Board & Staff

Recognized in 2020 as a STEM Trailblazer by the Million Women Mentors and with the HA Rey Curiosity Award, Natalie is a highly regarded educator and curriculum developer who has taught for more than a dozen years in the Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She studied Chemistry as an undergraduate at Cornell, completed her doctoral and post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School, and taught at Wellesley College before joining the faculty at MIT in 2003.

Keira is an award-winning direct-to-consumer marketing expert, with particular strengths in digital transformations, creative, brand development, media attribution, optimization and expansion. From 2013-2019 she served as Chief Marketing Officer and then President of Nutrisystem, Inc., where she led all sales and marketing. Keira is currently Chief Marketing Officer at Purple Innovation and serves on the Board of Second Nature Brands, where she leads the Digital Committee. She studied at Cornell University as an undergraduate and received her MBA from Dartmouth College.

Drew dreams of ten billion people flourishing as citizens in partnership with all life on Earth, as soon as possible.  To this end he helped launch new undergraduate majors in bioengineering at MIT and Stanford.  He also co-founded the iGEM competition, a global genetic engineering “olympics,” and, separately, two DNA construction companies.  His past students now lead companies like Octant and Ginkgo Bioworks.   Read more

David is the CEO of the ETSU Research Corporation and the Allen and Ruth Harris Chair of Excellence in ETSU’s College of Business and Technology having retired in 2019 as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal & Sustainability Officer, and Corporate Secretary of a Fortune 500 Company. David is involved high-tech startups, civic affairs and charitable initiatives including board service to the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (at the invitation of former Senate Majority Leader Frist), the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, Music for All, the Niswonger Foundation, the Marine Technology Society, and Ballad Health. David has an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Juris Doctorate from BYU and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advance Management Program.

Theresa is the CEO for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. During her years as an entrepreneurial leader and strategic advisor for non-profits, Theresa built her expertise in driving change, building public/private partnerships, and fundraising.

Don’s career has centered on helping people to make better decisions more rapidly, with a particular focus on managing the supply chain of manufacturing companies. He has engineering degrees from MIT and Northwestern and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Johns Hopkins. Don’s career started at Exxon, was past Chair of the MIT Annual Fund, President of the MIT Alumni Association, and Member of the MIT Corporation. He is currently the Co-Director of the MIT Venture Mentoring Service.

Laura is a biotech co-founder, physician-scientist and strategic clinical development leader with more than 20 years of development experience, from preclinical through Phase 3, in cell and gene therapy and immuno-oncology. She co-founded and served as Chief Medical Officer for Candel Therapeutics (previously Advantagene, Inc.) where she was a leader in the companies’ strategic planning from start-up through IPO in 2021. Currently, Laura is President of LKA Consulting, Board Director for American Brain Tumor Association and Newton Youth Success Collaborative, and Chair of Young Women in Bio Greater Boston. She holds an MD and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Baylor College of Medicine as well as a BS in Biochemistry from University of California, Davis.

A graduate of Boston College and George Washington Law School, John is a member of Mintz Levin’s Corporate & Securities practice. For 30 years, he has advised biotechnology, life science, medical device, and clean technology companies on a broad range of legal issues, including on the structuring of collaborative research and development efforts, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. John’s practice is heavily focused on transactions involving licensing and technology “spin-outs,” sponsored research, and supply and distribution relationships.

Katie is an Assistant Professor of biochemistry in the Chemistry Department at Williams College (Williamstown, MA). Her current research focuses on understanding and engineering protein function and energetics. She has taught professional development and student workshops for BioBuilder and is a co-author of BioBuilder: Synthetic Biology in the Lab. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of California, Berkeley.

Allison is the Executive Director of StoryCollab, a media production program that uses first-person stories to amplify everyday voices and helps organizations build leadership and community. Her work engages with colleges and universities, government agencies, community-based organizations, research institutions, and youth development programs throughout the world. Originally from Georgia, Allison earned a B.A. in English Literature and Communication from Vanderbilt University and a Masters in Intercultural Communications from University of Colorado, Denver.

Rebekah teaches Biology and Advanced Placement Biology at Tyngsborough High School in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. She holds a B.A. in Biology and a doctorate in Mathematics and Science Education. She has been actively involved in the BioBuilder community since 2011, leading a BioBuilderClub team, and serving as a member of its Board of Directors. She is a recipient of the ASBMB Fostering K12/University Partnership Grant and the AMGEN Excellence in Science Teaching Award.

Rob is a co-founder of High Tech High and President Emeritus of the HTH Graduate School of Education. A teacher, trainer and program developer for over 40 years, he has worked with teams to develop 14 new schools (11 at High Tech High) spanning the K-12 years and co-authored Schooling for the Real World: The Essential Guide to Rigorous and Relevant Learning. Rob holds a B.A. from Haverford College and an M.A.T. and Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where his doctoral dissertation was a five-year case history of the evolution of goals and practices in a public alternative high school.

Ryan is a technologist who is using quantum computing and biotechnology to create companies. He received a patent for nanoSPLASH, an at-home COVID-19 Diagnostic Test that can detect COVID variants. He graduated from MIT where he created his own major, ‘quantum engineering.’ Ryan is also a published poet and jazz saxophonist.

Racquel is a molecular biologist with years of experience in academic, clinical, and biotech environments. She currently works as the Regional Director for the Life Science Specialist Team—East at Avantor, finding time year after year to teach in several of BioBuilder’s programs, including the BioBuilderClub and the High School Apprenticeship Challenge. She earned her PhD at Brown University in Dr. Richard Bennett’s lab and did her post-doctoral fellowship at Yale, where she studied Legionnaires disease in Dr. Craig Roy’s Lab.

Mary’s professional work oscillates from communications to project management to education policy, with more than 20 years of experience garnered in the newspaper, nonprofit, and education sectors.  A longtime volunteer in the Boston Public Schools, she was appointed in January 2010 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to serve a four-year term on the Boston School Committee, overseeing the district superintendent and a budget of $1 billion. She holds a bachelor of arts from the University of New Hampshire In English/Journalism and a master’s in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Justice is an Assistant Professor of STEM education at the University of Texas at El Paso, studying ways to bring synthetic biology to middle and high school learners in order to support civic engagement and occupational participation. He is also a world-recognized leader in computer science-based data science, focusing on ways that such studies might promote field equity and intellectual diversity. He earned his undergraduate degrees in Biology and English Literature at the University of Miami, his Masters in Biotechnology Engineering at University of Pennsylvania, then his PhD in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education, also at University of Pennsylvania.

Kateri joined BioBuilder in December 2022 to direct BioBuilder’s operations. Kateri has a Bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. She has worked as a scientist for over 20 years. Most recently she was the Head of US Protein Operations with UCB Biosciences, a global biopharma company, where she was responsible for leading their molecular biology and protein production teams. Prior to that she was the Vice President of Operations at Beryllium Discovery, where she was responsible for operational and scientific management of core operations. She has extensive experience in scientific management, operational management, resource management, project and budgetary management. Kateri has a talent for being able to create bridges between different organizational groups and driving successful and motivated cross functional collaborative teams. She is originally from Queens, New York but has lived across the United States and abroad with her now retired Navy submariner husband.

Chloe is a STEM educator who earned her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2014 from the University of Chicago, where she was also a founding member of the synthetic biology club and iGEM team. She has a master’s degree in educational studies with a focus on inquiry-based secondary science instruction. As an AmeriCorps member, Chloe worked in community outreach and racial equity advocacy in a North Carolina school district. She is passionate about educational equity and increasing access to STEM education at the secondary level.

Maggie earned her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology in 2015 and master’s in business administration in 2021 from Wayne State University, where she worked as a Project Coordinator for the Office of International Programs and Educational Outreach. As a Project Coordinator at Wayne State University, she developed and managed summer programs for international students visiting the university, led pre-med students on short-term study abroad programs in China, and managed international recruitment initiatives in Canada and India. She is currently pursuing her master’s of public health in epidemiology and biostatistics at the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health. Maggie is a dedicated global health and education accessibility advocate.

Vivek joined BioBuilder in January 2019 when he starting teaching school groups and optimizing new labs to run in our Learning Labs. He holds a PhD in microbiology from Harvard Medical School and a Master’s in education from Lesley University. Before joining BioBuilder, Vivek taught in two area private middle schools and, most recently, in a local STEM after-school program.

Katie is a multidisciplinary scientist with a passion for education. With a PhD in neuroscience from Brandeis University and 2.5+ years of industry experience in translational studies she welcomes the chance to bring her love of science and her wealth of experiences to teach at BioBuilder. Through BioBuilder Katie is excited to share the incredible world of synthetic biology and have a chance to reach a wide variety of students.

Noreen earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Georgia. Throughout her time as a graduate student, she taught extensively as a Teaching Assistant and as an Instructor of Record for several undergraduate courses. While completing her post-doctoral research at Tufts University she developed her own laboratory-based courses as an Adjunct Faculty member at Boston College. Currently she is a Senior Lecturer at MIT teaching courses focused on best practices in experimentation and science communication. Noreen is excited to work with the BioBuilder program to foster curiosity in younger students!

Becky earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Creighton University and her PhD in Neuroscience from Emory University. She moved to Boston to work as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. As a scientist, Becky’s work focused on identifying and characterizing molecular networks which regulate responses to neurotrauma and the progression of neurodegenerative disease. Becky is a lecturer in the department of Biological Engineering at MIT where she teaches classes focused on laboratory skills, scientific communication, and professional development. She is excited to work with students to develop synthetic biology skills in the Learning Lab!

Joe received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from WPI in 2018, and has since worked in the biotech industry in protein analytics and cell line development. He has also found a passion in teaching biotech skills through STEM apprenticeship programs and looks forward to sharing new and exciting technologies with aspiring scientists and engineers.

Shree is a molecular biologist with a PhD on the genomics of insect wing development. He worked as a postdoctoral scientist on the gene networks that control insect ovary development at Harvard University and on salamander limb development in a fossil lab at Carleton University. He has experience in effectively communicating complex biology to a variety of audience and directing college-level courses. He continues to follow his passion in innovating teaching methods and science education through the synthetic biology program at BioBuilder.

One of BioBuilder’s longest serving teaching fellows, Kate has been leading BioBuilder workshops and programs since 2016. Over the years, she has developed and taught Learning Lab workshops to introduce middle and high school students to synthetic biology. She has worked with the BioBuilder’s Apprenticeship Challenge program since its inception n 2016, and started teaching in the Learning Lab in March 2018. She received her Ph.D. in Biology from MIT and previously was an instructor in the MIT Department of Biology.