Alencia, daughter of Emanuel and Sandra Woodard, grew up in Birmingham, Alabama under the watchful eye of her older sister Adrienne. She attended Holy Family Elementary School and the Alabama School of Fine Arts, where she majored in Math & Science. For her undergraduate education, Alencia attended Vanderbilt University, where she became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. After receiving her Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Biomedical Engineering, she completed her graduate studies in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). After receiving her PhD, Alencia returned to Vanderbilt for a Clinical Pharmacology fellowship. In 2011, Alencia and her son, Joseph, relocated to Atlanta where she joined Kimberly-Clark Corporation as a senior research scientist. In 2015, she accepted a career development move to Halyard Health as Innovation Testing Research Manager for the Advanced Research and Technology Development team. Among her many responsibilities, Alencia supervises laboratory personnel, serves as Halyard’s Intellectual Assets Review Committee Chair, and is Halyard’s Principal Investigator for a government funded innovation research contract. Her professional passion resides in mentoring junior scientists and creating learning environments in which they can excel.

At 10 years old, Joseph is truly Alencia’s pride and joy. His compassionate and fun-loving nature brightens the lives of everyone he encounters. Rick and Alencia enjoy supporting Joseph’s passion for little league baseball.