February 09 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine
LANL Star helps shape tomorrow's workforce
Program deemed national best practice
Mary Anne With talks to postdocs at a Los Alamos Postdoc Association communications committee meeting in the Otowi Building. Photo by Sandra Valdez
When Mary Anne With talks about the future of the Laboratory's workforce, she speaks from experience. With runs the Laboratory's Postdoc Program Office, which is the primary pipeline for new technical staff members at the Lab.
About 325 postdocs work at the Laboratory, and many of them matriculate into fulltime technical staff positions. "I enjoy helping our postdocs. They're our future," said With. "I'm honored to be associated with such talented individuals from around the world."
Her work earned With a 2006 Distinguished Performance Award and a LANL Star award from the Women's Diversity Working Group.
"Mary Anne consistently demonstrates the very highest standards of professionalism, dedication, and creativity in her exceptional oversight of the broad repertoire of Laboratory postdoc programs," said Dave Foster of the Education and Postdoc Program Office.
With was instrumental in creating the Los Alamos Postdoctoral Association, which works to bring Lab postdocs together to discuss issues of concern and to raise the visibility of the Postdoc Program.
The Lab's postdoctoral program has been recognized by the Department of Energy as being "a national best practice."
She also assisted Sandia National Laboratories in starting its Truman Postdoc Fellowship program, and offered advice to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Fellowship program and Argonne National Laboratory's Postdoctoral Fellow program.
Two years ago, With helped plan and coordinate the first national laboratory postdoc forum and meeting at University of California, Berkeley. The forum, she explained, was designed to enhance the effectiveness of postdoc programs nationally by improving communications and sharing information between national labs.
With also helped create a national task force under the auspices of the National Postdoc Association "to enhance the postdoc experience."
Said With, "The day I wake up and don't feel I can make further change for postdocs and the program overall, I'll think about moving on to another challenge."
—Steve Sandoval
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