Brian Darmody serves as CEO of the Association of University Research Parks (AURP), a global nonprofit building communities of innovation in 42 states and 12 countries sponsored by universities, hospital systems, government labs and cities and the firms planning and building these communities. The largest number of AURP members are clustered in the DC/Md/Va region. Darmody launched the AURP Bio Health Caucus that focuses on planning and building life science facilities across the globe and is co-author with Rich Bendis of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology Creating Communities of Life Science Innovation in the U.S.: History of Critical Factors That Helped the Bio Health Capital Region Emerge, March 2021.

Previously, he was the University’s AVP for Corporate and Foundation Relations in the Division of University Relations, AVP for Research and Economic Development, Special Assistant Vice Chancellor for Technology Development for University System of Maryland, Director of State and Federal Relations in the UMD President’s Office and served in the university’s legal counsel office. He worked for the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration Office of Attorney-Advisor and for a member of Congress and member of Maryland House of Delegates.

He is a frequent author and speaker and serves on national and state boards, including Bio Health Capital Region Forum Planning Committee, Fraunhofer USA, and the Maryland Technology Corporation Venture Board. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore, and he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dr. Anne Khademian was named to serve as the Universities at Shady Grove’s third executive director in October 2020, following a nationwide search and her appointment to the post by Dr. Jay Perman, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland. As executive director of USG – a regional higher education center of USM in Montgomery County, with programs from nine universities on one campus – Dr. Khademian also holds the title of Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for USM.

Before joining USG, Dr. Khademian served most recently as a Presidential Fellow and professor at Virginia Tech, where she enjoyed a stellar 17-year career that included several years as director of the School of Public and International Affairs. A longtime resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, she served in her presidential fellowship in Virginia Tech’s Research Center in Arlington, near Washington, D.C. In that capacity, she supported the collaborative implementation of “Beyond Boundaries” initiatives, working across the university’s campuses and stakeholder committees to support organizational innovation and growth.

With nearly three decades of experience in higher education, Dr. Khademian is a nationally recognized scholar and author in the areas of inclusive leadership and organizational change. As director of the School of Public and International Affairs in Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies for seven years, she led the school through a period of significant growth and transformation, including the introduction of new academic degrees and programs; increased student enrollment; new faculty hires; forging of new global partnerships and initiatives; and extended outreach into the local community.

Dr. Khademian’s research focuses on leadership and organizational culture, inclusive management, policy networks, and the work of organizations involved in homeland security and financial regulation. She is the author of three books: Working with Culture: The Way the Job Gets Done in Public Programs (CQ Press, 2002); Checking on Banks: Autonomy and Accountability in Three Federal Agencies (Brookings, 1996); and The SEC and Capital Market Regulation: The Politics of Expertise (University of Pittsburgh Press 1992). She has also published numerous articles on public management and public policy.

Dr. Khademian is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization established by Congress to assist government leaders in building more-effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations.

As part of her leadership in the community, Dr. Khademian serves on the boards of both the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. She is also on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, National Capital Region for the Montgomery, Howard and Frederick Counties Chapter and the Board of Directors for Smart City Works. In addition, she is a member of the Leadership Montgomery CORE Class of 2023.

Dr. Khademian holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration from Michigan State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Political Science and Government from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a cross country and track star while at Michigan State and in 2016 she was inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dr. Khademian also hosts a video podcast series called "This is USG" and an audio podcast entitled "AKA Innovation," which showcases innovative leadership and business practices that can help to drive transformation and innovation in education.

As the CEO of TEDCO—Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies—Troy leads the organization’s mission to support economic development through the cultivation of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. He brings to bear more than 25 years of experience in investment management, higher education, telecommunications, information/communication technology, and management consulting in this leadership role.

Prior to joining TEDCO, Troy was the chief operating officer at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), the nation’s only urban land-grant university. UDC encompasses a six-site community college, a four-year baccalaureate campus, and a law school, and serves 7,000 degree- and certificate-seeking students. He oversaw an array of critical functions at UDC, including capital construction, communications, emergency management, enrollment services, facilities management, government relations, information management, institutional research, marketing, public safety, risk management, and strategic planning, to name a just a few.

An entrepreneur at heart and in spirit, Troy founded the management consulting firms LeMaile-Stovall LLC and GTMS Partners, LLC. He also co-founded and served as the first president and CEO of GulfSouth Capital. His resume includes positions as the interim president of Zenith Education Group; principal at Butler Snow Advisory Services; executive vice president and chief operating officer of Howard University; and senior vice president and chief financial officer Jackson State (Mississippi) University, where he was awarded the Thurgood Marshall HBCU CFO of the Year. Earlier in his career, Troy held positions at McKinsey & Company, Southwestern Bell Telephone (now AT&T), AT&T Bell Labs, and Rockwell international.

Troy is a subject matter expert in capital stack formation and a frequent speaker on venture capital, economic development, and higher education administration, among other topics. He has published articles on entrepreneurship, venture capital, economic development, diversity and inclusion, and higher education. His expertise has been recognized through the various awards he has received including the Dealmakers Award and the Most Admired CEO, among others.

Founded by a female, solo-GP with a PhD in Biophysics, Ecphora Capital’s founder boasts an extensive background, having deployed over $15M into medical startups. Additionally, she has been involved in the founding, funding, and board membership of 53 startups allowing for unparalleled expertise and support to portfolio companies.

Prayas Neupane serves as MCEDC’s Director of Economic Development, focusing on bringing new companies to the county. He is also the primary point of contact for site selectors. Prayas brings a wealth of experience in economic development, having recently served as the Director of Business Attraction and Expansion for the Washington, DC. Economic Partnership. In that capacity, he led efforts to attract new companies to the nation’s capital and helped develop Business Retention & Expansion efforts geared towards strengthening the business ecosystem, advancing inclusive prosperity and fostering economic growth in the District.

Previously, Prayas was a Program Director for Enterprise Advisors, where he developed a socio-economic development business line to assist cities in taking an inclusive and equitable approach to economic growth. His experience includes working as a Neighborhood Business Manager for the City of Boston, Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, where he led the City’s efforts to support local, minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE), and build its capacity to pursue contracting opportunities. Prayas also led the City’s Food Truck program, providing one-on-one technical assistance for a wide variety of businesses.

Prayas has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Richmond, and continued his studies to obtain a Master of Arts at Brandeis University in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. He is an active member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

Andrew Schwartz establishes trusting and communicative relationships with his clients, which helps him better understand their particular circumstances in order to achieve their desired goals. Andrew prides himself on being proactive, responsive and dedicated to each and every client. He serves as outside general counsel to a range of companies in various industries. Andrew focuses his practice on commercial transactions, employment law, real estate, and successful business growth, management, operation, and succession.

With his knowledge and wealth of experience in business, real estate and employment law, Andrew thoroughly understands the concerns and issues his clients bring to him. He deeply engages himself with his clients’ business, and works hard to understand what drives them. Andrew’s practice encompasses all manner of transactions related to mergers, acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and employment agreements. A particular passion is helping and advising clients on business start-ups and growing their business ventures.

His corporate representation includes drafting and reviewing contracts and structuring corporate governance, including drafting limited liability company, partnership, corporate and joint venture agreements. He frequently is asked to speak to business owners on topics such as business entity choice, navigating business controversies and disputes and practical and legal aspects of business succession planning and employment matters. Andrew frequently makes public speaking appearances, for professional associations and events

Bibhash is an investment fund manager, investor, company builder and board member with almost 2 decades of experience in biotech. He is the CEO of Sapient Biotech, which is currently building a sector-specialized investment fund that invests exclusively in biotech companies, both private and small-cap public, with a fundamental, bottom-up, absolute-return strategy. It is also building a fund focused on rare diseases with a double bottom-line mandate for return on mission and return on investment. Through DW Wealth Management, he also advises various Family Offices and Disease foundations on investing in the healthcare sector. Previously, he was a co-founder and GP in Sound Bioventures and an investor with the biotech practice of a large, diversified venture fund, NEA. Prior to that he has operating experience in business development, portfolio management and corporate strategy functions at both AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. He has led, managed and exited multiple private and public biotech investments, participated in multiple major in-licensing, divestiture and acquisitions and cross-border Europe / US deals and has had advisory roles in several life science incubators and healthcare delivery non-profits. His education spans 3 continents culminating with a PhD in the biology of retinal degeneration from Baylor College of Medicine.

Susan Mitchell has a 20+-year track record of success delivering grants management, research and evaluation, logistics, and technical assistance solutions to government, industry, and the community. Susan is committed to improving access to and success in education, healthcare, workforce, and economic development. Ms. Mitchell serves on the board of directors for Virginia Career Works and STEM for Her, is a Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce GovCon Committee Chair, and was tapped to serve on the Loudoun County Economic Development Advisory Commission (Life Sciences Sector), appointed by the Board of Supervisors and supports DEIA efforts as the Chair of the Loudoun Chamber Toolkit subcommittee. With innovation, education and empowerment as cornerstones, she leads a team of doctors and scientists dedicated to using their Sterling, Virginia CLIA diagnostic testing lab as an asset for the progression of therapeutic developments. She and her team are a driving force behind social and health equity endeavors that positively impact population health, product commercialization, and pipeline development.

Rupali Lach is Vice President of Commercial Operations at ATCC, where she leads global

commercial strategy across product management, sales, marketing, customer experience and

strategic partnership. She is leading a broad transformation of how ATCC brings its biological

materials, data, and scientific expertise to researchers, biopharma companies and public-sector

partners around the world.

Rupali brings more than 25 years of experience in biotechnology and life sciences. Before

joining ATCC, she spent 17 years at Thermo Fisher Scientific in commercial leadership roles

spanning strategic partnerships, licensing, market development, and market intelligence. Her

career has included work across pharma, biotech, diagnostics, healthcare, academia, and

government. She previously held roles at BD and Genome Therapeutics. Rupali holds a Master

of Liberal Arts in Management from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in

Microbiology and Molecular Medicine from Clemson University.

Patrick Conley is a Senior Scientist within the Science and Technology division of Merrick and Company.  In his role, Patrick is the primary healthcare liaison for Merrick’s healthcare services platform designed to assist healthcare institutions manage the environment care, hazardous materials and waste, hazardous drugs and hazardous biologics, and infection prevention services, as well as to support clinical laboratories and therapeutic productions facilities operate at their best.  
As a dedicated biosafety professional and industrial hygienist, Patrick has focused on developing value driven safety programs and services supporting basic research, translational medicine, patient care, and community education. Patrick has a bachelor’s in microbiology and a master’s degree in industrial hygiene, as well as is a certified Industrial Hygienist, a certified Biosafety Professional, a registered Biosafety Officer, and a certified Infection Preventionist.
Prior to coming to Merrick, Patrick was the Director of IBC Operations at Clinical Biosafety Services, where he led a team of credentialed biosafety and clinical safety professionals to provide Institutional Biosafety Committee and Biosafety services to healthcare providers, nurses, and clinical research personnel conducting human gene transfer research at clinics and hospital facilities across the continental United States and beyond.  
Patrick’s work history includes 7 years of bench research working on sexually transmitted diseases, invasive diseases, biotoxins, and select agents and toxins and 13 years as a Director within the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Office of Safety and Business Continuity. Through his director’s role, Patrick managed UT Southwestern’s Institutional Biosafety Committee, Chemical Safety Committee, select agent and toxin program, biosafety program, chemical safety program, industrial hygiene program, hazardous waste program, and environmental compliance program. Additionally, through his role as the hazmat section chief of the UT Southwestern Environment of Care Committee, Patrick managed all hazardous materials and waste programs within the UT Southwestern ambulatory clinics and hospital facilities.
Patrick is a passionate safety educator, training developer, and community speaker who has worked with the numerous professional organizations, S.T.A.R.S Program, UT Southwestern, and the Dallas Independent School District to encourage high school students to enter the fields of science and medicine. He and his family enjoy traveling, hiking, and the outdoor life, especially when it involves mountains, snow, and wildlife.

Charu McDermott, AIA, LEED AP is an Associate Vice President at CannonDesign, a

different kind of design firm, where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering and

social good converge to create meaningful impact. Based in the Washington, D.C.

office, Charu is part of the Science and Technology team whose mission is to design

transformational facilities that foster breakthroughs. She holds a Bachelor of Science

and a Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan. With over two decades of

experience, Charu has worked on all phases of project design from programming

through construction administration. Charu loves to dive into complex laboratory

projects with her team and clients. She's not afraid to ask questions and is relentless in

her pursuit to pull together the right resources to arrive at the best design solutions.

Charu knows that well-designed, optimized spaces drive industry-defining innovation in

human health.

Colin Regan has 13 years of experience at Whiting-Turner, specializing in the Science & Technology and Mission Critical sectors throughout Maryland and the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. In addition to his project responsibilities, Colin serves as Whiting-Turner's Science & Technology Regional Coordinator, helping drive market strategy and business development efforts for life sciences and pharmaceutical projects across the D.C. region.

An active industry professional, Colin is involved with several organizations, including the Maryland Tech Council, International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), NAIOP, and the Building Congress & Exchange. He is passionate about mentoring future industry professionals and serves as an annual guest lecturer on Sustainable Engineering & Construction at his alma mater, Bucknell University. Colin also contributes to the university as a member of the ABET Advisory Board for the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Colin earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Bucknell University in 2013 and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2018.

Since joining Scheer Partners in 2003, Matt Brady, Senior Vice President has successfully completed commercial real estate transactions for over 1,000,000 square feet of office, R&D and industrial space totaling close to $100 million in transaction value. For over six years Matt has concentrated his efforts on providing comprehensive real estate services and has extensive experience in executing complex projects consisting of leasing, strategic facility planning/consulting, acquisitions and financing. Matt’s knowledge of the market and dedicated problem-solving skills has enhanced his ability to add value to transactions through skilled and professional advice, superior negotiating skills and unique technical aptitude.

Interior Biotech and Life Science builder with decades of experiences in Vivarium, BSL, and pharmaceutical manufacturing spaces.