A chance encounter with a groundbreaking female researcher in Paris who cloned cows set the stage for a remarkable career trajectory for Dr. Wiebe, who originally had her sights set on biology and agricultural engineering.
“I couldn’t believe how lucky I got to work with her,” she said. “She’s an amazing person. She was this team leader, energetic woman with two little kids, at the same time doing these amazing things. And she challenged me a lot.”
One of those challenges involved going to a slaughterhouse. Before she knew it, Dr. Wiebe was on the slaughtering line, dissecting bovine embryos.
“I was under shock for, I think two days, but after that, I really knew you can do things you would never think you would be able to do.”
Dr. Wiebe’s story demonstrates how mentorship can shape professional destinies, which can lead to other opportunities, such as not-for-profit Women in Nutraceuticals (WIN).
“WIN for me is still like...it sounds dramatic, like a fairy tale,” she said. “People invest because they all believe in this cause, and all these women and men that are supporting this idea for the betterment of the industry, for company success, and to be able to get the talent I mentioned before from academia, to get them to our companies.
“They look carefully at who is in this company. If this is a company where you don’t see any woman, as a woman, would you apply? No, you wouldn’t. Because we all know, we know that diverse teams are more successful, are more innovative, and the companies are more profitable if they have diverse teams.”
Dr. Wiebe added that WIN is very U.S.-focused at the moment, but she looks forward to making more meaningful connections and helping to grow the organization in Asia and Europe.