STAFF
Christine Cole
Senior Director, Head of Philanthropy & Partnerships
Jennifer Francis
Executive Assistant
Imran Ganda
Program Network Coordinator
Erica Mawby-Roche
Senior Director of Programs
Dan Ouellette
Programs Manager
Catharine Smith
Executive Director
Lorie Umanita
Administrative Coordinator
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Deborah Dunsire, M.D.
Mentor and Member of the Board of Directors; Chairman of Neurvati Neurosciences, Board Member of MacKesson, Ultrage tc and Vima Therapeutics, Former CEO H. Lundbeck A/S, FORUM XTuit, Millennium, Advisor at Blackstone Lifesciences
Paul Hastings
Mentor and Member of the Board of Directors; President and CEO, Nkarta Therapeutics and Chair of the Board, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
Gail Maderis
Member of the Board of Directors; Chairman of the board, Antiva Biosciences, member of the Board of Directors at Valitor Inc., the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and the California Life Sciences Institute
John Maraganore
Mentor and Member of the Board of Directors; CEO and Director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Chair of the Board for Agios Pharmaceuticals, co-chair of the Termeer Tribute Committee, and member of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Executive Committee.
Geoff McDonough
Chairman of the Board; President, CEO and Director at Generation Bio; member of the Board of Directors, Third Harmonic Bio; Former President and CEO, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB; Former member of Board of Directors, Surface Oncology, Zafgen, and PTC Therapeutics
Alice Pomponio
Member of the Board of Directors; Managing Director of BrightEdge and Vice President of Innovation and Impact Investing at the American Cancer Society, Board Observer at NAVERIS, and Board Observer at Vincere Health.
Joan Reede, M.D.
Member of the Board of Directors; Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School, President of the Biomedical Science Careers Program.
Belinda Termeer
President, Secretary, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors; Head of the Termeer family office; member of the Board of Directors, PIC Therapeutics; Board of Fellows and the Discovery Council, Harvard Medical School; member, MIT Museum Advisory Board; member of the Board, BIO Ventures for Global Health; member of Presidents Council, Massachusetts General Hospital; Trustee Emeriti, the Boston Ballet; Board Observer, Aleta Biotherapeutics; Board Observer, Artax Biopharma; member of the Board of Directors, Chrysalis Genetics
Alan Walts
Treasurer, Mentor, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Directors; Venture Partner with Advent Life Sciences, Executive Chairman of PIC Therapeutics and Artax Biopharma, Board Member of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals and Neuroelectrics Corp, Board Observer at Amylyx Pharmaceuticals and Arrakis Therapeutics, Advisory Board Member of the ALS Investment Fund
Imran Ganda
Program Network Coordinator
Imran is an administrative professional with programming experience in the nonprofit world. Prior to joining the Termeer Foundation as a Program Network Coordinator, Imran was a Program Associate at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). At UCS, he was a member of the Science Network and Programs, Policy, & Advocacy teams where he tracked supporter activity, facilitated outreach, supported project management, and engaged with storytelling efforts on the importance of science advocacy. Imran is passionate about program execution within the nonprofit world. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing his MPA at Suffolk University.
Jennifer Francis
Executive Assistant
Jennifer comes to the Termeer Foundation with over 20 years of experience as an Executive Assistant. She has a well-rounded background supporting C-suite executives and senior management from healthcare to education to the legal field. She completed her Paralegal studies through PACE University in 2018 and went on to become a paralegal for the Vermont Attorney General’s office before moving to Massachusetts in 2021. She is dedicated to supporting the amazing team at the Termeer Foundation as well as Belinda Termeer as we work together to honor Henri’s legacy.
Catharine Smith
Executive Director
Catharine most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Clinton Health Matters Initiative at the Clinton Foundation where she led a team focused on stigma reduction and overdose prevention related to the US opioid epidemic. Prior to that, Catharine was the executive director of the Harvard Center for Primary Care where she led business development, strategy, and operations for a think-tank focused on improving value-based, patient-centered care. She has served in program development and management roles across various health care sectors, directing national and global initiatives in hospital medicine quality improvement and primary care systems strengthening.
Catharine holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a graduate degree in social science research from the University of Chicago.
Erica Mawby-Roche
Senior Director of Programs
Erica most recently served as the Vice President of Day and Employment Services at Fidelity House, Inc. a position she held from 2014- 2021. Fidelity House is a non-profit organization in the Merrimack Valley and during Erica’s tenure she led three departments focused on providing individualized and innovative services to adults with disabilities as well as students and Veterans. Among these services included: team and program development that helped foster program growth, sustainability, and enhanced service delivery. Currently, Erica serves on the Development Committees of multiple nonprofit organizations.
Erica holds a bachelors’ degree from Saint Anselm College and is a LEADS 3.0 cohort member. (Leaders Engaged and Activated to Drive System-wide change).
Ageena Peterson
Operations & Office Manager
Ageena is an administrative professional who recently joined the Termeer Foundation as the Operations and Office Manager. She recently served as a Program Manager for Metro Housing: Boston, where she was responsible for the coordination of housing stabilization activities for the Housing Consumer Education Center. There she managed a team of staff including case-managers and housing coordinators and had oversight of comprehensive Metro Housing response to referrals made by state and local legislators, officials, and partners. Ageena is passionate about social justice and has experience working with a diverse client population. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Salem State University and is currently pursuing her MBA with a concentration in Human Resources Management.
Lorie Umanita
Administrative Coordinator
Lorie has been the administrative coordinator for The Termeer Foundation since 2018. In addition, she also currently supports the CEO of NE Biolabs, an industry leader in the discovery, development and production of enzymes and technologies for molecular biology applications. Lorie previously worked for Genzyme and Sanofi Genzyme departing in 2019 after a 27+ year career supporting a variety of departments and C-suite executives. Lorie is proud to honor and continue Henri’s legacy in mentoring by supporting the Foundation in its mission to identify and empower people who can bring life-changing treatments to patients. Lorie holds an Associate’s Degree in Hotel Management from Newbury College.
Dan Ouellette
Programs Manager
Dan spent six years working at a Merrimack Valley based non-profit organization that provides a variety of services to adults and youth with disabilities. He held multiple roles at the company but was primarily the Director of Employment Services focusing on providing employment opportunities and professional development training to adults and students with disabilities. During his time with the organization, Dan’s focus was on program implementation, design, and development. He also spent time working as the Director of Community Engagement planning and executing fundraisers, developing new relationships in the community, and gaining support for the organization’s mission. Dan holds a bachelors’ degree in psychology from the University of New Hampshire.
Christine Cole
Senior Director, Head of Philanthropy & Partnerships
Prior to joining the Termeer Foundation, Christine spent 15+ years as a life sciences commercial/corporate banker, working with a wide range of companies from early-stage start-ups to global, commercialized, publicly traded life science companies. Christine advised and delivered solutions to life science companies to help scale and grow their businesses. Christine most recently served as a Managing Director at First Republic Bank where she helped lead the life sciences business banking team. Prior to that, she was at Bank of America as a Senior Vice President on the healthcare commercial banking team and served as the national advisor to BofA’s Relationship Manager Development Program.
She is passionate about helping life science innovators achieve their goals of bringing new, transformative medicines and technology to patients. Christine has worked with high-growth biotechs from inception to commercialization and loves helping leaders navigate change and growth. Christine has an undergraduate degree from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, with a concentration in finance and marketing and is Series 7 and 63 certified.