Delaware Section. The Innovation Space & DuPont, Wilmington, Delaware.
Academic record: University of California, Berkeley, BS, 1987, University of Delaware, PhD, 1992.
Professional positions: Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors, The Innovation Space, 2017-present; Senior Director, DuPont Science & Innovation, 2017-present; Global Operations Director – DuPont Science & Engineering, 2016-17; Director, Science & Technology – Open Innovation & Globalization, 2015-16.
ACS local section and division offices: ACS Entrepreneurial Summit, 2016. Division of Biochemical Technology, Judge (Shark), Shark Tank Competition, 2021.
ACS national service: Committee on Corporation Associates: Member & DuPont Representative, 2014-2018. Chair, Steering Team, Chemical Ventures Conference, 2019 (in collaboration via signed MOU with ACS, AIChE and The Innovation Space).
Member: Member of ACS since 1987. American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Lifetime Member, 2018-present, Senior Member, 2016-present, AIChE Member since 1985; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Lifetime Member, 2013-present, AAAS Division Memberships: Industrial Science & Technology, Engineering, and General Interest in Science and Engineering. ACS Divisions: Biochemical Technology, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, Business Development and Management, Small Chemical Businesses.
Related activities and honors: Delaware’s Most Impactful & Influential Leaders, 2023-26; U.S. Department of Commerce, National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE), 2022-2024; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – Board of Directors & Audit Committee, 2017-2023; The Resolution Project – Board of Directors, 2017-2025; Butamax Advanced Biofuels, LLC, Board Member, 2010-12.
Provine’s statement
My personal mantra is to find ways to change the world for the better. That drive has shaped my life, career, leadership, and service. It is also why chemistry matters so much to me. Chemistry is one of the most powerful tools to improve lives—by turning ideas into discoveries, and discoveries into innovations that benefit people and society around the world. The American Chemical Society is already a critical force for good in science, education, and society. Its scale and reach create both the opportunity and responsibility to further strengthen trust in science, expand opportunity, and create pathways for people to contribute fully to the chemical enterprise. I am seeking to serve as a director-at-large because I believe that my experience can help ACS meet that opportunity by bringing valuable insights from my broad external service across industry, academia, and government to Board deliberations and key decisions that strengthen ACS and better serve its members and the broader chemical enterprise.
Throughout my career, I have been guided by the belief that science creates its greatest value when it leads to meaningful outcomes. At DuPont, I served in leadership roles across research and development, manufacturing, business development, external affairs, and global operations, helping commercialize products on a global scale. As founder, President, and CEO of The Innovation Space, I built a mission-driven nonprofit that helps science-based entrepreneurs grow their startups and succeed. That work has shown me that strong science becomes meaningful innovation when matched with collaboration, disciplined execution, and a clear focus on real-world needs.
My commitment to ACS has grown and evolved over the decades through engagement with the society’s members, local sections, technical divisions, and committees. As DuPont’s representative on the Committee on Corporation Associates, I worked to strengthen ACS engagement with corporations and their employee members, and helped secure DuPont funding for ACS Scholars, Project SEED, national and local awards, and symposia. I have also contributed as a speaker at ACS meetings, ACS Presidential symposia, the ACS Science and Congress Series, and the ACS Entrepreneurial Summit. I helped found and host the Chemical Ventures Conference series through a collaboration among ACS, AIChE, and The Innovation Space, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, and other leaders across the chemistry-based startup ecosystem. These experiences reinforced my belief that ACS is at its best as a convener, connector, and catalyst—linking members, ideas, organizations, and opportunities in ways that advance scientific discovery and accelerate innovation.
I have also served science and society in ways that broadened my perspective on leadership. Through service on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Board of Directors, I deepened my commitment to science communication, public trust in science, and the role scientific organizations play in shaping sound policy. Through my appointment to the US Department of Commerce National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and through The Resolution Project as a board member, I gained a broader perspective on how scientific and innovation leadership can expand opportunity, strengthen trust, and help science deliver visible benefits to society. Through The Resolution Project, I had the privilege of mentoring undergraduate students who are building social ventures aimed at improving lives around the world. Together, these experiences reinforced my belief that scientific leadership must advance discovery while also expanding opportunity, strengthening public trust, and inviting broad participation in shaping the future of science.
ACS is also a complex global enterprise, and effective ACS Board service requires sound judgment in business operations, governance, strategy, and stewardship. My experience includes supporting multibillion-dollar global businesses at DuPont and building The Innovation Space from the ground up into a thriving nonprofit—supporting to date over 165 startups who have raised over $3 billion. My AAAS Board service also gave me valuable insights into another major scientific member-based organization with significant publishing, science policy, and science communication responsibilities, including the Science family of journals. My induction into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame is one example of the enduring value my leadership has created and the perspective I would bring to Board service.
If elected, I would focus on three priorities:
- Strengthening the ACS membership value proposition by more intentionally connecting ACS’s strongest assets—scientific excellence, career development, local sections, and technical divisions—while building stronger pathways for entrepreneurship within a more integrated and engaging member experience;
- Elevating the role for ACS in addressing global challenges by building stronger bridges across industry, academia, government, and innovation communities worldwide; and
- Advancing advocacy for science and trust in science by supporting ACS programs, collaborations, and engagement strategies that better communicate how scientific discovery leads to innovations that improve lives and reach people and markets around the world.
