Roaming Curiosity Leads to Radical Imagination, Cynthia Chapple

What if you could master the power of the “what if”, the silent urge to explore on the other side of your traditions, fears, selfish ambition, and personal egos? Where might this internal sense lead you? Cynthia Chapple says it will lead us to a world that we once believed could only exist in our imaginations. Cynthia is an innovative scientist, an advocate for black girls and women, and a champion of equity. In keeping with this work, she is the founder of Black Girls Do STEM an organization offering exploration of STEM career pathways through a hands-on engaging curriculum in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to middle and high school black girls to expose them to career pathways and empowering them to become STEM professionals. Cynthia looks for ways in which she can act as a conduit exposing young black girls to STEM industries and a diversity, equity, and inclusion voice within the STEM workforce space to create welcoming policies, practices, and cultures for Black people and women to thrive. As a founder, she sets strategic focus, foundational policies, practices and culture around the program design and student experience for Black Girls Do STEM. Subsequently, she launched CC Black Lab, a research manufacturing consulting firm catering to the cosmetics and beauty industry.

Cynthia received her Bachelor of Chemistry Degree from Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and her Master of Science in Chemistry from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). She subsequently spent five and a half years as a Research and Development Chemist in the manufacturing industry. Upon her exit from college, she was a steady member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She has been a member of both the American Chemical Society and the Society of Cosmetic Chemists for over 5 years combined. Cynthia serves as an executive leader for the St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society and was Chair during her 2022 year of service. During her tenure as chair, she successfully led a new 10-year strategic planning session which hasn’t been done in section history, while introducing its first inclusion training. Cynthia most recently joined the National Association for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBBChE). Cynthia’s superpower is leveraging her expertise and power to freedom dream on behalf of Black liberation. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx