Lilian Martinez (she/her) is a fierce community advocate with more than a decade of experience growing nonprofits. As a Queer Latina with an educational background in chemical engineering, Lilian knows firsthand the barriers faced by people in STEM who have marginalized identities and experiences. Fueled by her own experiences, Lilian began leading support groups and building communities that could thrive in their STEM educations and careers. Lilian’s ability to ignite passion in budding leaders led to her position as the CEO and Executive Director of oSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), where she has instituted a Professional Development Summit, Scholarship programs, and an Application Aid Fund that alleviates economic barriers for queer students applying to STEM graduate programs.

Beau Williams (He/Him/His) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, grew up in rural West Virginia and completed a 4 year tour of duty with the US Army in 1990. He has completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural Anthropology and Leadership. A Masters degree in Whole Systems Design with a minor in Management at Antioch University, Seattle. Beau advocates for inclusion of marginalized populations, professionally and personally. He seeks out diverse cultures and ways of thinking, no matter how uncomfortable the situation, to continue learning and growing. Beau’s personal vision statement sums up his humble, servant leader style: “Be ashamed to die until you have had a positive impact on humanity and the earth. This guides everything I do.”

Bio coming soon!

Billie works as a digital engineer in the aerospace and defense industry. They are working on a MS in Electrical Engineering through Johns Hopkins EP program.  They're focused on communication systems with previous experience supporting datalink development and current work focused on digital AESA technologies. 

Their involvement with oSTEM began in 2015 with the Georgia Tech chapter, and in 2018  with the global organization via the student membership team. In their free time, Billie likes to hike, care for their orchids, and explore Baltimore and DC.

Bio coming soon!

Abby (she/they) is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of California Davis where their work focuses on understanding the innate immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.She started volunteering with oSTEM in 2020 as a graphic designer and currently serves as the Vice President of the Marketing & Communications team.In their spare time, they enjoy exploring the coasts of California, making art, reading, telling dad jokes, and spending time with their chosen family.

Janine van Niekerk (she/her) is an Engineer in the metro Washington D.C. area. She's been involved with oSTEM in one way or another since her freshman year of college at New York University in 2013. She's held several positions throughout oSTEM including: Conference Logistics Chair and Vice President of Marketing & Communications. She loves video games, hiking, baking, and emo/grunge music.

Matthew Welmers (he/they) is an analytical chemist for INX International Ink Co as well as the Annual Conference Chair. As an analytical chemist they are responsible for solving customer issues, providing quality control and assurance support for production and developing methods to support Research and Development. While not at work Matthew enjoys volunteering and being active in professional organizations like Alpha Chi Sigma, a chemistry professional fraternity. His involvement with oSTEM began in 2015 when he was selected to be the Conference Programming Committee Chair. Matthew has served as Programming Committee Chair since 2015, stepping up to take over as the Annual Conference Chair for oSTEM 2019. For fun, Matthew enjoys exploring various restaurants, parks and bookstores in the greater Chicagoland area.

Linda Aragon (she/her) is oSTEM’s Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. Born and raised in Miami, FL to immigrant parents, Linda is a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Art History and a minor in Studio Art from Florida International University (FIU). While in college, she served on the executive board of the Asian Student Union (ASU) and volunteered as the assistant kindergarten teacher at the local Japanese primary school for four years. In her previous organization, she was a founding member of the LGBTQ+ (DEAI) and environmental sustainability employee resource groups and led successful initiatives and advances within them. Linda comes to oSTEM with over six years of experience within the nonprofit sector, including executive management, event logistics and human resources. On her down time, she enjoys gardening, visiting museums and karaoke. She often picks up new hobbies and is currently experimenting with roller skates. Linda is fluent in English, Spanish and Japanese. Linda has been working closely with oSTEM’s partners, including Annual Conference sponsors and the Organizational Advisory Council (OAC), and looks forward to deepening these relationships and bringing new opportunities to oSTEM’s members. She is excited to meet and collaborate with all the wonderful people who make up oSTEM.

Jamie Gonzales (she/her) joins oSTEM from Houston, Texas with 7+ years working in higher education focused on LGBTQ+ and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. As a first-generation college graduate, she proudly earned a Master's of Education (M.Ed) in Higher Education from University of Houston (UH) and a Bachelor of Arts in Government with a minor in American Sign Language from The University of Texas at Austin (UT). Prior to her time with oSTEM, she was a career counselor and classroom instructor (2020-2022), the Diversity Education Coordinator with the UH LGBTQ Resource Center (2016-2020) and the Graduate Assistant with UH Center for Diversity and Inclusion (2014-2016). Jamie has also taught Intro to LGBTQ Studies and advised Gamma Rho Lambda Sorority's Kappa Chapter and UH's oSTEM Chapter. During her time there, she oversaw two student leadership development programs, educational trainings, fundraising, and support services for underrepresented and underserved populations. She also served as the UH liaison and Volunteer Coordinator on Gender Infinity Conference's planning team for multiple years. When not on campus, Jamie values serving her local community in various capacities such as being a Co-Director for New Leaders Council-Houston and a board member for Mayor Turner's LGBTQ Advisory Board. Jamie looks forward to working closely with the oSTEM board, volunteers, chapters, and community champions to provide collaborative and empowering opportunities.