Scientist -

Cynthia was born curious. Always asking questions and trying to categorize the world. Her seashell collection was labeled in Latin!

She followed an education path in science and her first positions were in research. She was in patient studies pharmacy and immunology. Later she was involved in environmental studies.

Here and there she was in science sales, textiles and manufacturing. Her passion for customer service lead to a patient study at Naval Medicine. Rugs require in depth research with an artistic perspective!

scientist cynthia

Science, Technology, and Research

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, inventors, artists, and educators, the world presented to me many venues of learning.

Growing up as a nerd, I loved all the shows about science and nature. My first "research" project was a science fair where I classified sea dwelling organisms by their  Latin names.

During High School I worked in a pharmacy and figured that might become my career. However, upon graduation, I realized that both schools in Massachusetts were commuter-only, so instead I studied Chemistry.

After college I worked in a Nuclear Medicine/Radio Pharmacy Lab making preparations, teaching, and conducting patient studies. I then moved to an immunology tech post for a cell pathologist, where I learned to radio label proteins and count cells!

About this time, I got married and moved to Connecticut, where I pursued my passion for art and helped a start-up environmental business. After some years we travelled to Greece where I handled quality control for a textile factory and some time later did substitute teaching for science, math, and art. It was fantastic leveraging my extensive background in the chemical sciences in the bakery industry. This leg up really helped my business!

I returned to the states twice. Salvaging a career in science proved nearly impossible. Some contract jobs included online sales for an antibody company and paperwork filing for PG&E. Yet again my life-long desire to categorize the world made me very marketable. I worked on production for a start-up called Biosite.

My career in customer service and sales led the way. Then I took some design classes which spurred me on to get my MBA. Afterwards I joined a data team at Naval Hospital Pain clinic. For some years I explored various technology groups, events, and ways to implement knowledge in my then rug industry. I started writing for the industry for chemical companies.

When the Pain program, changed I joined Eyeuniversal to do sales and business development. Yet again, making connections, was the source of my success

Languages

Growing up in Massachusetts, it wasn't until I lived overseas that I realized I spoke Boston English. It was a revelation to learn that other English-speakers could not understand me!

In the Northeast we had a better chance of traveling to Canada than to Mexico, so learning some French was helpful. My mom taught school at the Maine/Canadian border in her youth and often family vacations took us across the border. I'd say that my proficiency level is textbook French as I can read signs, menus, etc., and speak normal greetings with a good accent.

Attending Catholica School all through my High School years taught me Catholic Latin. One year a Latin language course was even a requirement. Since I loved the scientific standard of classifying the natural world in Latin, I took two years of it to help me really understand the meaning of words.

Being fluent in Modern Greek, I can attest to the fact that the Greek language has many flavors: the Archaic, the fully accented, the political cleaned up version, very colloquial versions, etc. I learned the Greek alphabet in language school, so I do read, write, and speak it well. I further refined my Greek during the last few years I lived in Greece, and even learned a more "hipster" version as I rarely spoke English at that time.

I learned Kitchen Spanish in 2000 when I moved to San Diego. As a former Bakery owner, obtaining work in the food industry was my best bet, and some of the most amazing chefs were from the South of the border. I traded learning a Spanish word each day, for my first year at a restaurant.

Having sold Persian rugs for 15 years I can safely say that I speak Rug Farsi! I worked for a family-owned business that imported, wholesaled, and retailed rugs. Farsi was spoken more often than English in that business!

I learned a touch of Chinese working in a family import business, as well as later with some framers from the region. I learned a lot about various Chinese cultures and also some common expressions.

I picked up a bit of Arabic thanks to some lessons with friends that helped me learn how to read the signatures on rugs. Also, my former family was fluent in Arabic, so I did my best to understand and respond in kind.

Languages

  • Boston English
  • Text Book French
  • Catholic Latin
  • Fluent Modern Greek
  • Kitchen Spanish
  • Rug Farsi
  • A touch of Chinese
  • A bit of Arabic

BS Biochemistry WPI

I attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in 1979 and graduated in 1983 with a degree in Biochemistry.

The Chemistry Building where I spent many nights doing work, was named Goddard Hall after our most well-known graduate. Robert Hutchings Goddard (10/05/1882 - 08/10/1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard received his B.S. degree in physics from WPI in 1908.

Biochemists study the actions and interactions of atoms and molecules. These fundamental studies can lead to the creation of new materials, the discovery of causes and cures for diseases, and the methods for cleaning up our environment. I focused on electrolytes in the blood and membrane chemistry. One of my projects, called Pharmaceutical Dependence, looked at American societie's reliance on medication and the counterpoint with holistic practices such as curing illness with diet.

My humanities field was Architecture with its relevance in Renaissance painters. And looking back now, some of those pieces had Persian rugs in them.

Positions

  • Nuclear medicine technician and Radiopharmacist
  • Research Tech for a Cell Pathologist
  • Environmental records researcher
  • Quality Control Chemist
  • Production line technician
  • Project Coordinator in pain medicine
  • Business Director for a SAAS company
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