when every single student joyfully participated. Sometimes it just takes a scientist to say, “Let’s give it a try!” That was 3 years ago, and the students are still participating. This year, she formed a committee which included the ACS Committee on Chemists with Disabilities as she is trying pull in volunteers who might have more experience/ideas in tutoring special needs students. Why stop when it is clear science is reaching these kids.

16 years ago, Diana was asked to help with the Midland Section Awards program. As always, she had several ideas and within 18 months, was chair of the committee…a position she enthusiastically held for 14 years. Diana believes that people are inspired to do more when recognized, not always for the content, but the time they give. The awards program quickly went from about 60 participants, to over 250. Recognitions were in the categories of students, educators (high school/university), volunteers, career awards, community partners, and 50-/60-/70-year member recognitions. In the year she took over, out of the 52 high schools in the Midland Section Area of Bay, Midland, Gratiot, Isabella, and Saginaw Counties, less than 15 schools participated. That number has increased to over 43, and it is rare that any category does not see at least one nomination, in part because Diana personally encourages people to nominate others. There have been 3 additional awards added to the program repertoire, the Bettye Washington Greene Award in partnership with NoBCChE, a TEAMS Award, and a Chair Select – an award given to a person who has done something worthy of recognition but does not fall into an established category. For this latter award, Diana takes it upon herself to design beautiful, one-of-a-kind awards for these individuals. The awards program/dinner has become one of the premier events for the local section. Her success with the local program was put to use hosting two successful Central Region Meeting Awards programs (6-state ACS organization) where state and local dignitaries were honored. The ACS national board members attending the 2019 CERM banquet stated it was the best award ceremony they had attended.

As a technologist, Diana does not ignore volunteering for an organization supporting technologists. Of course, she has held administrative positions with the Mid-Michigan Technician Group, but, as chair, she really invested herself. To pull in interested parties from the local section area (and as it turned out, the country and the world), Diana committed to an endeavor she named “365 Days of Science”. We all know we ask who, what, when, where, why, but Diana distills it down to simply, “I wonder…” Each day, Diana would catch herself wondering about something: Did I season my cast iron pan correctly, what makes an agate, why do the leaves change color, what does the routine prior to a colonoscopy accomplish, how has Godzilla changed over the years, why do we like the smell of crayons, what is the process to make potato chips crunchy…..and list goes on…hundreds of hmmmm’s. Diana would delve into the science and write up a little article for the MMTG Facebook page…every day for over 365 days. Imagine committing yourself to a homework assignment every day for over a year with the goal of making random science relatable, funny, and easy to understand? But she did it. Followers tripled, and she connected with people around the world regarding her digestible, fun, bits of science regarding everyday life. The project was nominated for a national award. She did receive a ChemLuminary Award for her MMTG 30th Anniversary Banquet event. The page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1F5DYF13A3 but you must search back to posts dated 2022-23.

Diana also has volunteered with Project SEED since she benefitted from this program waaaay back in 1979 as a high school student. This ACS initiative provides summer, paid, research opportunities to high school students from historically excluded groups and challenging socio-economic backgrounds. Diana has helped recruit facilities and mentors to develop projects, and students to participate with the goal of college readiness, professional development, lab preparedness, and exposure to chemistry-related career paths. Again, she has taken vacation time to chaperone these students to National ACS Meeting where they present their work, and, arranged meet-and-greets with society notables in networking events. Everyone can use a little boost in building their network.

Lest we not forget the little things…quiet in comparison: sitting for hours petting cats at the East Lansing Humane Society – emerging covered in so much hair that one washing was not enough (and did I mention she is allergic…but absolutely is a crazy cat lady?!) Those cats, not able to vocalize their appreciation, certainly enjoyed her attention. Or volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Breast Cancer Walks, the Great Lakes Bay Invitational/Eat Great, United Way, Special Olympics, working with her service fraternity (APO) to paint Michigan lighthouses, or with Veteran’s Groups (where she has helped many learn flag protocol or conducted flag retirement ceremonies with the Girl Scouts, or, established troop participation at Great Lakes National Cemetery for wreath laying or property cleanup.) Or, again, taking 2 weeks of vacation while an Army wife at Ft. Bragg to use her Electrical Engineering Degree and sit in the motor pool verifying schematics for the ANTPQ radar systems so soldiers in the field had up-to-date manuals for unplanned repairs. Even at her job, she takes the time to mentor new technologists, participates in scanning electron microscope demos for “Take Your Child to Work Day”, “elfs” her coworkers at Christmas by assembling stockings full of goodies for them, and has hosted photography students so they can learn about microscopy imaging. Diana also established internal recognition for her colleagues through the “Showing I Care” award which was a play on the Silicon Carbide nomenclature (SiC – Dow Corning wafering business) for peers that went above and beyond in helping their co-workers.

Because Diana’s energy is contagious and she makes everything look like one would be missing out if they did not participate, she has been incredibly successful in recruiting volunteers for science events and recognition ceremonies. I think this is evident in the percentages stated for participation or growth in the endeavors or organizations she has aligned with. She really believes that her efforts can make the world a better place (to quote a Girl Scout saying).With all her experience, she is quick to share how volunteering has helped her in career networking, been a safety net between employment opportunities, has allowed her to network world-wide (and learn things that have led to out-of-the-box thinking), and to emphasize the importance of interpersonal interactions (get off the phone and get out into your community). In the spring of 2024, Diana received a work recognition in New Orleans. A national figure asked if she would be interested in volunteer positions at the national level. Her response was, “With all due respect, “I am humbled and honored that you would consider me. However, I am not the tree reaching for new heights and open skies, but more like a mushroom that prefers to connect at ground level (like a mycorrhizal network) to build strong, local communities. Just a hometown girl at heart, doing what I can for those I live amongst.” Here, too, I am never surprised when someone comes up to Mom and thanks her for believing in them, giving them an opportunity, or taking the time to invest in them. What makes her volunteerism so unique is the sheer amount of time and passion she gives. Time is a very valuable commodity, and she volunteers 400-500 hours each year, often using her vacation time. She will tell you the time she invests in others (those “others” number in the thousands to date), feeds her soul.