Future of Cambridge & Life Sciences

Jay Ash serves as the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Secretary Ash is responsible for directing and executing Governor Charlie Baker’s agenda on housing and community development, job creation, business development, consumer affairs, and business regulation. Since joining the Baker-Polito Administration, Secretary Ash has prioritized efforts to grow jobs, help communities realize their economic development priorities, connect citizens to new economic opportunities, and build prosperity across Massachusetts. Under Secretary Ash’s leadership, the Commonwealth has substantially increased its commitment to public infrastructure that unlocks economic development, to the revitalization of Brownfields, to workforce training equipment, and to the development and commercialization of emerging technologies. He has led efforts to increase affordable housing production, to redevelop and modernize public housing communities, and to substantially reduce the number of homeless families sheltered in motel rooms. Secretary Ash has played a leadership role in the recruitment and expansion of major employers, including Amazon, General Electric, IBM Watson Health, Kronos, and Siemens. Secretary Ash previously served as the city manager in his native Chelsea, a position he held from 2000 to 2014. In Chelsea, Secretary Ash’s leadership produced both economic expansion and fiscal stability. He grew the city’s housing stock, expanded its commercial base, developed 10 new parks, secured five credit rating increases, and won two All-America City designations for Chelsea. He previously served as the staff director to the Massachusetts House Majority Leader, as co-founder and vice-chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, as past president of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, as a board member of the public policy think tank MassINC, and as an elected trustee of his alma mater, Clark University.

Dr. Jak Knowles joined as Vice President Venture Investments in March of 2018. Prior to joining Bayer Jak served as CEO of CytoSen Therapeutics, Inc. an immunotherapy company focused on developing Natural Killer cell therapies for oncology indications. In 2016, Jak helped found and launch Exonics Therapeutics, a CRISPR gene-editing company focused on delivering therapies for Duchenne, and served as interim CEO. Jak has had a career in healthcare spanning over a decade with the last five years focused in biotech venture capital and early company creation. Jak began his career in venture capital as an investment professional in the Boston office of MPM Capital ($2B AUM) where he worked within the BioVentures Asset Management team starting early-stage companies focused on developing curative therapeutics across a wide spectrum of indications. Prior to MPM, Jak worked in New York as a biotechnology equities analyst with JMP Securities, and in the health and life sciences consulting practice of Oliver Wyman. Jak has a medical degree from Stanford University where he graduated with honors in biomedical research, and a B.S. in biology from Binghamton University. Jak has authored over a dozen publications from research performed at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Stanford University, and during a NIH post-doctoral surgical research fellowship. Jak has served on the Board of Directors for the biotech companies CytoSen, Exonics, Bamboo, Myotherix and RASRx, and for TRiNDS, a neuromuscular focused CRO.

Lisa Hemmerle is the Director of Economic Development at the City of Cambridge, a city with over 5,000 businesses and over 122,000 workers. Lisa oversees policy development that supports major economic sectors and plays a pivotal role in creating and implementing strategies that improve economic conditions regionally. In 2014, Lisa created and launched the Life Sciences Corridor (LSC) in partnership with 4 other cities to focus on regional economic development efforts. In 2018, the LSC partnered with BIO International Convention to host area biotech ecosystem tours, partnering directly with MIT and MIT Koch Institute, LabCentral, as well as developer/property owners Biomed Realty Trust, DivcoWest, and MITIMCO. Prior to working for the CDD, Lisa worked as the Deputy Director of Economic Initiatives at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, developing, promoting, and implementing strategies to attract and retain Boston businesses. Lisa also founded and was the executive director of a New Hampshire nonprofit and worked for KPMG LLP as a consultant on trillion-dollar international banking clients. Lisa graduated summa cum laude from both Northeastern University in 1996 and Harvard Kennedy School in 2007. Lisa is a 2007 Lucius N. Littauer Fellow, recognizing academic achievement at Harvard Kennedy School, and a 2010 Boston Business Journal “40 Under 40” Honoree, recognizing emerging leaders in Boston. Her programs have also been recognized by the Harvard Kennedy Ash Center for Innovations in American Government and the International Downtown Association.

Bill Olson serves as Director of Construction for Wise, managing the company’s team of over 25 project management staff. Having over 24 years of experience working with clients such as Takeda, Moderna, Novartis, Biogen and Pfizer, Bill leads the industry in occupied laboratory renovations throughout Cambridge. With his Masters in Architecture from Ohio State University, he pairs architectural and construction expertise, giving him a unique perspective and full understanding of the overall process. He is fully trained in Lean Construction practices, and works with the team on every one of Wise’s fast-track projects to integrate new technologies and approaches, create a problem-solving culture, track accountability, aid in self-reflection and continuous improvement.

Luke Voiland is a Principal at Shepley Bulfinch, leading the design of projects across the life sciences, education, and healthcare industries. His recent work includes award-winning projects for Harvard University, the University of Houston, and Ringling College of Art + Design. A member of Shepley Bulfinch’s Board of Directors, Luke has led many important initiatives for the firm, including the Summer Design Fellow program. Outside the office, Luke is a founding co-chair of the Boston Society of Architects’ Committee for Research and Innovation Design, which brings together architects, scientists, and entrepreneurs to share inspiration and ideas. He has served as a visiting critic at universities including MIT, RISD, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and the Boston Architectural College, and he has presented across the country on topics ranging from the design of innovative academic spaces to the evolution of project delivery. Building Design + Construction included Luke in their “40 Under 40” class or 2017, and he was named an Emerging Leader by the Design Futures Council in 2013. Luke received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and his Master of Architecture from MIT. He joined Shepley Bulfinch in 2008 following an internship in Paris with noted designer Renzo Piano.

Prior to joining TA Realty, Ms. Strope was Vice President, Director of Research and Strategy at JLL (NYSE: JLL) where she analyzed market fundamentals and trends across niche property sectors. Before this, Ms. Strope served as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard Business School where she focused on the study of investment trends in real estate. Throughout her distinguished career, Ms. Strope has held development and investment roles at Keystone Development Group, Marcus & Millichap and Flad & Associates Architecture.

Morgan Weinstein joined BioMed Realty in 2010 and has served as Senior Director, Boston Leasing since January of 2017. Prior to BioMed Realty, Morgan served as Assistant Superintendent for Suffolk Construction at Boston Medical Center, Tufts University and Partners Healthcare and represented Suffolk Construction's Healthcare Division as a Business Development Manager for the East Coast. Morgan received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from the University of Delaware and received his Massachusetts Real Estate License in June of 2009.

Yanni Tsipis is Senior Vice President - Seaport at WS Development in Boston and oversees the company's Seaport project, a 7.7 million square foot mixed-use development currently underway in Boston's Seaport District. Prior to his tenure at WS, Yanni spent nearly 15 years at Colliers International after completing undergraduate and graduate studies at MIT in civil engineering and planning. At Colliers, Yanni focused his work on managing large-scale urban development and historic rehabilitation projects. His project experience at Colliers included multiple commercial, multifamily residential, hotel, and other project types, and spanned over $2 billion of development projects, all in the City of Boston. Yanni lives in Westwood and has written four books about the history of the city's transportation infrastructure. He serves on numerous non-profit boards and is a past member of the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Amrit spent his first eight years in industry working with R&D leaders at 100+ universities, biotechs, and large pharma companies to develop commercial products from discovery to market approval. ​In 2007 he founded Advanced Peptides, a biopharma contract research organization​. He holds patents in chemistry for global commercialized products​ and is one of INC Magazine’s top 20 innovators in healthcare.

Mike Eardley is Director of Energy & Sustainability at EBI Consulting, managing EBI’s nationwide engineering team. He has 20 years of experience in energy consulting, building commissioning, and high performance facilities. His contributions to the industry have included serving as President of the Northeast Chapter of the Building Commissioning Association, President of the Building Commissioning Certification Board, Board Officer of the U.S. Green Building Council’s New Hampshire Chapter, and Program’s Chair for a national technical committee of ASHRAE. Aside from work, Mike enjoys the challenges of coaching the baseball and football teams for his two sons.

Jen is a Senior Project Manager and Northeast regional leader for the Life Sciences Core Market at DPR Construction, one of the top technical builders and #1 ranked pharmaceuticals contractor in the U.S. (ENR 2017). With 19 years of industry experience, Jen has built research labs and facilities for industry leaders such as Sanofi Genzyme, Biogen, Takeda, Lab Corp, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston University. She serves as Senior Project Manager on several of DPR’s life science and higher education projects in the Boston area and her extensive technical expertise includes project evaluation, scheduling, project logistics, cost control, subcontractor management and strategic planning. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Boston University and Bachelors degrees in Civil Engineering and Economics from Tufts University. She holds PMP and PMI-ACP certifications from the Project Management Institute and is a USGBC LEED credited professional with BD+C specialization.

SMMA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Krafian draws on more than 30 years’ experience to address the needs of the firm’s diverse clients in the corporate, commercial, technology, life science, and institutional markets. As Managing Principal, he directs a dynamic team of talented leaders and maintains overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the firm. Ara advocates for cross-discipline collaboration and integrated project delivery to achieve the full benefit of SMMA’s approach to design. Among the firms’ life science current client base includes Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Mass Innovation Labs, and Shire Plc.

Connor Barnes is a Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield working with the Cambridge Advisory Services team, where he is responsible for new business development and providing brokerage services for clients throughout greater Boston and internationally. Connor focuses on tenant representation in the lease and sale of office and lab / manufacturing space.