The Arizona Bioindustry Association, Inc. (AZBio) elected its 2024 officers at its January Board meeting.
Kevin Parker, Vice President, Precision Oncology Business Operations for Exact Sciences was elected Chairman of the Board. Parker joined the AZBio Bard in 2022 and served as vice chair in 2023.
Photo by Tavits Photography
Founded in 2003, AZBio supports life science innovation and life science innovators in Arizona. A key component in Arizona’s life science ecosystem, AZBio is the only statewide organization exclusively focused on Arizona’s bioscience industry. AZBio membership includes patient advocacy organizations, life science innovators, educators, healthcare partners, philanthropists, and leading business organizations. AZBio members employ over 345,000 Arizonans.
AZBio works locally and nationally to advance health innovation and to ensure that the value delivered from life-changing and life-saving innovations benefit people in Arizona and around the world.
“As AZBio embarks on its third decade of service to our community, our leaders share their expertise and guide our progress as we work to support our members as they do the work which will double the size and impact of our health innovation community by 2033,” stated AZBio president and CEO, Joan Koerber-Walker.
Kevin Parker, Vice President, Precision Oncology Business Operations for Exact Sciences was elected Chairman of the Board. Parker joined the AZBio Bard in 2022 and served as vice chair in 2023.
“Arizona is one of the top emerging bioscience leaders and AZBio is strongly committed to providing advocacy and programs that support the bioscience community in Arizona. AZBio is proud to support strong statewide collaborations across industry, government, and academic institutions that are the heart of the growing success of Arizona’s bioscience industry,” said AZBio Chairman, Kevin Parker
Jeff Vallerga, Vice President, Business Development for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) was reelected to serve as Secretary.
Jeff Singleton, Managing Director, Tax, for EY was reelected to serve as Treasurer.
“Building great communities and great businesses start with wise investments. Arizona’s bioscience industry is built on a foundation of great universities, leading life science institutes and innovative companies that work together to make life better for people in Arizona and around the world.”
Kristen Swingle, President and Chief Operating Officer for the Critical Path Institute, served as AZBio Board Chairwoman from 2018 to 2023 and will continue to serve on the executive committee.
“It has been an immense pleasure and honor to serve as Chairwoman of AZBio over the past 6 years. I’m excited to continue to serve the organization in our vision to be a Top 10 Bioscience State within the next decade,” shared Swingle.
2024 AZBio Directors and Officers
Chairman: Kevin Parker, Vice President, Precision Oncology Business Operations, Exact Sciences *
Treasurer: Jeffrey Singleton, Managing Director, Tax EY *
Secretary: Jeff Vallerga, Vice President, Business Development, Biotechnology Innovation Organization
Immediate Past Chairwoman: Kristen Swingle, President & Chief Operating Officer, Critical Path Institute (C-Path)*
AZBio President & CEO: Joan Koerber-Walker *
AZBio Board Members
Mara G. Aspinall, Founder, Health Catalysts; Partner, Illumina Ventures
Kiran Avancha, Ph.D., R.Ph, CCRP, Chief Innovation Officer, HonorHealth; Cofounder & CEO, PriZm Therapeutics
Jennifer K. Barton, Ph.D., Director, BIO5 Institute, The University of Arizona
James Bates, CEO & Founder, AdviNow Medical, Inc.
Peter Bawin, MBA, Global VP, Commercial Life Sciences, CooperSurgical
Tony Caldwell, JD, Partner, Snell & Wilmer *
Caron Davis, Administrative Director, Center for Cancer Prevention and Early Detection, City of Hope and TGen (Translational Genomics Research Institute) *
David A. Dexter, General Manager, Joint Ventures, for the Quest Diagnostics Operations in Arizona, President & CEO, Sonora Quest Laboratories, LLC, President & CEO, Laboratory Sciences of Arizona, LLC
Thomas Eisiminger, Jr., President & CEO, Regenesis Medical, Inc.
Renae Franz, Principal, Acacia Consultants
Shannon Groppenbacher, Director of Healthcare Policy and Advocacy, Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems Inc.
MaryAnn Guerra, MBA, CEO, and founder, Aesthetics Biomedical
Matt Hutchings, National Sales Director, Leukemia & Transplant Team, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Jason Jardine, Partner, Knobbe Martens *
Daniel J. Kasprzyk, Co-founder, President & CEO, Symple Surgical, Co-founder, President & CEO, Poba Medical
Cathy Langham, President & CEO, Langham Logistics
Steven Lester, MD, Medical Director, Discovery Oasis, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Medtech Accelerator, Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Charles McWilliams, Vice President, Strategic Alliances, and West Area Sales, VWR, part of Avantor
Jeff Morton, Partner, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
Elliott Mufson, PhD, Professor, Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute
Stephen Munk, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University
Mary O’Reilly, PhD, Vice President, Bioscience Research Programs, Flinn Foundation
David B. Patience, Chief Financial Officer, Accelerate Diagnostics
Steve Potts, PhD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, SLAM Biotherapeutics
Alex Tessmer, MBA, Associate Director, Ideation, BD Peripheral Intervention
Nathan Trembath, General Manager, Phoenix, AZ, Bristol Myers Squibb
Sandra Watson, President & CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority
Kyle Wesley, Senior Engineering Manager | Product Design | Product Development, Medtronic *
Claudia Whitehead, Bioscience Healthcare Program Manager, City of Phoenix
Russ Yelton, President, Yelton and Associates *
(* Member of the Executive Committee)
To learn more about the AZBio Board of Directors and read their bio sketches, visit https://www.azbio.org/azbio-board-of-directors