Credit:
Courtesy of Sam Brunclik
Happy Pride!
I am excited to introduce myself to you all as the inaugural chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on the Advancement of LGBTQ+ Chemists (CALC). Some of you may know me from my work in recent years with the ACS Pride Subdivision of the Division of Professional Relations, and to others I may be completely new! I am excited to steer this committee as it begins and am optimistic about all the incredible opportunities that the formation of a brand-new committee presents. Before I get into all the exciting updates about how CALC is establishing itself, I want to take some time to recognize how far we’ve come and the importance of taking time for joy in honor of Pride Month and beyond.
For LGBTQ+ people, June is often a time to celebrate and reconnect with their chosen communities and renew themselves for the year ahead. For me, this brings to mind queer joy—a concept often defined as a complex mix of community, celebration, resistance, belonging, and hope that allows people to persist during difficult times. It can be easy to see and define LGBTQ+ people by our challenges and struggles, but taking time for moments of self-care and the celebration of small things can help defy and reframe how the world sees us. As the current political environment has often targeted LGBTQ+ people and identities, it’s more important now than ever to celebrate each other and spread hope.
In the chemical sciences, there is a lot to celebrate for the LGBTQ+ community, including the inaugural year of CALC, a voice for the LGBTQ+ community in ACS’s governance. This is the first time a new committee of the society has convened in 13 years and marks a huge and exciting milestone for LGBTQ+ people within ACS and the broader scientific community.
“This is the first time a new committee of the society has convened in 13 years and marks a huge and exciting milestone for LGBTQ+ people within ACS and the broader scientific community.”
Since our establishment in January, the committee has been working on building its foundation. First, the committee appointments were made, establishing our inaugural committee roster with 12 members (including myself), two associate members, and a consultant. We met as an established committee for the first time in Atlanta at ACS Spring 2026, where we spent much of the meeting getting to know each other and sharing information about ACS as a whole. On June 5–7, members of CALC convened in Chicago to undergo our first-generation strategic planning retreat. I would like to share some details from the committee’s newly written strategic plan, which the members developed to chart our next few years.
The American Chemical Society’s Committee on the Advancement of LGBTQ+ Chemists has three pillars in its mission—engage, recognize, and champion—to help the members achieve their committee vision. Credit:
Courtesy of the Committee on the Advancement of LGBTQ+ Chemists
CALC’s mission is to “engage, recognize, and champion LGBTQ+ people within the scientific community” to achieve the vision of “a thriving LGBTQ+ community [that] is supported and empowered.” We hope to work toward this mission through our three major goals: by being champions of inclusion and belonging, by engaging the broader scientific LGBTQ+ community, and by recognizing the triumphs and tribulations of individuals who are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Since this plan was built from the ground up, developing it was no small undertaking. I want to thank and recognize the impressive efforts of all the committee members who were able to attend, as well as recognizing the incredible help of our facilitators, the amazing organization and planning of our staff liaison, and the support and advice of so many others. I invite anyone interested in engaging with CALC to discuss the newly minted strategic plan or to learn more about the committee to send a note to [email protected]. If you or someone you know may be interested in joining or helping the committee with our goals, please fill out the committee preference form at cmte.acs.org and indicate your interest in the Committee on the Advancement of LGBTQ+ Chemists! I look forward to interacting and working with you all in the coming years as we begin the important mission of CALC.
Lastly, I want to return to the thought of queer joy. As we wrap up Pride Month, I invite everyone to embrace this concept by taking time to reflect on, and celebrate, some of the things that bring you joy and hope—not just during Pride but all year long.
Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS.
