As associate director of United Therapeutics’ corporate real estate department, Thomas is responsible for site due diligence, acquisitions, planning, design and construction. In his 7 years with United Therapeutics, he has overseen more than $300 M worth of projects and has helped grow the real estate portfolio by more than 500,000 sqft. In addition to building the facilities required by United Therapeutics to produce its life-saving therapies, Thomas and the corporate real estate department strive to create spaces that are physical manifestations of United Therapeutics’ values. Prior to joining UT, Thomas worked on the planning and execution of the District of Columbia’s Water and Sewer capital improvement program.

Peter Greenleaf currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Aurinia. From March 2018 to April 2019, Peter served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cerecor, Inc. From March 2014 to February 2018, Peter served as CEO and Chairman of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCMP). Sucampo was focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to meet major unmet medical needs of patients worldwide and was sold in February 2018 to UK pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt PLC. From June 2013 to March 2014, Peter served as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Histogenics Corporation, a regenerative medicine company. From 2006 to 2013, he was employed by Medlmmune LLC, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, where he most recently served as President. From January 2010 to June 2013, Peter also served as President of Medlmmune Ventures, a wholly owned venture capital fund within the AstraZeneca Group. Prior to serving as President of Medlmmune, Peter was Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations of the company, responsible for its commercial, corporate development, and strategy functions. He has also held senior commercial roles at Centocor, Inc. (now Jansen Biotechnology, Johnson & Johnson) from 1998 to 2006 and at Boehringer Mannheim (now Roche Holdings) from 1996 to 1998. Peter currently chairs the Maryland Venture Fund Authority, whose vision is to oversee implementation of Invest Maryland, a public-private partnership to spur venture capital investment in the state. He is also currently a member of the Board of Directors of Antares Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRS) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Biodelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI). Peter earned an MBA from St. Joseph's University and a B.S. from Western Connecticut State University.

Peter’s significant executive management, leadership, corporate development, and commercial operations experience in the biopharmaceutical industry enables him to provide valuable insight to our Board of Directors.

Jeffrey has over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry. He joined Vigene in 2016 and orchestrated the acquisition of Omnia Biologics. He has also overseen Vigene’s expansion into GMP manufacturing and new product areas such as biosensors. An experienced entrepreneur, Jeffrey was instrumental in successfully growing GenScript and SABiosciences, two previous companies, to IPO and acquisition stage, respectively. He also previously held the position of Chief Marketing Officer at ATCC. Jeffrey is the author of multiple patents, publications, and book chapters. He holds a Ph.D. in genetics from Cornell University, an MBA from UC Berkeley, and a B.S. in biology from Peking University.

As the President and Chief Executive Officer of MCEDC, Ben Wu leads the economic development of Maryland’s largest jurisdiction, which comprises 25% of the state’s economy and has a GDP greater than 13 states. A Montgomery County native, Ben is an accomplished executive with over three decades of professional experience leading operations at the highest levels of our nation and state.

An internationally recognized technology policy expert, Ben brings to MCEDC a dynamic portfolio of promoting economic competitiveness. He has a distinguished career focused on technology-led economic growth, as well as a proven record of driving transformative initiatives and creating partnership alliances with industry, government, and academia.

Ben is focused on bolstering collaborations with state and national partners while also working with local and regional stakeholders to strengthen Montgomery County’s economy, grow jobs, and support business expansion. He is positioning MCEDC to help lead the change in the County’s economic ecosystem and competitiveness strategies.

Previously, Ben played a leadership role in the significant reforms to Maryland’s economic development structure and business friendliness that delivered record growth and the state’s lowest unemployment rate in over a decade. Under Governor Larry Hogan, Ben served as the Commerce Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer. He helped forward the Governor’s economic agenda, championed the Maryland Open for Business campaign, and led the creation of the state’s Department of Commerce. He worked with the General Assembly and key stakeholders to execute a bold economic development strategic plan that focused on operational excellence through exceptional customer service, a more competitive business climate, advancement of innovation and entrepreneurship, and expansion of international trade.

Ben is a former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy under President George W. Bush. He administered the nation’s technology and innovation strategy and exercised supervisory management over the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the nation’s oldest federal laboratory. Ben also served as the Co-Chair of the National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, which led interagency coordination on national priorities with federal laboratories including the National Institutes of Health and regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration.

Prior to joining the executive branch, Ben worked in the U.S. Congress, serving as counsel for 13 years to Montgomery County Congresswoman Connie Morella and the Technology Subcommittee of the House Science Committee, which she chaired, overseeing the nation’s technology development and international competitiveness.

Ben has been active on the boards of multiple national and local Montgomery County organizations, including serving as a board member for the Make-a-Wish Mid-Atlantic Chapter, the Strathmore Foundation, and the Universities at Shady Grove. He is a past Trustee of Montgomery College and a graduate of Leadership Montgomery.

Travis McCready is the head of life sciences markets in the Americas for JLL, one of the largest commercial real

estate advisories in the world. In this capacity, he leads a multi-country platform that includes brokerage, capital

markets, project management, consulting & advisory, and valuation services for life sciences companies, developers

and investors. He also co-leads the firms Innovation Districts Practice, helping plan, build and finance innovation

districts all over North America.

Travis has over 25 years of experience leading public, private, and non-profit ventures with a focus on technology

and innovation based economic development. The former President & CEO of the $1.6 billion life sciences funding

agency Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Travis is passionate about supporting tech-based entrepreneurship

and is a frequent speaker on the evolving role of technology-based economic development at the community and

regional level. He remains active in the life sciences community serving on the boards of the global business

accelerator MassChallenge, the global life sciences business enabler Nucleate, and Wentworth Institute of

Technology in Boston. He also serves in advisory capacities at Harvard University, MIT, and Johns Hopkins

University. No stranger to public service, Travis has served on the Economic Development Planning Council under

three Massachusetts governors, has been appointed to state and national initiatives ranging from the arts to

advanced manufacturing.

Travis received his B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, and J.D. from the University of Iowa.

Brad Stewart is a serial biotech entrepreneur working to grow Montgomery County, Maryland’s economy. At the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, he leads strategy and innovation and also an expert team of economic development specialists focused on growing a diverse cross-section of businesses—including the life sciences, technology, cybersecurity, defense and hospitality. He chaired Maryland Life Sciences for a decade, the State affiliate of BIO, and is currently Chair of the Maryland Tech Council. Previously, Brad served as Chief Executive Officer of Immunology Partners and Chief Executive Officer of Cylex, Inc., where he executed a turnaround for an early-stage, venture capital-backed company (Roche, Siemens, Canaan Partners).