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Executive Committee
Lee McGuire, Chair
Chief Communications Officer, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Lee McGuire, Chief Communications Officer at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, oversees external and internal communications, including science writing, media relations, web development, events, video, social media, and graphic design. Before joining the Broad Institute in 2015 as Director of Communications, McGuire served on the Superintendent’s executive leadership team as Chief Communications Officer for the Boston Public Schools. McGuire is a reporter by training and spent ten years as a broadcast journalist covering government and health care policy for television stations in Boise, Austin and Houston. He earned a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University and a Masters Degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Tara Clark
Vice President, Commercial Programs, Draper
Tara Clark joined Draper in January 2016, bringing to Draper over 25 years of experience in the commercialization of biomedical products. Prior to joining Draper, she was the North American General Manager for Miltenyi Biotec where she initiated and secured FDA approval for the various medical devices, led the business development efforts, and established the commercial launch strategies. Recently, she was recognized by the “Boston Business Journal” as a “Woman to Watch in Science and Technology, 2017”.
As Vice President, Commercial Programs, Tara is responsible for developing and managing the Company’s business and strategic plans within the Transport, Energy Systems and Biomedical Program Offices, including the successful execution of programs that support these business areas. While the Commercial Programs area includes both commercial and government customers, the emphasis is on leveraging Draper’s broad engineering capabilities and intellectual property with commercial partners. products into the commercial marketplace.
Tara holds a degree in Microbiology from the University of Missouri Columbia.
Sarah Gallop
Co-Director, Office of Government and Community Relations, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sarah serves as a liaison with the Cambridge government and community, working with citizens, public officials, businesses, regulatory bodies, and advocacy organizations on projects and issues of mutual interest. In representing MIT, she tries to bring a collaborative problem-solving approach to her interactions with Cambridge stakeholders. She thinks Kendall Square is on fire and feels privileged to be working on its behalf. Before joining MIT, Sarah worked for the City of Boston in various planning and development roles. Sarah received her BA in Political Science from Bates College and her MBA in Organizational Behavior from Boston University.
Chris Leary
Principal, Jacobs
Chris is the Managing Director of Projects for the Cambridge Jacobs Global Building Design Office, where he leads an office of just under a hundred architects, engineers, and interior designers. The design work of the Jacobs Cambridge office focuses on technically complex projects such as urban high-rise office and laboratory buildings and inspiring workplaces for established leading global as well as groundbreaking new and local companies. Chris is a registered architect, a LEED Accredited Professional, and received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Syracuse University.
Michael Owu, Secretary
Managing Director, Real Estate, MIT Investment Management Company
Michael Owu is the Managing Director of Real Estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Company where he manages the planning and development of the Institute’s commercial real estate portfolio in Cambridge. Mike graduated from MIT in 1986.
Board of Directors
Jesse Baerkahn
President and Founder, Graffito SP
Jesse Baerkahn is the President and Founder of Graffito SP, a Boston-based commercial real estate company best described as part retail brokerage, part creative agency, and part urban design firm. Jesse’s multidisciplinary work at GSP utilizes his transactional training as an attorney and lessons learned through other entrepreneurial endeavors within the real estate, arts and entertainment fields. Jesse was previously a Director and Board Member at the Artisan’s Asylum, a non-profit makerspace in Somerville, MA, and Adjunct Faculty Member at CUNY School of Law. Jesse lives in Cambridge, MA and works out of GSP offices in Kendall Square and Boston’s Leather District.
Tony Clark
Co-Founder & Co-President, My Brother’s Keeper Cambridge
Tony Clark is the Co-Founder and Co-President of The My Brother’s Keeper, Cambridge Taskforce. He holds degrees from Morehouse College, New York University, and The City University of New York and a Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. Tony is a seasoned educator and moderator, who previously held posts at New York University, The City University of New York, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University. He currently serves on the English faculty of Bunker Hill Community College, as a tenured professor. His work for the United States Department of Education along with other appointments has allowed him to work closely with over 25 school districts across the United States, focusing on education reform.
Tony is an avid reader, a podcaster, and is currently working on his debut book to be released in 2022.
Brian Dacey
President, CIC
Brian is an experienced real estate executive and entrepreneur. He has overseen a wide range of commercial, hospitality, retail and residential projects during his career, including the World Trade Center Boston. He is a founding member of the Board for the Kendall Square Association, Chairman of the Board of the Boston College Real Estate Council, and serves as a member of A Better City, the Kendall Square Master Plan Committee and Transit Advisory Committee for the City of Cambridge.
Michael Dawson
Co-Founder & CEO of Innovators, Purpose (iFp)
Michael is Co-Founder and CEO of Innovators for Purpose (iFp) a Cambridge based non-profit that’s reimagining the learning experience to build an inclusive, future ready workforce.
Michael’s leadership sparked the formation of iFp Studios – a teen-powered design and innovation studio that uncovers fresh youth-inspired solutions to student-initiated and client-sponsored projects. Projects include Kendall Square’s Looking Glass sculpture and Cambridge Public Library’s augmented reality exhibition, “This Should Not Be.”
Michael’s 30+ year career has spanned engineering, marketing, and sales in high-tech as well as entrepreneurial endeavors. Each transition has moved him closer to his personal mission of being a catalyst for a more equitable society.
Michael has a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida and an MBA from Babson College.
Eileen Elliott
Kendall Square Site Lead – Site Affairs and External Partnership, Pfizer
Eileen Elliottis site lead for site affairs and external partnership at Pfizer Kendall Square. In this role she leads the strategy for external outreach, communications, colleague engagement, and site affairs related to Pfizer’s Cambridge R&D campus. In 1995, Elliott joined Pfizer as a research scientist in immunology and held positions of increasing responsibility. She has made pivotal contributions to drug discovery and the company’s business operations, including leading discovery and development of both small and large molecules for a range of therapeutic targets. A lead contributor to Xeljanz, Pfizer’s JAK3 modulator, and Alexion’s Solaris product, Elliott has more than twenty five peer reviewed publications and numerous scientific presentations.
She received her B.S. in biology from St. Bonaventure University, a Ph.D. in immunology from Albany Medical College, Union University, and completed a fellowship in Dr. Richard Favell’s laboratory at Yale University as a Howard Hughes Fellow.
Tom Evans
Executive Director and Records Access Officer, Cambridge Redevelopment Authority
Tom has led the CRA through an organizational restructuring and strategic planning process, launching new development initiatives in Kendall Square. Before coming to the CRA, Tom worked in MassDOT’s Office of Transportation Planning where he wrote sustainable transportation policies including the state’s GreenDOT Implementation Plan and the Healthy Transportation Policy Directive. Previously, Tom served as the Planning Division Manager of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, facilitating the planning, adoption, and implementation of signature revitalization plans along the southeast waterfront of San Francisco. He holds a Masters of City Planning from University of California and a bachelors in environmental biology.
Lisa Girard
Director of Strategic Communications, Whitehead Institute
Lisa Girard has been the Director of Strategic Communications at Whitehead Institute since 2017. A former bench scientist, Girard has nearly two decades’ communications leadership and content-development experience including previous roles at California Institute of Technology (CalTech), the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as their Director of Scientific Communication. Earlier in her career, she was HSCI’s Associate Director of Strategic Alliances, as well as creator and editor of HSCI’s StemBook and CalTech’s WormBook. She earned her undergraduate degree from University of California, San Diego, a PhD from University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral work at CalTech.
Johanna C. Jobin
Global Head Corporate Reputation & Responsibility, Biogen
As Global Head of Biogen’s Corporate Reputation and Responsibility strategy, Johanna works to enhance Biogen’s reputation as a neuroscience leader, including corporate branding, crisis and issues management and corporate responsibility across various environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
Leading Biogen’s Corporate Responsibility strategy, Johanna develops and implements programs across environmental, social and governance dimensions to fulfill Biogen’s mission as a responsible and purpose-driven company. Johanna maintains and strengthens Biogen’s leadership reputation– from developing strategies to enhance, build and protect Biogen’s brand and narrative to driving compelling communications and transparent reporting with key stakeholders.
She also serves as the Executive Director of the Biogen Foundation and leads Biogen’s global community engagement strategy with a strong focus on providing equitable access to inclusive science education through its long-standing Community Lab program.
Keane Johnson
Managing Director & Senior HR Leader for Microsoft Engineering and Research for the North American – East
Keane Johnson is the Managing Director & Senior HR Leader for Microsoft Engineering and Research for the North American – East. In this role, he is responsible for aligning, establishing, and driving Microsoft’s people priorities in the region.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Keane worked at Liberty Mutual for almost ten years in various HR leadership roles. He started his career working in higher education, managing student support services programs.
Keane holds a BA in Political Science, BS in Consumer Economics, and a Masters in Education, all from the University of Georgia (UGA). He also serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Public and International Affairs at the UGA. Keane is passionate about volunteering and giving back, particularly to those organizations that enhance the availability and access to education.
Bill Kane
President, East Coast and UK Markets, BioMed Realty
Bill Kane is President, East Coast and UK Markets, BioMed Realty, a real estate provider that owns and operates approximately 12 million square feet of laboratory and office space in both the United States and United Kingdom. Bill is based in BioMed’s Cambridge office and is charged with overseeing the east coast and U.K. markets. Prior to joining BioMed, Bill was responsible for the development of R&D, hospital, and office real estate development projects for the Fallon Company, Davis Marcus Partners, Lyme Properties, and Turner Construction.
Mr. Kane received a BS in Civil Engineering from Tufts University, and an MIS/MBA dual degree from Boston University. Bill currently lives with his wife and four children in Marblehead, MA.
Bryan Koop
Executive Vice President, Boston Region, BXP
Bryan Koop is Executive Vice President, Boston Region for Boston Properties where he oversees all operations, development, new business opportunities and regional operations for the Boston Region. The portfolio of properties includes Kendall Center, the Prudential Center and Marriott Hotel Cambridge, totaling over 14 million square feet of commercial office and retail space. Prior to joining Boston Properties in 1999, Bryan was a Partner at Trammel Crow Company, where he developed commercial office buildings, shopping centers and hotels.
Bryan’s other board affiliations include: City of Boston, Climate Action Leadership Committee; City of Boston Green Ribbon Commission, Co-Chair Adaption Working Group’s Steering Committee; Back Bay Association, Board of Directors (Chairman 2006 to 2010).
Bryan received a BBA in 1980 and an MBA in 1982 from Texas Christian University.
Kent Kunkel
Vice President & General Manager, Turner Construction
Kent began his career with Turner Construction Company in 1993 in the Boston office. He has held many roles within Turner including: Field Engineer, Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent, Project Manager, Purchasing Agent, Operations Manager for the SPD Division, Turner Logistics Manager, Development Manager, and finally General Manager of the Boston Office, his role today. Kent became an officer of Turner in 2017. He is on the Advisory Committee for the Aspire Works organization which focuses on providing work experiences for individuals on the Autism spectrum. Kent resides in Milton, MA with his wife of 20 years and 3 children, Jack, Breanna, and Matthew. He is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Architectural Engineering.
Steve Kurland
Restaurant Partner / General Manager, EVOO and Za
Steve Kurland is a partner at Za and EVOO, with locations in Cambridge and Arlington. Before partnering with Peter and Colleen McCarthy at Za and EVOO, he worked at several restaurants, including California Pizza Kitchen, Legal Sea Foods, and Bertucci’s. Steve is also involved in mentoring hospitality students at Boston University. Steve most enjoys spending time with his friends and family, especially his daughter, Lulu.
Christine Lindenboom
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Alnylam
Christina Lindenboom joined Alnylam in 2015 and serves as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, leading a multidisciplinary team responsible for external & internal communication, corporate responsibility, brand and creative and investor relations. Before joining Alnylam, Christine served as Senior Director, Corporate Communications at Pfizer where she supported internal and external communications for R&D, and also served in various roles in media relations. Prior to that, she led corporate media relations for Amgen supporting tax, litigation, finance and M&A. Previously at Amgen she led communication for the oncology therapeutics franchise and led launch communications for XGEVA. Prior to joining Amgen, she worked at Fleishman Hillard supporting various pharmaceutical and biotech clients, and she started her career in the communications group of Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
Christine graduated from Northeastern University in Boston.
Maggie O’Toole
Chief Operating Officer – Executive Vice President, LabCentral
Maggie O’Toole is the executive vice president and chief operating officer at LabCentral. She provides overall direction and guidance to the operational activities of the company and oversees expansion projects including the Harvard Life Lab, a branch of the Harvard Innovation Labs operated by LabCentral as well as MIT’s The Engine. Maggie has more than 20 years of experience in business start-ups working with the founders to establish a company’s infrastructure and ultimately is responsible for business management and daily operations. Prior to LabCentral, she served as director of operations for Pervasis Therapeutics, early-stage biotech acquired by Shire. Previously, she has held management positions with Reputation Technologies; acquired by Security Source, Inc., Synetics, Inc.; acquired by ACS, and Elephant Engineering; acquired by Syntronics, LLC. Maggie earned her bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
Michal Preminger, Ph. D, MBA
Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, East North America
Michal is Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, East North America, located at the Innovation Centre in Boston. In this role she leads the Innovation Center team to build, advance, and manage the External R&D portfolio of co-investments spanning across pharmaceutical, consumer health and medical devices.
Until recently, Michal served as the Executive Director of Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) Harvard Medical School site, where she was responsible for development and commercialization of technologies emerging from research at HMS laboratories and for the strategy and execution of all industry collaborations. She negotiated agreements with major biopharma, life sciences, food and cosmetics companies to advance the translation of discoveries into products and create a revenue-generating product pipeline, and worked with scientific founders and investors to create new startup companies.
Prior to joining Harvard University’s OTD in 2005, Michal held a number of business development and technology development positions at Compugen, most recently as VP of Protein Therapeutics, responsible for the business management of the company’s emerging drug discovery pipeline. Previously, she worked in the technology industry in marketing and business development roles, and co-founded a biotechnology startup.
Michal serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards FutuRx Accelerator, and was, until recently, a member of the SAB of Prize4Life and a Member of the Board of Directors of a number of companies, including Compugen and Alma Lasers.
She holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the Weizmann Institute of Science, an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, and a BA in Medicine from Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Geeta Pradhan
President, Cambridge Community Foundation
Geeta brings a deep background in government and philanthropy to the Cambridge Community Foundation, as well as expertise in community development, urban design and nonprofit research to her role as the Foundation’s first president.
She served as a foundation leader overseeing strategic initiatives at the Boston Foundation. As part of that work, she led the development of the Fairmount Corridor, organized the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, co-founded the Boston Indicators Project and directed the New Economy Initiative using technology and data to drive social change.
Geeta serves on the Family Policy Council for Cambridge, is a member of the Birth to Third Grade Partnership Steering Committee, district planning committees for the Cambridge Superintendent of Schools, and the Mayor’s Women’s Pay Equity Committee.She studied architecture in India and received her masters from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Eric Quadrino
Owner, Sulmona Restaurant
Eric Quadrino has owned and operated various restaurants across Kendall Square since 2008. He is currently an owner and financial controller in Sulmona Restaurant Group, Mex Taqueria & Bar, and Mexcito Restaurant. Eric began his career in financial services with Citigroup Asset Management before pursuing his true passions of food and hospitality. He enjoys spending time with his family, food, wine, and Michigan Athletics. Go Blue!
Wendy Richard
Director, CSR & Community Relations, Sanofi Genzyme
Wendy M. Richard is currently CSR Director at Sanofi Genzyme. She joined the organization in2012 as a Thought Leader Liaison for the MS Business Unit, where she supported the successful global launches of Aubagio and Lemtrada. From 2017-2020, she led Public Affairs & Patient Advocacy for both the Neurology and Immunology Franchises in the US. Wendy is also a DEI facilitator and teaches classes on unconscious bias at Sanofi.
Before joining Sanofi Genzyme, Wendy spent 8 years with EMD Serono, with the US medical and commercial organizations based in Rockland, MA, where she was a Senior Medical Science Liaison and Key Account Manager. Wendy spent the first part of her career working in policy research, government affairs and ADA consulting, on behalf of individuals and families who are living with chronic disease and illness, for MD Anderson Cancer Center and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Wendy received her BA from Dartmouth College, JD from the University of Houston Law Center, and her MSSW from the University of Texas at Austin.
In her spare time, Wendy enjoys running, hiking, listening to music, playing with her kids and dogs, reading books and traveling with the family. And being from New Orleans, she also loves good food.
Mark Roopenian
Managing Director, DivcoWest Real Estate Investments
As Managing Director of DivcoWest Real Estate Investments, Mark Roopenian leads all leasing and marketing initiatives of the Company’s Cambridge Crossing development, a 45 acre, 4.5 million square foot mixed-use project located in the cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston, MA. Mark joined DivcoWest in 2015 bringing over 30 years of ground-up development and leasing experience having played significant roles in projects such as One International Place, John Hancock Tower, and Trip Advisor’s world headquarters. Mark has been deeply involved in all aspects of planning and permitting of Cambridge Crossing, the largest development in Cambridge’s history, and is focused on attracting world-class tenants to this one-of-a-kind project and city
Prior to joining DivcoWest, Mark was a Principal with Normandy Real Estate Partners, a leading real estate operator and investment manager, overseeing all leasing and development activities for the Greater Boston and Los Angeles markets. Prior to that Mark oversaw all leasing and suburban development activities for the Chiofaro Company, a Boston area real estate development firm.
Mark graduated from Boston College with a degree in Marketing and was a defensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League prior to starting his real estate career. A Boston native, Mark is active in numerous local community and charitable organizations including CASPAR, Cambridge Family & Children Services, East End House, CYO and others. He currently lives in Sudbury, MA with his wife and has 3 grown children.
Tali Sason
Engineering Lead, Firebase at Google
Tali Sason is a software engineering leader at Google, where she coaches the talented teams of engineers building Firebase. This includes Crashlytics, the #1 crash reporting solution in the world, running on over 3 billion devices. She also serves as the Google Cambridge site lead, helping ensure the office is a respectful and inclusive place where all employees can do their best work to make a positive impact on Google and our community.
Before joining Google via acquisition, Tali worked on Crashlytics at Twitter. During her tenure at the social media giant, she helped create Twitter Women in an effort to make the workplace more inclusive and diverse. Prior to that, Tali was a senior engineering manager at Wayfair where she founded Wayfair Labs. Tali has a BS in Computer Engineering from Bucknell University.
When she’s not working with and for developers, you might find Tali spending time with her family, playing with her two dogs or eating way too much candy.
Shay Sims
Senior Vice President, Asset Services, Alexandria Real Estate Equities
Shay Sims joined Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. in October 2020, bringing over 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. As Senior Vice President of Asset Services for the Greater Boston region, he has been intimately involved in the rapid growth of owned assets and leads a team of professionals responsible for the management and operations of over 11 million square feet of laboratory and office space. Prior to joining Alexandria, Mr. Sims held senior- level positions with Rockhill Management and Hines Interests and was a partner at CB Richard Ellis New England.
Shay resides in Wellesley with his spouse, Cynthia, with whom he has two grown kids, one of which lives and works in East Cambridge.