| Susan Fitzpatrick, Ph.D. Vice President James S. McDonnell Foundation and AWIS Governing Board President Susan Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Fitzpatrick joined the foundation in 1993 as its first Program Officer and was promoted to Program Director in 1997, then to Vice President in 2000. In addition to her work at the foundation, Fitzpatrick also teaches neuroscience as an adjunct associate professor at Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis). Fitzpatrick previously served as the Associate Executive Director of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and as Executive Director of the Brain Trauma Foundation. She is a former board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and currently serves on the boards of the Association of Women in Science and the Ontario Brain Institute. Fitzpatrick received her B.S. from St. John's University, her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Neurology from Cornell University Medical College, and performed her post-doctoral training at Yale University. | |
| Mike Waring Executive Director of Federal Relations University of Michigan Since 2000, Michael A. Waring has been the Executive Director of Federal Relations for the University of Michigan (U of M) where he develops, coordinates, and executes liaison activities between the institution and other stakeholders. He also serves as the Assistant Vice President for U.S. Public Policy Issues for the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). Waring entered politics as Press Secretary for U.S. Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY), in charge of media contacts and communications activity, as well as all legislative issues involving communications. He subsequently became Vice President of Government Relations for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Washington D.C. where he lobbied for 11 years, helping pass major legislation involving cable television, copyrights, and digital television. Waring earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Michigan in 1974. | |
| Mark Crowell Executive Director, U.Va. Innovation, and Association Vice President for Research, University of Virginia Mark Crowell is the Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Virginia (UVA) and the Executive Director of U.Va. Innovation. His efforts in these roles led to the restructuring of the technology transfer, business development, and innovation partnership processes for the institution, including the transformation of the UVA Patent Foundation into the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group. Crowell previously served as the Vice President for Business Development at the Scripps Research Institute, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Development and Technology Transfer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and the President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). He currently serves as Co-Chair of BIO's Technology Transfer Committee. He has nearly 25 years of experience and his technology transfer programs have launched more than 135 start-up companies and numerous products and services. Crowell holds a B.A. in international studies and a Master’s in regional planning with an emphasis on economic development, both from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. | |
| Lila Feisee Vice President of International Affairs Biotechnology Industry Organization Lila Feisee is the Vice President for International Affairs at Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) where she is responsible for international advocacy efforts in the areas of intellectual property protection and biologics regulations. Prior to joining BIO, Feisee worked for 10 years at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), first as an examiner and later in management and policy development. Previous to her time with USPTO, Feisee worked at the National Institutes of Health in the National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Genetics where she isolated and characterized viral and human oncogenes. Feisee received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Virginia and her post graduate degree in Genetics from the George Washington University School of Medicine. | |
| Jim Woodell Director of Federal Relations Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities James K. Woodell is the Director of Innovation and Technology Policy at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). He serves as the lead staff member for APLU’s Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity (CICEP), maintaining APLU’s strong presence and coordinating the organization’s advocacy efforts on technology and intellectual property issues. Recently, Woodell served as assistant director for Transformative Regional Engagement (TRE) Networks, focused on bringing together participants in the “quadruple helix” of business, government, universities, and nonprofits for innovation-driven regional development. He also served as Dean of Academic Technology and Distance Learning at North Shore Community College in Massachusetts and has 20 years of experience in distance education, instructional media, and e-learning. Woodell holds a Master of Education degree from Harvard University, a B.S. in Public Communications from Syracuse University, and is currently a candidate for a Ph.D. in Higher Education at Penn State University. | |
| Henry Etzkowitz Ph.D. Senior Research Fellow Stanford University, H-STAR Institute Dr. Etzkowitz has established an international reputation in innovation studies. As the author or co-author of more than half a dozen books, he originated concepts of the “Entrepreneurial University” and “Triple Helix” that link university with industry and government at national and regional levels. Etkowtiz has held professorial or visiting professor appointments at Stony Brook University, Newcastle University, University of Edinburgh, University of London, and most recently served as a senior research fellow with Human Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute (H-STAR) and as a fellow at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, both at Stanford University. Etzkowitz also co-authored “The 'Vanish Box' of Women in Science: From Academia to Technology Transfer,” which drew on his research and time as the director of the European Union-sponsored study of Women in Technology transfer, Incubation and Entrepreneurship professions. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from the New School University and a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago. | |
