Board of Directors

Elysse Grossi-Soyster, MS

I am passionate about creating an accessible, equitable, and inclusive environment in STEM. My path to science and research was not a direct one, mainly because I never had a clear vision of what being a scientist meant. Currently, I am a PhD student within the Microbiology & Immunology Department of Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Prior to returning to school, I worked for Stanford University’s School of Medicine with the Pediatrics Infectious Disease Division, where I ran an arbovirology and epidemiology lab and researched mosquito-borne viruses for 6 years. I have also worked at NASA Ames Research Center developing sustainable technologies to keep astronauts alive during the mission to Mars. I obtained my Masters of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and Infectious Disease from California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) in 2012.

I have a diverse research background that includes virology, immunology, disease ecology, global health, parasitology, synthetic biology, microbiology, biological waste processing during space exploration, water treatment, resource recovery and sustainable bioengineering technologies. I absolutely love explaining these topics to students, especially those in middle school and high school.

I have organized and participated in outreach programs for middle school and high school students for many years, including programs with larger organizations, such as Girls Incorporated of Alameda County (Girls Inc.), and the Girl Scouts of Northern California.

Enid Contes, PhD, MBA

I obtained a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras campus in 2013 and while doing research at NASA Ames in nanomaterials for the detection of volatile gases as part of my dissertation. After graduation I moved full time to California to return to NASA to work on a different project researching biomembranes for water reclamation applications for the international space station (ISS).

I moved back to Puerto Rico in 2016 to work as a process development scientist for the biopharmaceutical company Amgen. I completed a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras campus — in 2023.

Throughout the years, I have been the main speaker in many outreach activities in Puerto Rico, as well as in the San Francisco Bay Area, when I lived there. I enjoy connecting with the students and share with them my knowledge in science, particularly the chemistry of ordinary things that end up being so fascinating. But beyond that, being the first person from both sides of my family to become a scientist, but also the first one to earn a Ph.D. degree, I feel the responsibility to share my experiences, to educate and to provide students with the tools and resources I could have used when I was their age. 

James Yuanxin Li, Legal Counsel

I was graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.  After working several years in the Information Technology field, I completed law school at Golden Gate University School of Law.  I then worked for 20 years at Sedgwick LLP, a large international law firm, where I specialized in intellectual property, business litigation, and product liability.  

My pro bono legal work is concentrated in the areas of non-profit law, contract drafting and negotiations, intellectual property, and litigation. I am a registered patent attorney and a former Solicitor (Supreme Court of England and Wales).  My current STEM interests include genomics, microscopy as art, and histology.