Lisa Balbes

Since 1992, Lisa M. Balbes has provided technical writing and editing services as Balbes Consultants, LLC, running her own small business for over 30 years. Her clients include Washington University Medical School, St Louis University, Bausch and Lomb Surgical, SigmaAldrich, the US FDA, BioPhorum, and many others. She earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her undergraduate degrees in chemistry and psychology from Washington University in St Louis.  She spent several years as a computational chemist at Research Triangle Institute, conducting protein and small molecule modeling experiments in support of drug discovery.  

Lisa has been an American Chemical Society volunteer Career Consultant since 1993, providing career management advice and information to literally thousands of scientists. She is the author of the book “Nontraditional Careers for Chemists:  New Formulas in Chemistry”, published by Oxford University Press, and over 300 published articles on career development for scientists. She is an ACS certified master workshop facilitator and an internationally invited speaker on career topics, with over 300 presentations to date.  

Lisa is active with Scouting America as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 352 and promotes STEM education and activities for youth at all levels (organizing local, district, council, national, and international events).  Two of her most significant accomplishments are the long-running chemistry merit badge clinic and the development of the STEM Quest program area at national jamborees.