The Advocacy committee serves as a bridge between the postdoc community and BWH leadership. We collect and analyze information on employment conditions and benefits of postdocs; seek adequate benefits for its members commensurate with the level of education and skill demonstrated by the Ph.D., including a health plan, parental leave, child-care, disability insurance and retirement plan; seeks recognition for postdoctoral fellows as members of the campus community with a distinct set of contributions and needs, and works to provide a voice in BWH decisions that affect postdoctoral fellows.

The Advocacy committee also helps to update and provide feedback on the BWH Postdoc Policy, which provides minimum guidelines for postdoctoral fellows across the institution, including guaranteed paid time off, expected availability of PI mentoring, and annual salary increases during the Annual Career Conference.

Members of this committee engage with other local, regional and national organizations that have missions that are relevant to the postdoctoral experience, such as the National Postdoctoral Association and Boston Postdoctoral Association, in order to involve the BWH PDA in the broader discussion on how to improve the postdoctoral experience. The Advocacy Committee discusses policies that affect postdocs and how to bring on change to current policies within the institution.

The Career Development committee aims to help BWH postdocs in the transition to their next career path. We invite speakers to run workshops and presentations on resumes, presentation skills, mental health and burnout, alternative career paths, and more.

For more information about the Career Development committee, see our recent events.

The Communications committee’s mission is to communicate opportunities, events, and ideas with the BWH postdoc community.

Some of our activities include:

• Maintaining the BWH PDA website and social media sites.
• Generating a biannual BWH PDA newsletter covering news items and features of interest to the postdoc community.
• Recruiting writers and solicit topics of interest for the BWH PDA newsletter.
• Creating new BWH PLC promotional materials.
• Consulting with other committees to promote coordination for website and social media content.

The Networking committee fosters a sense of community amongst postdocs by organizing events to provide opportunities for social, professional and academic networking.

For more information about the Networking committee, see our recent events.

The BWH PDA established the Mentoring Circles Program to help postdocs get the most out of their training at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

MCP is a program created by postdocs for postdocs. Two mentors (senior postdocs) meet 5-7 mentees (junior postdocs) on a monthly basis to give advice and advance their career.

If you are seeking mentorship or feel you would be a good mentor for others, please look out for MCP applications in August-September.

The Mentoring Circles Program was initiated in the Fall of 2013 for the 2013-2014 academic year with an inaugural class of 18 postdocs. In academic year 2021-2022, over 70 postdocs participated in the Program.

We are always looking for more members, so come join us and make a difference in your career and at BWH!

See more details about the Mentoring Circles Program.