DD: What is your role in BE and what keeps you excited about your work?
I am the Queen of the Universe at Technology Square. Ok, my real title is Senior Administrative Assistant at the Synthetic Biology Center (SBC) in BE.  I support Professors Ron Weiss and Timothy Lu and manage the facilities for BE at 500 Technology Square otherwise known as NE47.

My office is the hub of SBC. I call it headquarters. My office is central command where all packages and mail for the second floor are delivered.I am the primary contact for visitors to the SBC. What excites me about my work is that I have an excellent knowledge base of who does what at the Institute and I know who needs to be contacted for the vast variety of questions that come from our postdocs, staff and students.  Every day is different. I gave up trying to plan my day long ago. There are constant interruptions and always plenty to do. I do arrange a lot of meetings, arrange and facilitate conferences, make travel arrangements and schedule schedules for postdoc interviews as well as corporate meetings. 

The people I support are terrific and I feel appreciated by most everyone. I get to know everyone from the Alexandria staff, fedex folks, UPS folks and my favorite MIT mailman, Calendar. I also have a fabulous team of admins that work with me to keep everything flowing smoothly: Kristine Marzilli, Terry King, Linda Bragman and Isadora Deese. Our lab managers are also top notch:  Stephen Firsing, Barbara Karampalas, Ky Lowenhaupt, and Han-Hwa Hung.

DD: Where are you from?
I was born in Waltham, Massachusetts and baptized at Trinity Church in Boston. I lived in South Boston until I was eleven when we moved to Tewksbury where I attend Junior and Senior High School. I graduated in 1974 (OUCH!).  I married in 1975 and settled in Dracut where I live today. My roots are here and I love the area. 

DD: What do you like to do when outside of MIT?
I am very involved in the local community with my church, United Church of Christ in Dracut and attend regularly at the UCC in Dracut. I was very involved with the Girl Scouts of Eastern MA for many years and am a life -time member. I still teach courses in outdoor cooking and was a member of the Dracut Garden Club for a few years. M y children participated in soccer, softball, gymnastics, cheerleading, pop warner, girl scouts and boy scouts. I also have pets (two cats and a fish).

I love to knit, crochet and do crafts as well as garden. My husband plants a small vegetable garden each year. I am in charge of the flowers on our property and have planted many varieties of lilies, tulips, yucka, iris, wildflowers, sea grass, hostas etc. I like to kayak and take hikes through the woods and to walk around my neighborhood. We live close to Long Pond and own a share of a private beach on the lake.

DD: Are you reading a good book right now?
Books have always been a passion for me. I just finished Divergent by Veronica Roth and am working on a book by Hank Philipi Ryan called The Other Woman.  I am an avid Lord of the Rings fan and collect DVD’s.  My collection has over 100 movies, shows and series. I love fantasy, science fiction and action/adventure. I have quite a collection of Stephen King books as well. I enjoy watching NCIS, Star Trek, James Bond and just adore musicals. I have had the privilege of watching many of the MIT Musical Theatre Guild Performances.

DD: Any tips for keeping a happy lab?
Keeping a happy lab is a bit of a challenge. I think a sense of humor is essential. There needs to be an element of fun in the every day–I have a fun facts calendar in the office. I always try to greet everyone with a smile and try to help whenever I can. I tend to be the “go to” gal and my hope is that all of my people know they can always rely on me to assist them in whatever they may need. 

DD: Olga, I can attest that you have been a "'go to' gal" for me on many occasions when faced with a perplexing work problem. Thank you.