Melissa received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Arizona.  In 2006, she joined Genentech.  During her 13 years with Genentech, Melissa has held a wide variety of positions including; Medical Science Liaison, Medical Science Director on HER2 Breast Cancer Medical Teams, a Managed Care Liaison Field Manager, and most recently Inclusion Principal in the Chief Diversity Office.

 Melissa is focused on developing external partnering strategies to address health equity issues and ensure patients of color have access to clinical trials and quality care by Advancing Inclusive Research.

Greg has been a champion of the innovation economy since he joined Silicon Valley Bank in 1993 as a banker to fast-growing technology companies. Today, he is the CEO of the world’s only bank dedicated to the innovation sector around the world.

Silicon Valley Bank’s mission is to help increase the probability of its innovative clients’ success globally. Under Greg’s leadership, SVB’s growth rate has continued to outpace other banks. SVB has been named one of the best banks in America, one of the fastest growing public companies in the U.S., and one of the best places to work. SVB is also an advocate for entrepreneurs, their investors and corporates in the innovation sector internationally. Greg has been recognized as a top influencer in global finance by Worth Magazine and was named the #1 bank CEO for midcap banks by Institutional Investor Magazine.  

Paula Cobb is Chief Business Officer at gene therapy company Affinia Therapeutics. Paula has led strategy and operations for more than 15 programs advancing them through meaningful milestones ranging from discovery to clinic and approvals to launches. She spent most of her career at Biogen in roles of increasing responsibility across new product planning, program management and franchise management, culminating as Senior Vice President of the Rare Disease group. In this role, she managed a portfolio of clinical and commercial assets across hemophilia, spinal muscular atrophy and other rare genetic diseases with annual revenues over $750 million.

More recently, Paula was the Chief Operating Officer of Decibel Therapeutics, and a Board member of Nightstar Therapeutics, until its acquisition by Biogen in 2019 for $800 million.

Paula is a current Board member of Prothena. She co-founded the LGBT+ employee resource group during her tenure at Biogen, and currently serves on the board of Reaching Out MBA, a national non-profit focused on educating, inspiring and connecting LGBT+ M.B.A. students. She received her B.A. from Amherst College and her M.B.A. from Harvard University.

Mr. Mola is CEO, President and board member of Roswell Biotechnologies, Inc., a company he co-founded in 2014. Previously, he was Head of Global Solutions at Human Longevity, Inc., working with genome sequencing pioneer Craig Venter to establish international precision medicine partnerships.

Prior to that, he spent over a decade at Life Technologies / Applied Biosystems (now part of ThermoFisher Scientific), the global leader in life science tools, and the historical market leader in DNA sequencing technology, where he was President of the Enterprise Genomic Solutions Business Unit and Head of Strategy and Chief of Staff for the Genetic Systems Division. Mr. Mola received the Life Technologies’ “Game Changer” award, the company’s highest honor for work that transforms the company, for his accomplishments, which included supporting the commercialization of the SOLiD sequencing platform, driving the acquisition of the Ion Torrent sequencing platform and engagement with the Genia sequencing platform (later acquired by Roche). Paul was also responsible for driving adoption of population scale sequencing at a global scale, which included the establishment of the national genome sequencing program for the government of Saudi Arabia.

Saundra Pelletier is a mother, daughter, CEO and trailblazer. As the Chief Executive Officer, President and Executive Director of Evofem Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVFM), she sits at the head of a female-forward company revolutionizing women’s healthcare with game-changing products, including Phexxi®, the first - and highly anticipated - hormone-free, on-demand female contraceptive gel.

Since joining Evofem in 2015, Saundra has been responsible for the company’s rapid growth and evolution, including the Company’s transition to the public market in January 2018 and multiple equity financing rounds that have raised in excess of $425 million.

Robin Pelzman has spent over 30 years focused on leadership development; diversity, equity and inclusion; and on creating the space for learning and reflection for individuals, teams, organizations and companies.  As Head, Executive Development at Biogen, the oldest, independent biotech company in the world, she is a member of the Enterprise Learning leadership team; in her role, she crafts pipeline programs to prepare top talent to advance and grow, and offers opportunities for current executives to build networks, knowledge and self-awareness as they advance the company’s strategic and cultural imperatives.  As an acknowledged advocate and practitioner in the DE&I space, she partners with HR and employee groups to strengthen inclusion through learning and engagement. 

A graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of Management, she lives in Brookline, MA. 

Christina Wyman is a seasoned, certified HR and Organizational Development professional with over 20 years of progressive experience, collaborating with business leaders on strategy formulation and implementation.  Her areas of expertise include Executive and Leadership Development, Talent Management, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Learning and Development, Coaching, Mentoring, Change Management, and Employee Relations.  Christina is currently International HR Director at Axcelis Technologies where she leads a global HR team. 

Christina was previously Head of Talent and Learning at Millipore Sigma/Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany; Director of Global Learning and Organizational Development at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Associate Director of Organizational Development at Sanofi Genzyme.