For a limited time get a free gift with your signed copy of Female Disruptors!!

〰️

For a limited time get a free gift with your signed copy of Female Disruptors!! 〰️

 

It’s so critical now for women who are becoming scientists….

Please listen to this clip from my interview with Kate Manahan on the “What Mama Wants” podcast from Portland ME where we cover why we need change to ensure that female scientists are recognized for their contributions and the challenges we face with toxins in our water and high rates of cancer and my new book, Female Disruptors!

 

ORDER TODAY!

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Highly recommended!

“Highly recommended not only for young women considering entering STEM fields, but also for anyone looking to better understand the contributions of women scientists throughout history and the barriers they continue to face to this day.”

~ Amazon Customer

To read the full review, please click here.


 

“Highly recommended not only for young women considering entering STEM fields, but also for anyone looking to better understand the contributions of women scientists throughout history and the barriers they continue to face to this day.”

Highly Recommended

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2022

While many have convinced themselves that women no longer have anything to complain about when it comes to career opportunities and being seen as equals, Mindi Messmer’s experience shows we still have a long way to go.

First as an engaged citizen and then as a state legislator, she faced skepticism and open hostility for using her scientific background to identify a cancer cluster in her hometown. In the face of attacks on her credibility and her academic background, she persevered, filing groundbreaking legislation that eventually resulted in New Hampshire’s toughest-in-the-nation state standards for PFAS contaminants, help for victims, and greater accountability for polluters. Her efforts to shine a spotlight on New Hampshire’s unacceptably high rates of breast, bladder, and childhood cancers also led to large-scale investigations into the cancer cluster her work uncovered as well as investigations into environmentally-triggered illnesses.

As a legislator, Messmer was relentless in her efforts to educate members of both parties about the dangers of PFAS chemicals. Perhaps her greatest success was in framing PFAS contamination as a non-partisan issue during a period in our history when nearly every issue has a clear partisan divide. At a time when others, including state agencies responsible for public health and identifying contamination in the environment, were silent or sweeping the issue under the rug, Messmer was a constant—and disruptive—voice for accountability and change.

But while many applauded her leadership, her advocacy came at a cost. Her credentials and her motivations were openly questioned—something she noticed did not happen to men with similar backgrounds speaking out on the same issues.

These experiences—good, bad, and ugly—made her want to dig deeper into the stories of other female “disrupters” in the sciences throughout history.

A common theme running across many of their stories is the gauntlet of closed doors, lies, sexism, objectification, invisibility, and attempted appropriation of their work by male-controlled scientific societies, educational institutions, and the media. While the accomplishments of pioneers like Marie Curie may be familiar, Messmer explores the reasons behind the lack of recognition of their achievements and the very real tendency of society to attribute recognition to the men in their lives instead of to them.

The irony in a book filled with stories of injustices that can make a reader angry, it that it is not an angry book. Messmer’s writing is engaging and well-researched. She does a wonderful job describing the barriers and challenges faced by women pioneers in science, such as Mary Anning, an early female scientist born in 1799 in England. Although Anning was responsible for unearthing and discovering some of the first dinosaur fossils ever discovered, her finds were attributed either to the men who bought them or to other rich men who donated them to museums. Why did she go unrecognized? At the time, it was simply unheard of not only for a woman to be a geologist or paleontologist—but to be credited for any scientific advancement.

While 200 pages is too short to include the story of every pioneering woman scientist, Messmer does an excellent job shedding new light on the ones she selects. She also delves into the social, economic, and behavioral reasons behind the challenges women in STEM continue to face today.

Bottom line? “Female Disruptors” is a short read—and an essential one. Highly recommended not only for young women considering entering STEM fields, but also for anyone looking to better understand the contributions of women scientists throughout history and the barriers they continue to face to this day.

FEMALE DISRUPTORS

by Mindi Messmer, M.S.

 

“For the parents whose children had cancer, I couldn’t imagine their grief, their fears. I feared for my children and family.”

After discovering that children were getting sick and dying from rare cancers in her small town, Mindi Messmer led the charge to uncover environmental issues that were poisoning the drinking water and environment in her town and many others. She exposed the high rates of cancer in her town and across the state. She worked to prevent cancer and chronic disease and hold polluters accountable for environmental issues with science, science-based policy, and advocacy.

Female Disruptors chronicles Messmer’s somewhat surprising experiences as a scientist, concerned mother, and politician. Instead of being appreciated for her work and findings, she was often met with a different response from her male counterparts.

In Female Disruptors, you will discover how gender stereotypes and policies hinder and discourage women from entering science fields and ultimately undermines their success and job retention. Women bring important perspectives and alternative problem-solving approaches to the world. Through the lens of her own journey, Messmer is hoping to inspire the next generation of female scientists.

 

“When I read Female Disruptors, I had cold chills that stirred memories of my mother’s fight. I felt my mom would have loved to read it. She would have been proud to know that Mindi Messmer is continuing the fight.”

— Dorleena Wylie, daughter of Lilian Wylie, resident who fought for environmental justice and lost her life to cancer

“Messmer tells a compelling story about the complex web of economic, social, political and health interests that impact our shared public health... Female Disruptors is an important book that holds the reader’s interest from start to finish.”

— Martha A Byam, Associate Clinical Professor, Emeritus, University of New Hampshire

“Messmer’s book is a powerful and compelling read. Her stories of women in STEM – the challenges, obstacles, and successes against big odds – are engaging and relatable. I, like many other women scientists, feel seen... [I]t’s time female disruptors are embraced and celebrated – for the future good of everyone on the entire planet.


— Nora Traviss, PhD, Environmental Studies and Sustainability Studies, Keene State College

“There are those that point and complain about problems and there are others, like Mindi Messmer, who tackle them head on and give us hope and inspiration for the future. Female Disruptors shines a light on how female voices have been disregarded, muted, inequitably disparaged and how the status quo harms us all.”

— Natalie Barefoot, JD, Senior Attorney, Oceans at Earthjustice

“I am incredibly grateful to Mindi, among other things, for her leadership in identifying the pediatric cancer clusters in New Hampshire, for her sharing her story, and for telling the stories of several women who have made the world a healthier place.”

— Bill Couzens, Founder of Less Cancer


About Mindi

Mindi Messmer is an environmental and regulatory scientist. She has an M.S. in clinical and translational science from Georgetown University. After seeing the environmental impact on children in her community, she was prompted to run for and hold a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives; something she had never imagined doing. Through her extensive work in science and politics, she has influenced discourse on the importance of environmental protections, cancer prevention, and science-based policy.

Being a woman in politics and science has opened her eyes to the way women are treated in these stereotypically male roles. Drawing on her experiences, Messmer decided to write Female Disruptors, at the intersection of science, politics, and womanhood.

Please click here to learn more!


Mindi’s musings…

 

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*in Water Supplyand Children’s Non-Fiction!