Joanne Kamens, Ph.D.

Dr. Kamens received her PhD in genetics from Harvard Medical School and has had a varied career in academia, pharma, biotech and nonprofit. Over two decades ago, she founded the Boston chapter of the Association for Women in Science (MASS AWIS) after an entire week went by when she had no meetings with any other women. This led her on a journey as a scientist to understand the inequities that caused this disparity.  She currently brings this unique perspective and background to her current work as a scientist and diversity, equity & inclusion consultant.

As Executive Director/CEO of the international biotechnology nonprofit, Addgene, Joanne experimented and implemented practical ways to create an inclusive workplace where every employee was able to thrive and contribute. She realized single digit employee turnover for a decade at Addgene and collaborated with dozens of inclusion organizations to make the company a Best Place to Work in Boston for 6 years running  (#1 Best Place in 2016). Since 2021, Joanne has been sharing her experience and expanding her deep commitment to increasing inclusion in the workplace by consulting with organizations working to develop processes and culture that support organizational success. She learns and works with the Diversity North Group DEI Consulting team and serves on a number of boards including the National AWIS Board of Directors, the OpenBiome Board of Directors, and as an advisor to Scismic, a job matching site for life scientists.

Joanne is a leader in creating and supporting group mentoring programs and has been nominated for the Presidential Medal of Honor in STEM Mentoring. She speaks widely on topics such as Winning Company Culture, Implicit Bias, Management Excellence for Inclusive Cultures, Making the most of Mentoring Relationships, Work/Life Negotiation, and Building Relationships for Success.