Starting a Women in Bioinformatics Chapter: A Practical Guide

Note: This guide is based on our experience as a local volunteer group. We are now a non-profit organization and are happy to advise other groups, but we cannot share our logos or web domain due to legal considerations. Our long-term vision is to grow together: if you start a chapter and it becomes stable, we would love your leadership team to connect with ours so we can build a nationwide network.

Getting Started: The Foundation
- Core Team Assembly
- Legal and Organizational Structure
Digital Infrastructure: Setting Up Your Online Presence
Committee Structure: Learning from Boston WiB
- Essential Committees (Start Here)
Event Planning: What We Wish We’d Known
Funding and Sponsorship: Making It Sustainable
Community Building: The Soft Skills
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Timeline: First Year Milestones
Resources and Templates
- Essential Tools (Free Tier)
- Legal and Administrative
Final Words of Encouragement

Getting Started: The Foundation

Core Team Assembly

Start small but think strategically. Begin with 3-5 committed individuals who can each take ownership of key areas. Look for people with complementary skills: someone with event planning experience, a communications-savvy person, someone with industry connections, and ideally someone with non-profit or volunteer organization experience.

Establish clear roles early. Even before formal committees, designate who handles what to avoid overlap and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Legal and Organizational Structure

Research local requirements for establishing a volunteer organization
Consider whether you want to incorporate as a non-profit (this can wait until you’re more established)
Create basic bylaws or operating agreements early to prevent conflicts later
Establish a simple decision-making process

BWiB BTDT advice: BWiB operated without official non-profit status for 10 years… so you don’t need to rush this.

Digital Infrastructure: Setting Up Your Online Presence

Event Management Platforms

Luma vs. Meetup: Our Experience

Meetup: Great for getting started, has built-in discovery features, costs ~$15-20/month
- Pros: Established user base, good for finding your initial community
- Cons: Limited customization, ongoing costs, platform dependency, cannot access member email addresses
Luma: Better for established groups, more professional appearance, free tier available
- Pros: More polished interface, better integration options, free for most events that we host so far, can access member email addresses
- Cons: Less discovery, need to drive your own traffic

BWiB BTDT advice: BWiB started with Meetup but we have recently transitioned to Luma.

Communication Channels

LinkedIn Group

Create a LinkedIn group early for professional networking
Post job opportunities, industry news, and event announcements
Encourage members to share their professional achievements
Use LinkedIn Events to promote your gatherings
BWiB BTDT advice: we get a lot of traffic from our LI group postings

Slack Channel

Essential for real-time communication and community building
Create channels for: #general, #jobs, #events, #resources, #introductions
Consider topic-specific channels as you grow (#r-users, #python, #career-advice)
Establish community guidelines and moderation policies from day one
BWiB BTDT advice: we have one and it’s mostly being used by the executive team, less so by the members

Email List

Don’t rely solely on social platforms - build an email list
Send monthly newsletters with event updates, job postings, and community highlights
BWiB BTDT advice: we are still working on the best way to do this

Website Considerations

Start simple: a basic website with your mission, upcoming events, and contact info
Free options: GitHub Pages, Netlify, or basic WordPress
Include: About page, Events calendar, Resources section, Committee information
Make it mobile-friendly from day one
BWiB BTDT advice: it took some effort to get the first version off the ground but we like it a lot now that it’s there!

Committee Structure: Learning from Boston WiB

Based on Boston WiB’s successful model, consider establishing these committees as you grow:

Essential Committees (Start Here)

Web/Digital and Communication Committee - Technical infrastructure
- Handle communications workflows
- Maintain website and online resources
- Manage digital tools and platforms
- Curate community resources
Events Committee – Programming and logistics for events

The Events Committee is responsible for:

Designing a balanced annual program (technical talks, workshops, networking, career panels, journal clubs, etc.)
Collecting ideas from the community and shaping them into concrete event formats
Handling event logistics: dates, venues (or virtual platforms), AV needs, accessibility considerations, and registration pages (e.g., Luma/Meetup)
Coordinating with speakers and panelists (outreach, confirmations, talk titles/abstracts, bios)
Ensuring each event has a clear run-of-show, roles for volunteers, and a backup plan for virtual participation where possible
Partnering with other committees (Web/Digital, Sponsorship, Communications) to promote events, capture photos/resources, and follow up with attendees
Tracking basic metrics (attendance, feedback, repeat attendees) to improve future programming and support sponsorship conversations

BWiB BTDT advice: we didn’t have official committees for the first ~9 years of the group, but once we did establish committees, we got more things done in a more organized fashion.

Event Planning: What We Wish We’d Known

Venue Selection

Free Options to Explore

University libraries and conference rooms
Hospital/medical center meeting spaces
Tech company offices (many have community programs)
Co-working spaces (often free for non-profits)
Public libraries with meeting rooms
Biotech incubators and accelerators

Pro Tips:

Always have a backup plan for virtual meetings
Test all AV equipment before events
Choose accessible locations with public transportation
Consider rotating locations to serve different geographic areas

Meeting Formats That Work

Technical workshops: Hands-on learning (R/Python tutorials, specific tools)
Career panels: Industry professionals sharing experiences
Networking mixers: Casual relationship building
Lunch meetups: Getting folks together and chat over lunch
Journal clubs: Discussing recent papers
Industry visits: Tours of biotech companies or research facilities
Skill-sharing sessions: Members teaching each other

Speaker Recruitment

Tap your local biotech and academic communities
Invite recent conference speakers (they often reuse presentations)
Consider virtual speakers to expand your options
Create a speaker database and wishlist
Offer to reciprocate speaking opportunities

Timing

During the day
- Good for virtual events
- Good for working parents
Evening
- Best for in-person events that involve networking

Funding and Sponsorship: Making It Sustainable

Free Resources to Maximize

Most successful chapters operate primarily on volunteer time and free resources for the first few years.

BWiB BTDT advice: 99% of our events are free to the public

Sponsorship Strategy

When to Start Seeking Sponsors:

Once you have 50+ regular attendees
When you have consistent programming
After establishing credibility in the community

Potential Sponsors:

Local biotech companies
Pharmaceutical companies
Academic institutions
Bioinformatics software companies
Consulting firms
Professional service providers (legal, HR, etc.)

Sponsorship Packages

Bronze ($100-500): Logo on website, mention in newsletters
Silver ($500-1500): Event speaking slot, booth at networking events
Gold ($1500+): Title sponsor of major events, annual report recognition

Grant Opportunities

Many professional organizations offer small grants for diversity initiatives
Local community foundations
Corporate diversity and inclusion grants
University community engagement funds

BWiB BTDT advice: engaging with sponsors in a meaningful way takes quite a bit of time so we have one person who is working only on that.

Community Building: The Soft Skills

Creating Inclusive Spaces

Establish and enforce a code of conduct (see ours below)
Use inclusive language in all communications
Provide multiple ways for people to engage (in-person, virtual, async)
Actively welcome newcomers and explain “inside” references
Consider childcare or timing for working parents

Sustaining Volunteer Energy

Rotate leadership responsibilities to prevent burnout
Celebrate volunteers publicly and often
Set realistic expectations and timelines
Create clear handoff procedures for roles
Host volunteer appreciation events

Measuring Success

Track metrics that matter:

Attendance at events (both unique and repeat attendees)
Engagement on digital platforms
Career advancements of members
Feedback scores from events
Diversity of speakers and attendees

BWiB BTDT advice: this is also very important for engaging with future sponsors.

BWiB Code of Conduct

This lunch event is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Anyone violating these rules may be sanctioned or banned from attending at the discretion of the conference organizers. Please contact the organizers through meet-up messaging/Slack, if you feel someone has broken the code of conduct.

Original source and credit:

http://2012.jsconf.us/#/about & The Ada Initiative

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Overcommitting Early

The Problem: Trying to do too much too fast leads to burnout and poor quality events.

The Solution: Start with monthly or bi-monthly events and grow from there.

Founder Dependence

The Problem: One person becomes indispensable, creating fragility.

The Solution: Distribute responsibilities and document processes from day one.

Mission Drift

The Problem: Losing focus on your core purpose as you grow.

The Solution: Regularly revisit your mission statement and evaluate activities against it.

Geographic Challenges

The Problem: Serving a spread-out community effectively.

The Solution: Embrace hybrid events and consider multiple smaller meetups.

Timeline: First Year Milestones

The timeline below is a suggestion based on our experience. If you want to grow at a different pace, you can stay in each phase as long as needed.

Months 1-3: Foundation

Assemble core team
Define mission and basic structure
Set up digital infrastructure (Meetup/Luma, LinkedIn, Slack)
Plan first event
Brainstorm the next 3 or 4 events

Months 4-6: Growth

Host 2-3 successful events
Establish committee structure
Build email list to 50+ people
Create basic website

Months 7-9: Expansion

Launch mentorship or special program
Seek first sponsorship opportunities
Establish partnerships with local organizations
Host first major event (conference, symposium)

Months 10-12: Sustainability

Develop leadership succession plan
Evaluate and refine committee structure
Plan annual programming calendar
- Document processes and create handbooks
- Contact the Boston WiB leadership team to work more closely together

Resources and Templates

Essential Tools (Free Tier)

Event Management: Luma, Meetup, Eventbrite
Communication: Slack (free up to 10,000 messages), Discord
Email Marketing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit
Project Management: Trello, Notion, Google Workspace
Design: Canva for social media graphics and flyers

Legal and Administrative

Sample bylaws and operating agreements
Code of conduct templates
Volunteer agreement forms
Event planning checklists
Financial tracking spreadsheets

BWiB BTDT advice: we started with a code of conduct… everything else came much later.

Final Words of Encouragement
Starting a Women in Bioinformatics chapter is incredibly rewarding but takes patience and persistence. Your first event might have 5 people - that’s perfectly normal! Focus on providing value to your community, stay consistent with your programming, and be responsive to member needs.
Remember: every successful chapter started exactly where you are now. The bioinformatics community is generally supportive and collaborative, so don’t hesitate to reach out to established chapters for advice, speaker recommendations, or partnership opportunities.
The field needs more diverse voices and inclusive spaces. By starting a local chapter, you’re not just building a community - you’re actively changing the landscape of bioinformatics for the better.
This guide is a living document. Please share your experiences and lessons learned to help future chapters succeed!

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