Mary Ann Klimas, Senior Director, Marketing Technology & Revenue Operations in Marketing & Sales, American Chemical Society

Mary Ann Klimas is the Senior Director Marketing Technology & Revenue Operations in Marketing & Sales at American Chemical Society (ACS). With over seven years at ACS, Mary Ann leads a talented team that is dedicated to supporting the Society’s marketing strategy and execution. Her team encompasses innovative marketing technologies, revenue operations, global events and graphic design ensuring the Society’s goals are met efficiently and effectively.

Mary Ann has a diverse background in strategic marketing and communications. She played a key role in developing Fannie Mae’s internal brand center and led a successful Ad Council public service advertising campaign. Her experience spans both B2C and B2B marketing and communications.

Mary Ann lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband Paul and their dog Freddie. She is a proud mother of two sons: Noah, who works for Booz Allen and lives in Columbia, MO, and Jack, who will graduate from George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School in May.

SPEAKER: Chris Conner, Content Strategist and Creator/Host of Life Science Marketing Radio

Chris Conner creates custom content for companies and thought leaders in the life sciences that want to attract, grow and educate an engaged audience. A conversation is the raw material for your thought leadership on multiple channels in video, audio, and text.

Over the last 10 years he has interviewed over 300 marketers, scientists, CEOs and authors, as well as a 6-year-old science podcaster and 2 Nobel Laureates. He produces two podcasts for his own audience of marketers and scientists: Life Science Marketing Radio and cc: Life Science, both available on Substack.

SPEAKER: Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay, Senior Vice President of the Office of Inclusion and Belonging, ACS

Rajendrani (Raj) Mukhopadhyay is the Senior Vice President of the Office of Inclusion and Belonging at the American Chemical Society (ACS). After earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Johns Hopkins University, Raj began a long career as a science storyteller. She has done science communications in various forms, including as a journalist and an editor. In 2017, she was tapped by ACS to be the first executive editor for C&EN BrandLab. Under Raj’s leadership, the trailblazing custom content studio brought in annual 7-figure revenue streams.

SPEAKER: Samantha Paro, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, ATCC

Samantha Paro is a dynamic communications leader with a proven track record in corporate and internal communications, public relations, marketing, and employee engagement. She combines strategic business acumen with deep communications expertise to craft and execute impactful, measurable strategies. With experience spanning education, entertainment, non-profit, and corporate sectors, she has dedicated the past decade to the life sciences industry.

Currently, Samantha is the Senior Manager of Corporate Communications at ATCC, the world’s leading biological materials management and standards organization. She previously held positions of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca’s Frederick Biologics Manufacturing Center. Samantha is committed to community outreach, volunteering her time with Women in Bio—Capital Region, Blessings in a Backpack, United Way, and in her local community.

MODERATOR: Shanna Jimenez, Director of Society Marketing, ACS

Shanna Jimenez has over 20 years of marketing experience specializing in data-driven marketing strategies that drive measurable results. She is currently the Director of Society Marketing at the American Chemical Society, focused on furthering the Society’s Mission through targeted, multi-channel marketing programs. Shanna and her team focus on brand management, society outreach, member acquisition, member engagement, paid media optimization, and creating memorable brand activations.  

SPEAKER: Jannelle Roscoe, Director of Digital Marketing and Marketing Systems, Lonza

Jannelle Roscoe is currently Director of Digital Marketing and Marketing Systems at Lonza. She has worked in various marketing and digital marketing roles at Lonza, Sartorius, and in the fitness industry before beginning her current position in late 2021. In her current role, Jannelle oversees demand generation, marketing automation, and marketing systems for Lonza’s Global Marketing team. Jannelle holds a B.A. in English from Benedict College and is a three-time Marketo Certified Expert.

MODERATOR: Kierra Tobiere, Senior Revenue & Content Marketing Manager, ACS

Kierra Tobiere is a digital marketing leader with 9+ years of experience  in the marketing, creative and blogging industries. Raised in Misawa, Japan and now based in Washington, D.C., she currently serves as Senior Revenue & Content Marketing Manager at the American Chemical Society. There, she leads high-impact campaigns across digital, print, and event marketing to boost engagement, pipeline, revenue and retention. Kierra collaborates closely with sales, customer success, and data teams to craft strategies that scale marketing efforts and expand product reach. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Howard University and earned her M.A. in Digital Strategies from the University of Florida, graduating summa cum laude.

SPEAKER: Natalie LaFranzo, PhD, Associate Director, Lung Oncology Lifecycle Management, Natera

Natalie LaFranzo is a commercial leader and trained chemist who is passionate about the important role marketing plays in achieving corporate goals. After earning her PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, she intentionally left the research bench to begin her career at the interface of science and business. She has held roles in life science companies across all areas of commercialization including product development and management, marketing and communications, market development, business development, and sales. In addition to her current role at Natera, she serves on the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society. 

SPEAKER: Jackie Bessey, Senior Marketing Manager, Cambrex

Jackie Bessey has nearly 15 years of marketing experience and has spent the last eight years within the CDMO and Life Sciences industries, including roles at Cambrex, Metabolon, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Patheon. She currently manages brand messaging and demand generation strategies for Cambrex, focusing on content development and engagement to drive awareness and leads for the company. Jackie holds a BA in English from Wake Forest University.

SPEAKER: Luming Niu, Business Strategy Advisor, Innovate BioStrategies

Luming Niu is currently a Business Strategy Advisor at Innovate BioStrategies, with over 20 years of experience in product management, sales, and marketing in the life sciences industry, particularly in the genomics and proteomics fields. She previously served as Vice President at GeneCopoeia, where she led product, marketing, and business development efforts. She has also held product management, marketing, and sales roles at Agilent and Elsevier, building deep expertise in go-to-market (GTM) planning, product roadmaps, and marketing strategy. She holds an MD from Peking University and an MS from Iowa State University.

MODERATOR: Quyen Pham, Senior Lead Generation Manager, ACS

Quyen Pham is a creative problem-solver with 10 years of experience in the chemical science industry, specializing in B2B lead generation and revenue operations strategy. As Senior Lead Generation Manager, she led the development, marketing, and operation of webinars, white papers, e-books, quizzes, social ads, and more. Quyen has a proven track record of driving significant revenue growth and strengthening both organizational performance and client relationships. Recognizing the need for scalable innovation, she has developed and improved the infrastructure behind campaign-based marketing activities, significantly boosting conversion rates.

SPEAKER: Justin Nobles, Co-Founder and Partner, BioBridge Group

Justin is a partner of BioBridge Group, a life science focused recruitment firm. Traditionally, Justin has focused on recruiting commercial talent (sales, business development, account managers, etc.) into Life Science companies, with a specialty in recruiting for Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) and Contract Research Organizations (CROs). When he is not talking with candidates, visiting clients at conferences, or doing operations/accounting work for BioBridge Group, Justin enjoys playing pickup basketball, hikes with his girlfriend, snowboarding, beach volleyball and watching movies.

SPEAKER: Juliah Millard, Director of Marketing, Uncountable

Juliah Millard is currently the Director of Marketing at Uncountable where she leads the company’s 360-degree global marketing strategy.

As a strategic marketing executive she has over a decade of experience as a full stack marketer for various B2B enterprise SaaS companies driving growth and innovation across the telecom, IT, fintech, and scientific industries.

Prior to joining Uncountable, she received her M.B.A. at Cornell University where she had a concentration in STEM.

MODERATOR: Jasmine Gruia-Gray, Board Member, SAMPS

Jasmine Gruia-Gray is a commercialization catalyst and marketing leader in the life sciences sector. With a foundation in scientific research and a career spanning leadership roles at: Leinco Technologies, Mesa Labs/Gyros Protein Technologies, and other life sciences companies, Jasmine connects innovation with market opportunity. She has led global marketing teams, defined portfolio strategies, and built customer-centric campaigns that accelerate adoption and loyalty. 

She is passionate about helping life sciences organizations translate scientific value into business success.

SPEAKER: Matt Wilkinson, PhD, MBA, Founder, Strivenn

Matt is a recovering scientist, marketing strategist and educator. A former science and business journalist, he is the founder of Strivenn and a Visiting Fellow of Cranfield School of Management, where he specializes in Account-Based Marketing, Key Account Management and B2B Sales and Marketing. He rapidly saw the potential of AI to disrupt the marketing landscape, and decided to disrupt himself before he was disrupted.