"Science fairs “serve as a natural breeding ground for budding scientists” and “as a continual source of female and minority science-minded students."

"I already knew from my calculations that there was going to be a heat wave. When the heat wave hit the next day, the job was mine."

"Building tech companies is about identifying problems, engineering solutions, and executing strategies that lead to different, scalable outcomes. What do I mean by scalable? Meaning the solution must be repeatable for the greatest number of customers without having to change small details."

"Too many young blacks believe that the field of meteorology is not open to them; still others are not even aware that the field exists, Society, too, has a moral obligation to put aside the past myths about black Americans not only in the meteorological field but in all of the technical fields."

"I can admit now, in retrospect, that when you’re a Black female and you’re the only one in a particular situation, when something happens, you don’t know whether to view it through a lens of racism or not. You can’t tell because there aren’t other people who look like you. You don’t know if what is happening to you is because of your race or not."

"In the workplace I was quick to understand that some people might be offended that I was female, that I was African-American, or that I was young, but I had to let that be their problem. The best thing I could do was just focus on doing a good job, and let my work speak for me. If someone said something offensive to me, I just let it be. I refused to pick up the stone and put it in my knapsack."

"You must love chemistry; you must be committed; and you must prove yourself over and over."

"For me, the journey was Film, then Tech and Venture Capital, then back to Film."

"My mother was executive director of the Los Angeles Girl Scout Council. She was a leader, she knew how to interact with people, and she believed deeply in higher education. She would wake me up every morning and say, ‘You can be anything you want to be.’ If you grow up with that kind of confidence, it has a profound influence on the rest of your life."

"I went to school at Savannah College of Art and Design in 1999 to study film production. Then when I got out of college one of my first jobs was working on Tyler Perry’s first movie “Diary of Mad Black Woman.” I ended up working at his company for a few years. Then in 2008 I left the film industry to pursue tech, founding successful companies like Audigent"

"I do hope they recognize that I care deeply about Trinity and trying to make it a stronger institution, that fundamentally I want to leave the place better than it was when I came. It isn’t about me; it is about a better Trinity and my hopes for higher education being better and stronger for the country."

"I have heard other women and people of color say that we feel like we have to work harder to prove that we know what we’re talking about. I got to where I am because I worked harder, I dug deeper, and I learned how to bring more people into the conversation and to see my point of view."

"All hell broke loose at the station when our weather guy robbed the bank, and they needed someone who was there to fill in for the day,"

"With FilmHedge I looked at Film and TV finance and asked myself a question: “If thousands of movies and TV shows are funded every year, why is the process of raising and closing money always so different for each of them?” That’s horribly inefficient. FilmHedge streamlines the process to make it more efficient."

"There are similarities though. Audigent at its core is a programmatic advertising company. They use innovative tech to improve the way online ads reach people, resulting in improved performance and engagement. Originally, Audigent was doing this in partnership with the three major record labels (Warner, Sony and Universal), which created a new revenue source for the music business. Revenue derived 100% from data as opposed to music, streaming, or touring."

"First, honored, and then, “Oh my God.” (laughs) Obviously I’ve been on the Board of Trustees for a while, and we have been addressing the issues that you would expect in an enterprise of this size: strategically where we are going, what do we need to achieve and what’s important in terms of the investments we need to be making going forward. So, I thought to myself, “If there’s something I can do to help, I’m glad to do it."

"I’d like to see the university take the wonderful things that are already happening and make them better. I want us to have that culture of: Yes, we did a good job, but if we work on it — if we try something a little different, if we bring in some other people — we can add another dimension to what we’ve already achieved."

"I wanted to go to a Black college to allow the students to have the opportunity to get the kind of education that I had gotten; because I felt coming from where I came from that it was almost impossible for me to get the kind of training I had gotten. (...) I squeezed through the wire mesh fence."

"I think science is like tofu"

"I was introduced to agriculture while pursuing a college degree in pulp and paper science and technology at North Carolina State University. While a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, I had the opportunity to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture in their efforts to advance agriculture through research, education, and extension."

"These are the backbone of enhancing productivity, minimizing risks, and combatting emerging threats to production."

"It has been an honor and privilege to work on behalf of D.C. residents through a leading institution and with dedicated colleagues who truly embody our commitment to justice. As long as health disparities continue to impact populations in this city, we have more work to do."

"The ability of the American farm sector to feed far more people today than 6 decades ago, while using less farmland and fewer workers and reducing the environmental impact of food production, is testimony to the impact of agricultural research and innovation."

"USDA is uniquely positioned to defend agriculture from existing and emerging pests and diseases, another major requirement for food security. USDA science agencies maintain an in-house infrastructure of expertise, facilities, and long-term high-risk research and provide resources for agricultural research outside at the land-grant and other universities as well. A great example of one of those invaluable resources is the germplasm collections at ARS."

"There are several cancer prevention screenings that need to be utilized to save lives"

"Towards that end, we at CBCC have already begun to expand our efforts."

"Whatever seasonings you put in it, it will just sop it right up. So, if you season it with racism, it will become racist. It’s incumbent upon me as a scientist to choose my marinade differently … to season it with multiplicity, season it with different thoughts, season it with change."

"Earning a PhD from Northwestern was an important milestone in my life. I once stood where you now stand. I know how hard you have worked to get where you are today, and I am impressed by your accomplishments."

"Pap test, colorectal cancer screening, lung cancer screening and HPV testing need to be addressed and incorporated into the communities we serve."

"By helping to protect U.S. agriculture, increase agricultural productivity, and increase resilience of U.S. farms these innovations contribute to farm productivity and profitability and expand the ability for U.S. leadership to address the global challenge to “feed everyone.”"

"I want viewers to see a glimpse into the experiences of our elders, and then, perhaps, we can extend more grace and care for a group of people surviving a world that changed around them."

"We really want to be able to grow our food, feed, fiber and fuel in a way that's sustainable and resilient"

"I am a lifelong learner; one best practice I’ve instituted that works for us is a custom of debriefing and lessons learned."

"I'm very excited about that opportunity to really drive the vision for the future . . . on what we should be focused on for three years."

"In the third grade, one of my teachers told me I wasn’t going to be good for anything but prostitution, and I said well maybe."

"I started thinking maybe I am a bad kid."

"I am excited about the many recent technological advancements and the availability of breakthrough technologies that support and lead innovation in America’s high-tech food and agricultural economy."

"I once stood where you now stand. I know how hard you have worked to get where you are today, and I am impressed by your accomplishments."

"At USDA, we are committed to delivering solutions to America’s high- priority agricultural challenges. These challenges include producing enough safe and nutritious food to feed a growing population while being good stewards of our natural resources."

"For my science project, I studied how quickly different foods would mold when placed in various locations. At one point, we had stinky, moldy food all over the house. That’s love"

"That’s why I chose the scanner and it’s been pretty useful."

"I figured my clientele might be older and not want to be rotating or stand still for too long"

"You can pay crappy money for crappy clothes and throw them away to buy more crappy clothes"

"Each of you has your own crew of supporters. You can name those friends and family members right now. Those who believe in you and regularly invest in your well-being. Those who surround you with love and encouragement, giving the best of themselves so that you can be your personal best,"

"Perhaps they are among the names listed on your acknowledgements page. Perhaps they are sitting across the auditorium now with huge smiles on their faces. Perhaps they will be hooding you today. You know who they are."

"Or you can pay good money for really good clothes and keep them for years."

"Contact tracing is an activity that is commonly done to interrupt transmission of communicable diseases, or diseases that are passed from one person to another. It is critically important in interrupting transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19."

"I share my story because it’s important that you understand me and the value I place on learning and formal education"

"These two terms are commonly confused. Contact tracing is a very specific method for public health intervention that requires in-depth investigation of potential exposure, risk for severe disease, and risk for transmission of the virus to others."

"My mother encouraged me every step of the way and she always believed in me. Her confidence fortified me for decades."