Winifred Burks-Houck Professional Leadership Lecture, Awards, and Symposium
Winifred Burks-Houck (1950-2004) Winifred Burks-Houck was an Environmental Organic Chemist and the first female president of NOBCChE. In 2010, NOBCChE established the distinguished lecture, award, and symposium to honor Winifred A. Burks-Houck by highlighting the leadership scientific achievements, creativity, and community service of a NOBCChE-affiliated professional woman and a NOBCChE undergraduate and graduate student working towards a degree in a STEM field. Distinguished lecturers are women who are thought leaders on STEM, leadership, organizational development, entrepreneurship, and other success enabling areas. Winifred Burks-Houck was born in Anniston, Alabama on August 20, 1950. She was one of six children born to Matthew Burks and the late Mary Emma Goodson-Burks. She was the great, great, great granddaughter of noted abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Winifred attended elementary school and high school in Anniston, Alabama. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Dillard University in New Orleans and a Master of Science Degree in Organic Chemistry from Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia. In 1983, she began her career as an environmental chemist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, CA. As a result of her work as an environmental chemist, she was invited to Dakar, Senegal where she represented NOBCChE and presented a talk entitled ʺEnvironmental Applications and Regulatory Reportingʺ. As a leader in NOBCChE, Burks-Houck was critical in the establishment of the organization on the West Coast. She was the first chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter from 1984 to 1990 and organized numerous educational and professional development activities for the local community. She brought a strong sense of leadership, organization, and vision to all the events and activities she spearheaded. In 1991, Burks-Houck was elected national vice-president of NOBCChE, a position she held until becoming president in 1993. She served as president for an unprecedented four consecutive terms until stepping down in 2001. Winifred Burks-Houck is especially remembered for her unique brand of leadership, positive attitude, and devotion to this organization. Her tenure as national president signaled several positive changes within the organization. Under her leadership, the Science Quiz Bowl and the Science Fair were established at the National level. Partnerships were built with other organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Chemical Society (ACS), American Indian Science and Engineering Alliance, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Additionally, she is credited with:
Winifred joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority while an undergraduate student at Dillard University. She was a loyal member of the San Francisco-Peninsula Alumnae Chapter and served in various leadership positions: president, vice-president, chair of the chapter’s fundraising-most notably the annual golf tournament, and chapter coordinator for the annual Soul Stroll for Health. At their 43rd National Sorority Convention, she was recognized as a Project Cherish Honoree for her outstanding work in the field of science. Winifred is remembered as a dedicated scholar, brilliant scientist and gifted mathematician, with an uncanny ability for recalling numbers, songs and other trivia. However, she is remembered most for inspirational leadership, dry sense of humor, and charming smile.
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