Leadership

Executive Director, Biopharma Alliance Management, Clinical Research Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Karnel Walker brings over 23 years of sales, marketing, and business leadership experience providing laboratory product solutions and outsourced drug manufacturing & development services to biopharmaceutical & life sciences customers. For the past nine years, Karnel has contributed to the success of multiple Thermo Fisher Scientific business groups, including Thermo Scientific Analytical Instruments, Patheon Pharmaceutical Services, and currently serves as an executive director in global alliance management for PPD’s clinical research services. Prior to joining Thermo Fisher Scientific, Karnel led a North American regional sales team for PerkinElmer’s analytical instruments division.

Karnel received the 2018 CEO Involvement Award for his leadership in STEM diversity & inclusion and currently serves as a strategic advisory board member for Thermo Fisher’s African Heritage Business Resource Group (AHBRG). Karnel holds a B.S. in Chemistry from George Mason University, is a member of the American Chemical Society, and serves on the scientific advisory board for two STEM secondary schools located in New Jersey and North Carolina.

President, Fox Valve Development Corp.

Larry, along with Dr. Paul Winslow, is one of the Co-Founders of Students 2 Science. A Princeton graduate in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Larry is President of Fox Valve Development Corp., a high technology engineering and manufacturing firm. His technical expertise and fine business sense have enabled him to diversify his company’s customer base from primarily aerospace to include broader industrial markets such as food, chemicals, paper, power, and plastics.

Larry has been committed to and active in science education for 40 years. He spent a year as a science teacher in Caracas, Venezuela, and is a frequent guest teacher in the New Jersey public schools. His lectures in various high school calculus and physics classes show students how the math they are learning has real-world applications, such as in theoretical aerodynamics.

Larry has served as a Trustee for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (2000-2008; 2011-2013) and was appointed to the Small Business Advisory Committee under Timothy Geithner at the New York Federal Reserve Bank (2007-2009).

Senior Vice President—IT Finance, Sourcing and Portfolio Management, Cencora Corporation

Probi brings a wealth of experience in health care, supporting diverse functions that include R&D, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, In-Licensing, Capital Planning, and Strategic Planning. In addition, he brings significant leadership skills in achieving complex business objectives in matrixed, global, and multicultural organizations.

Most recently, he served as Vice President & Global Head of R&D Finance for Allergan. Prior to Allergan, he was with Daiichi Sankyo, where he led the worldwide financial management of global R&D operations. Previously, Probi was with Merck, where he had financial responsibility for Merck R&D Partnerships, Joint Ventures, and Emerging Markets. He also held roles of increasing responsibility in various finance functions at Schering-Plough, including Head of R&D Finance from 2004-2009.

Probi received a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from Boston University, where he graduated with high honors and was nominated to Beta Gamma Sigma.

“Probi has been an avid supporter of S2S and a mentor of its students since 2012. He brings a passion for promoting STEM education, which he believes is foundational for sustained value creation and prosperity in our society.”

President & CEO, Erica Ferry & Associates LLC

Erica Ferry works with a variety of corporate and nonprofit clients to develop and implement corporate social responsibility strategies and programs. Before starting her company in 2010, Erica was President of the Schering-Plough Foundation and Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Schering-Plough Corporation, a global pharmaceutical company. Her responsibilities included building and enhancing key stakeholder relationships and leading the company’s multi-million dollar philanthropy programs and other social responsibility initiatives. Prior to Schering-Plough, she served as Director of Community Relations and Contributions Programs for Pharmacia Corporation and Executive Director of the Pharmacia Foundation. She began her professional career at the New Jersey Alliance for Action and served the organization in several different capacities.

Erica received a BA in Communication and a Masters in Communication and Information Studies from Rutgers University. She holds a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from Seton Hall University and a certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from HBX | Harvard Business School. Erica was named one of NJBIZ’s Best Fifty Women in Business and recognized as one of New Jersey’s Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs.

Head US Corporate Responsibility and President, US Novartis Foundation

Dr Linda Armstrong has more than 20 years of experience in biopharmaceutical research. She is currently the Head of US Corporate Responsibility and President at US Novartis Foundation. Prior to that, she held the position of US site head for Global Development at Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.

Linda has held executive roles in several pharmaceutical research and development organizations including positions in clinical development, patient safety and medical affairs. She has supported the development of innovative therapies to address unmet medical needs in disease areas such as asthma, COPD, hematologic malignancies, and cystic fibrosis. Prior to her current role, she held management positions at Schering-Plough Corporation (now Merck) and Pfizer Inc.

Linda is a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. She is a trained Pulmonologist and was on the faculty of New York University School of Medicine prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry. Linda is passionate about mentoring the next generation of drug developers and scientists.

Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Paul is a trusted advisor to senior executives providing guidance on value enhancing strategic matters to some of the Firm’s largest clients. With more than 30 years of experience, including Big 4 audit and advisory services, in addition to private equity, and Fortune 100 VP level roles , Paul helps to lead the Firm’s continuous evolution of how it works, and how it views marketplace challenges to deliver measurable, sustainable results to clients and communities.

Paul currently serves as Advisory’s National Financial Services Sustainability leader, helping banking and capital markets companies navigate environmental, social and governance issues, including brand and regulatory matters.

Prior to his current role, Paul led the Firm’s National Integration, Divestiture & SEC Readiness Services, helping clients strategize and execute on critical finance transformation initiatives, including advising some of the Firm’s largest clients; guiding them through complex multi-billion dollar mergers, divestitures, and IPO’s. Paul also previously served as Deloitte’s global Brand Operations Services Managing Partner, providing brand and reputational risk solutions to industry leading clients in 125 countries around the world.

Paul is a licensed CPA in New Jersey and New York and is a graduate of Bucknell University where he received a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Executive Director, Human Resources, Quest Diagnostics

Ebony David has spent her entire career in the Human Resources Function in multiple organizations and industries. Ebony’s experiences are primarily in HR Business Partnership, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and most recently, Inclusion & Diversity.

As the Executive Director of Human Resources at Quest Diagnostics, Ebony is a strategic business partner to the SVP of Clinical Franchises & Marketing and the SVP of Commercial. Her focus is to translate the business strategy and organizational needs into an achievable HR strategy. That HR strategy includes focusing on organizational capabilities, talent management, building a performance culture, and driving operational excellence while having a little bit of fun. Ebony has also been named the Head of Inclusion & Diversity for Quest Diagnostics.

Prior to joining Quest Diagnostics, Ebony was Vice President of Human Resources at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Her earlier roles included Director of Human Resources for Terminal & Refining and Director of Talent Acquisition for Hess Corporation. She began her career in Human Resources in the retail sector with 800Flowers.com, Avis Rent a Car, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Ebony has her Bachelor of Business Administration from Hofstra University.

Executive Director, Compliance, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Iliana Garcia was born and raised in Mexico City. She moved to the United States in 2010. Iliana is currently an Executive Director of JPMorgan Chase in the Compliance area. In her role she is responsible for the development and execution of the Compliance program for several areas, including Card Services, Product & Digital and Connected Commerce. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Iliana worked at American Express for over 13 years in Mexico and the United States where se held several roles in the General Counsel’s Office and Global Compliance & Ethics Departments.

Iliana holds a law degree from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City and an LL.M degree in Banking, Corporate and Finance Law from Fordham University, Law School in New York.

Iliana firmly believes that education is the key to success and an effective way to mitigate economic and social disparities. As the mother of two young children, she is passionate about the enrichment of children’s minds through high quality learning experiences and opportunities. Iliana’s daughter, Sophia and her enthusiasm for math and science, inspired Iliana to join the Board of Students 2 Science, which will allow Iliana to contribute to the organization’s goal of leveling the education gap in the United States by bringing STEM education to economically disadvantaged students.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Business Partner, Sanofi

Shane Nelson currently serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Business Partner for Sanofi. In this role, he works with the company’s business units and functions in strategizing across all things diversity, equity and inclusion. He collaborates with Global teams, Talent, HR, Learning & Development, CSR and Corporate Affairs on embedding DE&I in different processes and initiatives across the business.

Prior to Sanofi, Shane was a Principal at Culture@Work, a division of Seramount (formerly known as Working Mother Media). He worked with global companies to design culture change and engagement strategies that maximized D&I efforts. In this role, Shane conducted culture assessments and inclusion diagnostics that mapped workplace challenges and delivered tailored client solutions. He designed and moderated employee listening sessions (virtual focus groups), hearing nearly 7,000 across-industry perspectives on organizational culture, inclusion, engagement, workplace bias, talent management, leader effectiveness and team dynamics.

Prior to Culture@Work, Shane spent 14 years at DiversityInc, holding numerous positions, including debriefing senior executives on their DiversityInc Top 50 survey results, and offering best practices and recommendations on next steps. Shane oversaw the content strategy for the DiversityInc Top 50 event, the company’s flagship event, and was the editor of DiversityInc Best Practices website, which offered articles, research, videos and webinars across the full spectrum of D&I management.

Shane is a board member of Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss. Imagine is a grief support center for children, young adults and families dealing with the death or life-altering illness of a parent, sibling or child. The organization provides free peer grief support year-round for as long as is needed.

Shane holds a BA in Political Science and Government, and an Executive MBA from Rutgers University.

Sr. Director, NA Channel Management, Laboratory Products Division, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Stan is a passionate professional who has a heart to serve others and especially those who are less fortunate. He is the Sr. Director, NA Channel Management at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Special expertise include launching new business efforts, building and leading top-performing teams, and driving the penetration of new markets. Stan is an educated product of a Historically Black College and University, St. Paul’s College and spends meaningful hours mentoring youth of all ethnicities through his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi.

Stan has been an active and committed member of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s diversity and inclusion strategies since its inception. He serves as Strategic Advisor of the African Heritage Employee Resource Group and has been instrumental in supporting a number of meaningful STEM related programs and none better than S2S. He has assisted with donations to S2S Technology Centers in East Hanover and Newark. Stan has been an active participant in S2S programs and is excited about the opportunity to assist S2S with meeting all of its strategic plans and objectives in the near future.

Chairman & CEO of Viscot Medical LLC

Gary Pieringer, Chairman & CEO of Viscot Medical LLC graduated from The United States Military Academy at West Point and achieved an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He has also achieved patents in Medical Devices.

Viscot Medical has become a leading global manufacturer of surgical skin markers, medication labels, and patient safety products, offering the widest variety of surgical marker tips and sizes. Surgeons around the world use surgical markers to clearly mark the surgical site prior to surgery to prevent “Wrong Site Surgery,” and Viscot Medical’s efforts limit a leading cause of medical malpractice losses and preventable patient pain and suffering.