How to Inspire, Advocate and Grow During Change 
#WESTchange

Panelists include:
 - Jennifer Cashton
 - Andrea Itano 
 - Mercedes Lobera 
 - Suzi Melotti 
 - Sarah Sheikh

Jennifer Cashton, RN, MBA, has over 20 years experience in drug development spanning all development phases through commercialization and lifecycle management. Throughout her career, Jen has led multiple global teams ranging from asset-specific programs to strategic special projects. Jen is currently the Chief of Staff and Heads of Operations of the Gastrointestinal Therapeutic Unit at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. She is driven by a persistently curious mindset and desire to contribute meaningful value. In her spare time, Jen loves spending time with her husband, two busy school-aged sons, and their adorable dog Linus. Most weekends she can be found on a football or lacrosse field, cheering her boys on. Jennifer is a trained nurse, holds a BS in Biology and an MBA where she focused on organizational behavior and marketing.

Andrea Itano, Ph.D., joined Evelo in 2017 as senior vice president, head of Immuno-Inflammatory diseases, focusing on discovery and early clinical development of oral therapeutics that target the mucosal immune system.  After completing a postdoctoral fellowship, Andrea left academia for biopharma as a research scientist where she learned about drug discovery, pharmacology, and how to deal with company reorganizations.  Following her opportunities, she moved from Southern California (Amgen), to Northern California (Roche), to the UK (GlaxoSmithKline), then to Philadelphia, and finally landed in Cambridge, MA, where she has now lived for seven years, the longest stretch by far.  Andrea learned an important lesson about change management when she accidentally overstayed her visa while working in the UK, and got deported by some extremely polite immigration officers. This was not a fun experience, but after working through the stress and total upheaval of her nicely laid out plans, the whole thing actually led to some excellent opportunities that wouldn’t have been presented to her otherwise. As a result, Andrea now believes in the motto: “When life shuts a door, open it again. It’s a door, that’s how they work.”  Andrea received a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Immunology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Mercedes Lobera, Ph.D., is Senior Director, Genomic Immunology at GlaxoSmithKline, where she leads a global team focused on identifying and validating new targets, informed by human disease genetics and genomics. A synthetic organic chemist by training, Mercedes started her career at the bench at Predix Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech focused on CNS and Inflammation targets. Through acquisitions, layoffs, spin outs, buy-ins, and reorgs, Mercedes has had the opportunity to flex her "change muscle" and learn to embrace change as an opportunity. Those opportunities have led to roles as a medicinal chemist, program leader, Director of Drug Discovery, and Head of a Discovery Performance Unit. Mercedes received a Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University.

Suzi Melotti is a Senior Manager at bluebird bio in Cambridge where she works in Analytical Development. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry from Staffordshire University in the UK, and an MBA from Northeastern. She lives in Boston’s South End with her wife and young daughter.  

Mary Ann O’Loughlin recently retired from Harvard Business School (HBS) and now brings her advisory expertise to global executives as a both a business consultant and leadership coach. Her business career has spanned sales, marketing, consulting, and senior management roles in large corporations and small start-ups. She has lived and worked in Canada, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Prior to joining HBS in 2007, Mary Ann spent ten years with the UK research and consulting company Ovum in both London and Boston. In addition to her own work as a telecoms sector Principal Consultant, she managed Ovum’s US operation as President of Ovum North America for five years. Mary Ann holds a BS in Physics from McMaster University (Ontario), an MS in Biophysics from the University of Toronto, an MBA from Insead, and a graduate certificate in Executive Coaching from the William James College.

Claudette Rowley, Cultural Brilliance CEO, is a change management consultant, cultural designer, and executive coach. Claudette is passionate about helping leaders and organizations resolve complex organizational problems in ways that honor the intelligence of their cultural system and the brilliance of their people. For the almost 20 years, Claudette has consulted and coached at Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, higher education, and start-ups to create a pro-active and innovative workplace culture that delivers outstanding results. Claudette is the creator of the Cultural Brilliance System™ and hosts a globally syndicated radio show. Claudette also teaches a course on culture and communication at Northeastern University and is the author of the Amazon best selling book Cultural Brilliance: The DNA of Organizational Excellence (2019). Full Bio

Sarah Isabel Sheikh, BM BCh, MSc, MRCP, currently leads neuroscience translation and early clinical development efforts at Celgene. Before this she was responsible for development programs in neuroinflammation, neuromuscular rare disease, and tissue repair and remyelination at Biogen, most recently leading the neuroinflammation, multiple sclerosis and remyelination development group, including seeing two drugs through to approval. She is a board certified neurologist and did her internship and residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Boston. Sarah obtained her medical degree and Master’s in Physiology at the University of Oxford, Corpus Christi College, and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians, UK.

Thanks our event sponsor, bluebird bio!