Dr. Carmen Valdez Gauthier earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire and completed her undergraduate studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). She joined the faculty of Florida Southern College (FSC) in 1999 after serving at Salem State University and later became the Jessie Ball duPont Chair in the Natural Sciences. She held several leadership roles at FSC, including Chair of the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics and Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. She is now Professor Emerita.

Dr. Gauthier’s research centers on metal–organic materials, and she has presented and published her work nationally and internationally. Her efforts have been supported by the Flinn Scientific Foundation, the Petroleum Research Fund, the Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland, and Florida Southern College.

A dedicated educator and leader, Dr. Gauthier received the Omicron Delta Kappa Teacher of the Year Award in 2006 and was named an American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow in 2018. She also received a Fulbright Scholar Award in 2016 to teach and conduct research at PUCP in Lima, Peru.

Dr. Gauthier has been deeply involved in ACS leadership, including service on the Committee on Community Activities, the Membership Affairs Committee, and seven years on the Society Committee on Education (SOCED), where she served as both Vice Chair and Chair. She currently serves on the Committee on Committees (ConC), chairing its Subcommittee on the Committee Appointment System and acting as liaison to the Committees on Ethics and International Activities. She also served on the ACS Exams Institute Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board for High School Chemistry Clubs.

Since 2022, Dr. Gauthier has served on the Board of the Mid-Florida Chapter of the Fulbright Association, where she now serves as President. She continues to collaborate actively with her Fulbright host institution in Peru, contributing to ongoing publications and invited presentations. Currently, she is the President and founder a non-for-profit organization “Seeds of Hope for Peru”, which mission is to support children and families of underserved regions in Peru in education and health.