Ying-Tsu Loh serves as the Executive Director of Biotech and Bioscience Education Community (BABEC), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing hands-on bioscience education for grades 9-14.

Under her leadership since 2016, BABEC engages over 200 teachers annually, providing workshops, in-class support, and access to affordable lab resources. She leads the strategic, operational and business development of this 30-year old nonprofit, driving organizational growth and fostering strong collaborations with educational institutions and nonprofit partners. She is committed to building trust and meaningful partnerships that expand access to high- quality biotechnology education.

Ying-Tsu also co-leads BioSCOPE, the InnovATEBIO Supply Chain Hub, which integrates student-driven manufacturing projects into education. BABEC currently manages several NSF- funded initiatives focused on supply chain and high school pathways.

Previously, Ying-Tsu was adjunct faculty in the Biotechnology Program at City College of San Francisco (2004–2016), where she coordinated internships and co-developed a mentor training project with UCSF. She also managed a DOL-funded environmental monitoring program. Ying- Tsu earned her PhD in agronomy/plant molecular biology from Purdue University and completed postdoctoral research at the DOE-Plant Research Labs, Michigan State University.

Tami served as the Governor’s State Science Advisor and during her tenure led in the creation of the Utah STEM Action Center in 2013, with the support of the Utah Legislature. Tami has over 20 years of creating STEM education and workforce development programs in partnerships across K-12 and higher education, industry and business, state agencies and cultural and community partners. She led the Center in the creation of the Utah STEM Foundation and works with numerous partners in collaborative research efforts to support promising and best practices in STEM program design and implementation. Dr. Goetz received the “40 Under 40 Rising Stars” and “30 Women to Watch” by Utah Business magazine, the Award of Merit by the National Association for Career and Technical Education, the Women Technology Council’s “Community Builder” and “Decade of Impact” award and the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology.

Philip G. Gibson, Ph.D., works at the nexus of education, government, workforce and economic development industries. He has over 37 years of experience in technical education bringing industry together with an emerging workforce through designed preparatory systems. One of the most important of our challenges is to provide opportunity to those seeking it. We must make this a priority.

Phil is the former Director of the Georgia BioScience Training Center. The training center is designed to train employees in biopharma manufacturing industries. It is a state-of-the-art training center capable of delivering biopharma manufacturing training on large-scale equipment typical to industry. As Director of the Georgia BioScience Training Center, Dr. Gibson orchestrated equipping, developing curriculum, delivering training, and industry interactions from inception until his retirement in March 2021.

Dr. Gibson served as PI for a $1.2 MM NSF grant for implementation of an industry-recognized bioscience credential. He served as a consultant to the Talent Accelerator, Community College Workforce Alliance, and Brightpoint Community College in Virginia to create a talent pipeline for the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry initiative to reshore pharmaceutical manufacturing to the US. Additionally, he is Advisory Board Chair for Biotility at the University of Florida which provides high quality education, training, and credentialing to facilitate professional growth in the biotechnology and bioscience industries. He serves on the Workforce Advisory Board of the Healthspan Action Coalition (HSAC) supporting new medical strategies that intervene in the aging process. Dr. Gibson is currently Executive Director of the Georgia Life Sciences Institute at Georgia Life Sciences.

Dr. Megan Damico leads strategic initiatives to grow and organize North Carolina’s bioeconomy, driving interdisciplinary collaboration across life sciences and biotechnology to address complex challenges and unlock new opportunities. She joined NCBiotech in 2023 as a Focused Initiatives Team (FIT) intern, where she conducted foundational research and landscape analyses of the state’s bioeconomy, later serving as a NC STEM Policy Fellow supporting statewide economic and workforce development efforts. Prior to that, she was a Policy Entrepreneur and Bioeconomy Policy Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. Dr. Damico holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from UNC Greensboro.

Maria Chavez is president of BioCurious, a community biotechnology lab where she has volunteered since 2011. Chavez has been the co-organizer of the Global Community Bio Summit for the past six years and is co-organizer of the Bio Summit Leadership Fellows program. Her primary focus includes the creation of more community science spaces and the push to democratize science participation globally. She serves on the board of the Momental Foundation, a grantmaking foundation whose grants support independence in early-career scientific research. She also serves on the board of the Real Vegan Cheese Project, has led two International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) teams, was a member of the Open Insulin Project, and has been in a leadership position for multiple community lab science projects. Chavez has a BS/IT in Programming and Operating Systems and an MBA in Global Management, both from the University of Phoenix.

Bio coming soon.

Hunter Brown is an Associate Program Manager at BioMADE, where he works to expand the biomanufacturing workforce and advance the economic potential of industrial biotechnology. He oversees the full project lifecycle, from helping develop project calls to managing funded projects, all aimed at reshoring advanced biomanufacturing jobs and ultimately strengthening U.S. leadership in the global bioeconomy.

Angela is a nationally recognized leader in skills‑based credentialing for the life sciences workforce. With over 15 years of experience in bioscience education—from K–12 through community college—and a strong background in manufacturing and operations, she brings a rare blend of classroom insight and industry practice.

Prior to founding BCSI in 2020, Angela directed the NSF‑ATE‑funded Kansas City Kansas Biomanufacturing Training Lab (a collaboration between KCKCC and KCK Public Schools), where she built and managed pathways from high school into industry careers. Her leadership helped embed hands‑on training and performance‑based credentialing into regional bioscience education.

At a national level, Angela contributes her expertise as co‑chair of NIIMBL’s Workforce Activities Committee efforts, serves on InnovATEBio’s National Advisory Committee, and the Industry Advisory Board for the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing.