Toxicity is everywhere and often are in the form of zombie bosses or colleagues. They hide in plain sight and smile at you, but behind the scenes they are working up a storm to bring you down. They may harass you, steal your work, malign your reputation, or worse. How do you escape, survive, and thrive? In this session, we will discuss the various scenarios in which a zombie boss or colleague reveals their true colors so you can be aware of the warning signs. We will then plot your escape – in a professional manner of course, that distances you from the perpetrator and toxic work environment while maintaining and even improving your own reputation. It’s not always easy to get away from a zombie or to disentangle from toxicity, but it is important to remember that it is doable and necessary, especially if you want to preserve your mental, physical, and emotional health and advance your own career.

Award winning STEM career consultant, Alaina Levine, will share strategies and tactics to develop and deliver compelling, engaging, and memorable presentations, no matter the medium. This virtual session includes information about how to take your audience on a narrative journey of your career or research and help them solve a problem. Levine will also discuss special issues for giving virtual presentations including logistics, vocal techniques, accessibility, and other areas.

There are many career pathways for someone who is interested in STEM communications. In this session we will discuss the routes one can take, from journalist to public information officer to freelancer to outreach specialist and more and how to position yourself for success in these realms now.