Members

Northern California Chapter

Members are what makes ARCS Northern California special!

ARCS Foundation (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) advances science in the United States by providing unrestricted financial awards to academically outstanding scientists pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and medical research at our nation’s leading research universities. ARCS is a volunteer member-led organization. ARCS members work together to raise scholar award funds, plan events, run marketing/communications, and more. To learn more about ARCS Northern California Chapter membership, please reach out to ncalifornia@arcsfoundation.org.

2025-2026 Members

*New members and members re-joining ARCS Northern California

Janet Abbott

Susan Acquistapace

Elizabeth Kibbey Adams

Betty Alberts

Megan Anderson*

Susan Andrews

Pat Applegate

Roulhac Austin

Joanna Beam

Janet Berry

Allison Bhusri

Genny Biggs

Ellie Bingham

Joan Boothe

Leslie Brenman

Chris Simpson Brent

Rada Brooks

Laine Buckingham

Nancy Bush

Carolyn Butcher

Barbee Callander

Elizabeth Callander

Charlie Campbell

Vera Carpeneti

Donna Miller Casey

Karin Chamberlain

Deborah Chesky

Cynthia Coolidge

Katie Cooper

Marion Cope

Pamela Rummage Culp

Lisi Bailliere Dean

Gretchen de Baubigny

Jerry DiVecchio

Dagmar Dolby

Carol Doll

Sheila Dowell

Lisa Ludwig Duffell

Glennie Eisele

Natalie Engmann

Val Erickson

Anna Ewins*

Sally Fay

Noelle Filippenko

Jane Gardner

Barbara Glynn

Jan Goodson

Michele Goss

Janice Haris

Cynthia Willoughby Haueter

Leah Hearst

Cathie Hehman

Carol Henwood

Tina Bartlett Hinckley

Susan Cook Hoganson

Fifi Holbrook

Stacy Holland

Jill Armstrong Hope

Katy Hope

Melanie Horn

Heidi Huchberger

Leslie Hume

Peggy Huntington

Sallie Huntting

Christine Hutchinson

Lander Hynes

Arlene Inch

Pepper Jackson

Edina Jennison

Anne Kaiser

Sarah Stimson Karis

Paulette Kessler

Gretchen Kimball

Gabrielle Kivitz

Irene Kivitz

Patricia Klitgaard

Jill H. Kramer

Kendra Kramlich

Laura Lambert

Elaine Larkin

Sheila Larsen

Marie Lipman

Diane Shelby Loranger

Ann Ogilvie Macdonald

Deborah Mann

Connie Mardikian

Eve Masonek

Laura Mateo

Nan McDowell

Dolores McMullen

Marcia Messmer

Bailey Meyer

Linda Dyer Millard

Rita Benton Milner

Cathy Crane Moley

Susan Mooradian

Diana Rice Moore

Nancy Mueller

Gail Murphy*

Nancy Nebeker

Ellen Magnin Newman

Peggy Newton

Elaine Oldham

Francie Osthimer

Carolyn Patrick

Victoria Penfield

Mary Ann Peoples

Kiki Pescatello

Tiffany Piecewicz*

Merrill Randol

Susan Raynes*

Ada Regan

Nancy Reilly*

Julie Reis

Andrea Resnick

Katharine Rogers*

Venetta Rohal

Cindy Rutter

Martha Carlson Ryan

Lita Sam-Vargas

Sara Schneider

Debjani Sen

Anjali Sharma

Gail Smelick

Camilla Smith

Mary Beth Starzel

Elisa Stephens

Kelly Draper Steremberg

Jackie Stewart*

Lynne Otto Stickrod

Adrianna Pope Sullivan

Judy Swanson

Susan Taylor Kistler

Anne Thorson

Carmi Ticehurst

Andrea Tiller

Marguerite Tompkins

Leelee Treadwell*

Libby Tyree Taylor

Leslie Van Houten

Molly Vatinel

Betsy Vobach

Laura Waste

Stephanie Piecewicz Watters*

Judy Webster

Jeanne White

Vanessa Whitfield

Diane Wilsey

Barbara A. Wolfe

Debbie Wreyford

Anne Zerbst

Jeremiah Tsyporin, University of California, Santa Cruz
“As I enter the final year of my PhD, I am beginning to look for mentors to oversee my post-doctoral training. One of the significant ways I can find a mentor is through the networking opportunities offered at conferences. Without this generous support, these opportunities to share my work with the greater neuroscience community would have been impossible for me. In addition to attending conferences and connecting with neuroscientists worldwide, support from ARCS has helped ease the economic burdens associated with the cost of living in Santa Cruz. Because I don’t have to focus so heavily on dealing with basic needs, I have the freedom to spend more time and mental energy focused on research and intellectual pursuits central to a successful PhD.”
Rachelle Stark, University of California, Berkeley
“I grew up in a low-income community in San Bernardino, California where I directly saw the harsh reality of how diet contributes to many diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc.). These preventable diseases tragically took the lives of many people in my community. For these reasons, doing research related to nutrition/metabolism is extremely important and fulfilling to me. The [ARCS Award] gives me more options for labs because I will not have to rely on the funding of the lab I choose and can instead choose a lab purely based on my research interests. The funding will also give me more time to work on the research that I find so important and fulfilling.”
Katherine Montana, San Francisco State University
“I will be pursuing my master’s degree in integrative biology at San Francisco State University and conducting my research at the California Academy of Sciences. I am thrilled to get started on my research and mentoring projects. … This combination of research activities will offer me the opportunity to build my technical lab skills, storytelling abilities, and capacity to help other students succeed in science. ... I am deeply honored to receive the [ARCS Award] and take great joy in starting graduate school. I thank you for making this possible for me. I am ready to get to work.”
Micah Swann, University of California, Davis
“I’m conducting applied limnological research on the pristine lakes of Northern Patagonia, in collaboration with Fundación Chile Lagos Limpios. This model will be used to investigate how the physics and water quality of these pristine lakes wi1l be impacted by climate change and watershed development over the course of the 21st century. In September 2019, I had my first opportunity to visit Northern Patagonia … but due to Covid-19 safety and travel restrictions, I have not had the opportunity to return to Chile. With your financial support, I will be able to return to the region in January 2022 and continue collecting data to improve the accuracy of the lake model under development.”
Julie Chang, Stanford University
“The ARCS Award will allow me to focus on my PhD studies without worrying about finances. My research focuses on understanding the physics of breast cancer cell migration using 3D hydrogels and time-lapse imaging. The PhD journey itself has been a rollercoaster and I’m excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! After my PhD, I am hoping to land a role as a clinical scientist in the biotech industry in the Bay Area. In this role, I can help analyze and interpret clinical trial data to develop drugs that can cure human diseases. Thank you again for the ARCS award—funding the next generation of scientific thinkers is truly an impactful mission!”
Nicholas Elder, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
“I am grateful to earn my degree at UCSF which is world-renowned for its stem cell research. Likewise, it has been a pleasure to be supported by the ARCS Foundation and wider community. Research is a costly endeavor and being awarded this fellowship has given me the time and space to focus on impactful research while also sharing it with an interested group of donors and other scholars. The fellowship has also been a reassurance. This fall, my supervisor announced that he was leaving academia for an industry position. As I searched for a new supervisor and lab in which to complete my research, I knew that I had financial support to ease my transition.”