WIB-Capital Region Member Spotlight: Angela Biehl

Angela Biehl
Director, ATCC Talent Acquisition

Tell us about your background (both educational and professional).
Recruitment is fascinating to me, and as an HR and Talent Acquisition leader with over 20 years of experience, my career has focused on finding the right fit. We speak to people of varied experiences and learn what motivates them in major life decisions. We work with candidates, hiring managers, and leaders to ensure the best possible alignment for success. My biotech experience started early with the consulting division for Charles River Laboratories, hiring across the country for BSL 1–4 labs initially, and has come full circle now, leading our team to source, attract, hire, and retain talent for ATCC, the premier biological materials management and standards organization. It’s an exciting time to be a part of ATCC, coming up on our 100th anniversary while sourcing niche scientific talent and elevating talent acquisition tools and resources for the organization.

What are your top 3 tips for women who are just starting their careers?

1. Utilize your natural talents to do what you love.
2. Brave intellectual curiosity — Always be learning. It’s okay to admit what you don’t know (yet).
3. Lean in —  Ask questions and leverage your relationships; showcase your value by providing support to others and letting others support you to elevate the capabilities of all.

What are some of the biggest challenges women still face in the life sciences?
The wage gap, gender bias, and flexible leave policies for parents and caregivers all of this depends on representation in leadership for all women, especially women of color and minority groups.

What is the most exciting and personally fulfilling part of your work right now?
Right now, it’s leading Talent Acquisition at ATCC with new systems, processes, and best practices, and watching the result of those efforts lead to organization-wide success in my first year with this organization. Talent acquisition in the life science arena is rewarding when advancing careers forward for people dedicated to a greater purpose.

What is the best leadership advice you ever received, and from whom?
Utilize your natural talents to do what you love. I was fortunate to get this advice from a trusted advisor at a critical time. As a presidential arts scholar at George Washington University with a major in piano and composition, my career path was undefined. I visited a DC employment firm looking to gain short-term exposure to several companies to explore early career options. The owner convinced me to work there instead and learn the business directly from her. It was a crash course in Talent Acquisition consulting. Linda Woodside of Woodside Employment recognized my competencies and guided my career path. I pay that forward every day, advising candidates into roles that will lead to the right fit and personal success for them.

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is loving what I do while making a significant impact. Moving across the country to make a career change or joining a new company is a major life decision, and candidates trust that I will advise them with integrity. Success at ATCC is competing for top talent against organizations many times our size and winning due to the incredible work we do at ATCC.

How did you find the career path that you are on right now?
Understanding that Human Resources and Talent Acquisition were a perfect fit for my innate skill set, I was able to advance quickly by doing the work well. As Human Resource Director or Head of TA in consulting environments for industries including life sciences, biotech, IT, and hospitality, I was fortunate to work for organizations growing quickly and during periods of transition. When my former company was acquired by a private equity firm, we were integrating other companies, scaling for rapid growth, and reopening facilities across the country all at once during the pandemic. Some of that was new to me at the time, but I did what I knew how to do: I built a successful team, we tracked the results of our efforts, and we hired top talent for over 2000 openings. Looking back, it was an impressive accomplishment. Learning new technologies is a key trend across my career with implementations, automation efforts, and process improvements. Each win has propelled me to the next task, and I continue to learn along the way. I’m also dedicated to the success of others and incredibly proud of the work performed by my team and my hires.

Tell us how you got involved with Women In Bio, what you do for the organization, and what being a part of WIB means to you.
I joined Women In Bio not long after joining ATCC. We’ve hired members of WIB for ATCC openings, and I enjoy connecting directly with members regarding our ATCC career opportunities. Many of my coworkers and network are members and were in attendance for the annual gala. I’m part of an Executive Mentoring (eMAPS) cohort and led a WIB member session on optimizing your profile based on how a biotech recruiter would source for talent on LinkedIn. I’ve made several meaningful connections and look forward to being a WIB member for a very long time to come.

What is your dream vacation spot, and why?
My husband and I recently returned from a dream vacation spot, a beautiful Riviera Maya resort, where we celebrated our wedding anniversary. We’ve worked to create an oasis at home and in our backyard, and this is where you’ll often find us spending time together.