Pioneer Member

Abdiel Keni Cota Ruiz – Dr. Beronda Montgomery is a researcher, mentor, and writer who inspires students. Working under her supervision has been a fantastic and fruitful experience for me. I have had exceptional opportunities to continue learning about science, education, and mentoring. Moreover, she has demonstrated a genuine interest in preparing her mentees for professional careers. Overall, the atmosphere she creates is very constructive and encouraging.

Daniel Ducat – Beronda is a fantastic colleague who has always been giving of her time and willing to share her insights as a mentor. Beronda was especially important to me as an Assistant Professor – she always had helpful advice and a perspective that was valuable in shaping my research program and in structuring my work with the university to have impact in the areas that I consider most important. To this day, Beronda continues to be an inspiration for me and many who are lucky enough to work with her

Susan Golden – Beronda has been a powerhouse in science since her PhD work, when I was lucky enough to collaborate with her on a project that really needed her expertise. It has been enjoyable to follow her career as she became a leader in science, education, and communication.

Clark Lagarias – Beronda is an extraordinary individual. As an engaged student, teacher, scientist, parent, mentor and friend, Beronda shines bright on a world transformed.

Stephani Page – I have the pleasure of knowing Dr. Beronda Montgomery for over a decade. Among the many amazing aspects of Dr. Montgomery is her brilliance as a plant biologist. I am fortunate to have known her as a scientist with overlapping research interests, first when she was an invited speaker early in my doctoral program. An early conversation was about two-component signaling systems (TCS) – the focus of my dissertation lab, which had become of interest to her research group. She introduced me to TCS functions in plants, providing critical insights as my dissertation was, in a nutshell, on functional analyses of these systems. From then on, I was fortunate to know Dr. Montgomery as a mentor and advocate, to the point that I was able to learn more and work more closely with her on our commissioned paper for NASEM’s Mentoring in STEMM report. That anyone would consider me an expert on mentoring is something I largely credit to Dr. Montgomery. She was an early and consistent supporter of the #BLACKandSTEM community and another space I value deeply, VanguardSTEM. Like many scientists who have been “othered” because of our identities, I have been fortunate to spend time under her wing. That she has been a place of support and refuge for us reflects one of the many ways in which Black women are burdened with expectations of nurturing and holding up others, regardless of whether they are being nurtured and held up themselves – I directly benefit from Dr. Montgomery taking on that burden. I immediately recognized the labor of love that is Dr. Montgomery’s book, Lessons from Plants. It is, for me, a tiny portion of Dr. Montgomery’s brilliance, wisdom, candor, and sincerity made material, so that many more may benefit from it.

Michaela TerAvest – Beronda was my first research mentor when I was an undergraduate. She was outstanding in so many ways, sharing not only her time and passion for science, but also her highly organized way of doing things and her direct communication style. I will never forget doing my first ever DNA purification with her and her enthusiasm to share the importance of each step with me, even though it was a procedure she had surely done hundreds of times. I am grateful for the excellent introduction to research I received in her lab, and I have been thrilled to watch the continued growth of her scientific work and mentoring.

Katherine Warpeha – Beronda is a great thinker, fine mentor, innovative teacher and colleague and champion.