The Alpha Brew - November Gratitude

November 24, 2021

Optimism overflows across the AlphaGroup Medical Communications Agencies—AlphaBioCom, AlphaScientia, and AlphaQsci. Over the past few months, our team has gathered in person and virtually to collaborate and celebrate our ongoing success in the world of medical communications. And this October, we journeyed together for our Great Escape to South Carolina. So sit back with your favorite brew and enjoy these AlphaGroup headlines highlighting our extraordinary leaders, innovative scientists, and caring corporate community.

Senior Human Capital Consultant – Jai McBride Calloway

THE ALPHAGROUP DIFFERENCE

Our DEI task force, TIDE (Tolerance, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity), continues to uphold our company mission to build a culture of openness and accountability, individual responsibility for equitable, inclusive, and welcoming practices, and a reputation as a diverse and philanthropic workplace. Here is what we did this summer.
 
We retained the services of Exude, a minority- and immigrant-owned consulting firm specializing in all things people. Jai McBride Calloway, an expert in D&I (diversity and inclusion) initiatives, guided our team using full-group discussion and breakout rooms to learn and openly discuss what an inclusive culture entails and how to adopt these practices to achieve our DEI goals. We also hosted an all-staff training for team members to learn about the usage and importance of inclusive language, discuss why it is essential to the organization, and identified how to use it in a professional and social setting.

BEING OF SERVICE

It is a breath of fresh air to work with a team that extends their sense of humanity outwards to our community. Below are a few civic endeavors we support to help make our world a kinder place.
 
We invest in the education of our future generations. We gathered enough essential classroom materials to fill and donate 100 backpacks to the Norristown Area School District through a company-wide back-to-school drive. These backpacks are part of the district’s “Welcome Packet” program for new families and students.
 
 
ALPHA PRIDE
 
We gather to support LGBTQ pride. Our team joined in the inaugural Bucks-Mont Pride Festival held on July 18 at the Abington Arts Center. We helped spread the love by volunteering our time to help set up, manage, and clean up the festivities.

The AlphaGroup TIDE Committee – Vanessa Borkhoche, Janel Gluch, and Angie Schaefer – stuff backpacks for donating to the Norristown Area School District (NASD).

AlphaGroup volunteers at the inaugural Bucks-Mont Pride Festival.

Ed Shifflett’s “Big Sexy Racing” family racing team gather prior to the June 2021 Ironman.

Always learning – Angela with one of her favorite books.

OUR GREATEST ACHIEVERS

Through our series of articles sharing the remarkable stories of individual employees, we learn how each person’s greatness contributes to the overall success of our team. Here are a few highlights we are pleased to acknowledge.

Ed Shifflett, PhD, achieved a personal goal to be the best version of himself while competing in the June 6 Ironman 70.3 Virginia Blue Ridge triathlon. Following an unexpected series of race-suspending conditions and 33 months of rehabilitation and intense training, Ed qualified for the 70.3 World Championship in St. George, UT, that he participated in this past September. We wish Ed continued success in his ongoing journey to keep things in perspective and practice gratitude.

We are in awe of the research topics we uncovered in recent employee profiles. As a college student, Angela Schlegel, PhD, Scientific Technical Editor (they/them), shares that they studied bumblebee behavior and the metabolic pathways in the hallucinogenic sage species Salvia divinorum. And Katie Pieper, PhD, Principal Scientific Communications Manager (she/her), revealed her dissertation topic focused on the evolution of a selfish sex chromosome in a mushroom-feeding North American fruit fly. Who knew! We are excited to continue learning more about our other accomplished employees’ areas of study in the profiles ahead.

ROCKIN’ OUT TOGETHER

All work and no play—that is certainly not our motto. So, in our ongoing effort to ensure active engagement amongst our employees, check out one of our most recent gatherings.
 
Our July office re-opening soiree revealed our newly designed setup that makes social distancing and collaboration a touchdown! This evening event featured culinary delights from our resident Chef Laurent Leveque, an electric string performance, and a kaleidoscope garland of balloons in the shape of a gigantic gene—apropos for our medical industry professionals.

The reopening soiree of our headquarters in King of Prussia, PA was a sweet reunion for our growing team of scientists, doctors, nurses, writers, and designers.

GRATITUDE ALWAYS

In gratitude to our outstanding team of medical and communication professionals, we gathered in Charleston, South Carolina, this October for a three-day weekend getaway. During this coastal retreat, we rolled out the red carpet for our second annual AlphaAwards and surprised our team members with other exciting adventures. A combination of excursions—including horseback riding, a helicopter tour, kayaking, sailing, golf, and more—were opportunities for our team to have fun, build morale, and reignite their mission to meet our pillars for success of Precision, Integrity, and Passion.

About our Company:

AlphaGroup is a team of PhD scientists, MDs, PharmDs, nurses, designers, and communications and innovation experts. Our collective genius delivers the highest-quality scientific, medical affairs, and outcomes communication services anywhere in the world. The company thrives on three pillars of success—Precision, Integrity, and Passion. Our goal is to cultivate a culture of quality, caring, cutting-edge thinking, and service across a team, reinventing the medical and scientific communications industry standard globally.