2026

Sep 13: Fall Membership Meeting, home of Amy Mykityshyn

Nov 5: SAR, National Academy of Sciences

Dec: Holiday Party, TBD

2027

Mar 9: Visit at University of Maryland

Mar 24: Visit at University of Virginia

Mar 31: Visit at Johns Hopkins University

Week of Apr 12: Visit at Georgetown University

Apr 22: Visit at George Washington University

Dear ARCS MWC Members,

ARCS MWC has had a successful year and we'd like to recap some of the highlights. We have enjoyed outstanding programs and events with increased member attendance throughout the year. Our Eagle Celebration was particularly successful, raising enough funds to support several future scholars. Our University Visits were another highlight, giving us the opportunity to spend time with our scholars, learn more about their research, and see firsthand the impact of ARCS support.

We were also delighted to welcome nine new members to our chapter, strengthening our community and ensuring a bright future for ARCS MWC.

While planning for our Nov 5 Scholar Awards Reception is already underway, we are taking a summer break and will regroup in August. Until then, we wish you a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing everyone in the fall as we begin another exciting year of supporting outstanding scholars.

Thank you for all you do to make ARCS Metro Washington such a vibrant organization.

We wish you a wonderful summer with family and friends.

~ Julie Hohl and Jane Riddle, ARCS MWC Co-Presidents

On May 31, ARCS MWC members gathered for the Spring Membership Luncheon Meeting, hosted by new member Robyn Smith. Over 20 members enjoyed a delicious potluck lunch, which was followed by the membership meeting.

The primary business was electing the new ARCS MWC Board for 2026-27 (listed below). Newly elected Board members were then sworn in. The meeting wrapped up with a review of all the year's activities and a reveal of our Scholars for 2026-27 (more below). Momentum keeps growing in the chapter!

Many thanks to Robyn for hosting us at her lovely home and providing the entree and drinks! The picture below shows the happy attendees. View all the photos here.

Front row L-R: Mary Jo Ruane, Alice Laning, Hilary Sparrell, Miriam Erickson, Toni Schierling, Karen Finkbiner, Helen Miller, Julie Hohl.

Back row L-R: Carolyn Hayward-Williams, Yvonne Chen, Trish O'Malley, Sharon Gross, Christine Peterson, Kristen Bloschock, Jane Riddle, Beth Czaban, Becky Corcoran, Charlotte Knight, Karen Magley, Jamie Loving, Robyn Smith.

Scholar Alum DaVonne Henry and guest Camille, and John Hanton.

Claudia Benack and Hans Schierling.  

Lorraine Nordlinger and Toni Schierling.

Helen and Glenn Miller.

Duncan Sparrell, Gary Nordlinger, and Hilary Sparrell.

Carolyn Hayward-Williams, Terry Williams, and Julie Hohl.

One of the highlights of the year is the ARCS MWC Campus Visits, to meet with our ARCS Scholars and their mentors and hear about their research. We're already planning for next year, so mark these dates on your calendar. We encourage all members to participate in at least one University Visit!

University of Maryland - Tues, March 9, 2027

University of Virginia - Wed, March 24, 2027

Johns Hopkins University - Wed, March 31, 2027

Georgetown University - Week of April 12, 2027

George Washington University - Thurs, April 22, 2027 

For a taste of the visits, click here to view the recording of the George Washington University visit on Apr 23, 2026!

Fundraising training is a core strategic support frequently requested by ARCS Chapters. The second of two webinars hosted by ARCS National is on Jun 15. These sessions are led by Rebecca J. Zanatta, President of RJZ Connections, Inc.

Webinar 2 - Jun 15, 3-4 pm: Story to Strategy – Inspire Giving

To learn more and register, click here. These training webinars are open to all members and any interested ARCS MWC members are encouraged to join!

ARCS National featured ARCS MWC's own Patty Sparrell in the June newsletter! Patty was honored by her alma mater, Russell Sage College, at its 109th commencement ceremony in May. Read the full article here.

ARCS MWC welcomed two new members in May. Read about them below!

Savanna Est-Witte joins ARCS MWC as a Scholar Alum member, sponsored by Miriam Erickson. Savannah received an ARCS award in 2020-21 while a Johns Hopkins PhD student.

Savannah is originally from St. Louis and studied biomedical engineering at Washington University there before earning her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins, during which she was the 2020-21 Forster Family Foundation Scholar. She then completed a postdoc at JHU Applied Physics Laboratory and is now an Assistant Research Professor in the Johns Hopkins Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department. Her research focuses on biomaterials at the intersection of immunology, materials science, the microbiome, and tissue engineering.

Savannah is very eager to join ARCS. She greatly appreciates the opportunities our ARCS award gave her and sees STEM as both her profession and a lifelong commitment to learning, mentorship, and service. She has participated in a number of STEM-related teaching and mentorship activities at the K–12 and undergraduate levels, and is now looking to get involved at the graduate level as well. She also recently became a mother, and leaning on other women in similar roles has been a powerful source of inspiration and support.

Savannah attended the ARCS Eagle Award ceremonies in 2024 and 2026. She says the 2024 Eagle Award ceremony was especially meaningful, because it was the first time she met ARCS MWC members in person after receiving her award during the pandemic, and it helped her better understand the organization and its community. Now that she’s in a faculty role at JHU, she’s excited to join ARCS to become more active in the STEM community, give back to her local chapter, and continue building relationships with the impressive women she’s met through ARCS.

Anna Tate Riegel, PhD also joined in May, sponsored by Christine D. Berg. Christine has been a colleague and friend of Anna's for decades and has been consistently impressed with her scientific integrity and research productivity.

Anna holds the Celia Rudman Fisher Endowed Chair in Oncology and Pharmacology at Georgetown University, where she also serves as Senior Associate Dean and Vice President for Biomedical Graduate Education and Research. Perhaps most germane to the mission of ARCS, Anna has devoted a significant portion of her career to graduate medical education. In her role as Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Graduate Education, she has shaped the training of many early-career scientists, championing rigorous scholarship and providing mentorship that reflects her own experience. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship early in her training and received the James Price Award for Cancer Research. Following her doctoral work, she was named a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Post-Doctoral Research Fellow – a distinction reserved for the most promising scientists in the nation. She subsequently earned both a Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association Foundation Junior Faculty Development Award and an NIH Research Career Development Award. This experience allows her to better mentor trainees in all phases of their early research career.

Anna’s research focuses on breast cancer, epigenetics, malignant progression, and metastasis, areas of urgent importance to Public Health. She has advanced the field through her work on transcriptional coactivators and their role in cancer diagnosis and treatment, as reflected in her patents on the use of FGF-BP gene promoter sequences and coactivator mechanisms in breast cancer. Her memberships in the American Endocrine Society and the American Association for Cancer Research further attest to her standing within the broader scientific community.

In her position at Georgetown, she and her colleague, Anton Wellstein, MD, hosted Meghan Barefoot, MD, PhD in their laboratory. Meghan was the 2020-21 ARCS MWC Forster Family Scholar and is now a resident at Johns Hopkins. Additionally, in her current position as Dean, Anna has helped to identify promising scholars at Georgetown as undergraduates and graduates whose work merits support from ARCS, and has met with the ARCS delegation for three years. She attended the ARCS Scholar Awards Reception at the National Academies of Science to participate in the presentation of these awards in 2025. Anna’s interest in developing the next generation of scientists aligns well with the mission of ARCS.

ARCS MWC Chapter Scholars for 2026-27 were announced at the Spring Membership Meeting. We congratulate these outstanding student scholars and look forward to welcoming this coming year!

Note that the list does not include Undergraduate Scholars, who will be announced over the summer.

Submit articles, pictures, pdfs, and website links by the 25th of each month for publication the following month to Helen Miller at mwcnewsletter@arcsfoundation.org. 

ARCS^® and its logo are registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

ARCS MCC

P.O. Box 60868

10221 River Road

Potomac, MD 20859-0868