Sergio Salvatore ’02 (Co-Chair) is Senior Director of Engineering for Vimeo, Inc. An accomplished pianist who recorded two albums by the time he was thirteen, Mr. Salvatore is an entertainment and information industry executive who has loaned his musical talents to WPI for past events. He was the lead architect of a start-up while still at WPI; upon graduating, he joined Sony Music's Mobile Technology efforts, moving to Direct To Consumer engineering and on to a senior executive position. Prior to joining Vimeo in 2017, Mr. Salvatore led engineering teams at Steinway & Sons and Barnes & Noble's Nook Media division. Mr. Salvatore received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science from WPI.
Kimberly Warren (Co-Chair) is a Vice President at MITRE. In her role as SP and Director of the Health Federally Funded Research and Development Center, Ms. Warren leads MITRE’s strategy to identify, shape, accelerate, and implement research, development, and critical program work for the Department of Health and Human Services. She advises leaders across government, academia, and private industry to bring strategic and practical solutions to meet our nation’s goals to transform health and healthcare. Having worked across multiple federally funded research centers (FFRDCs) at MITRE over the last 25 years, Ms. Warren brings that expertise to bear for the health domain. Earlier, Ms. Warren was the director of MITRE’s health-related research and technical capability development. She was responsible for broad academic, industry, and sponsor stakeholder partnerships to accelerate innovation in health and healthcare. She served as chief technologist of the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute FFRDC, developing independent and sponsor-directed research program to advance the homeland security enterprise. As chief architect for MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development, she played a key role in evolving software processes and establishing strategic directions for software modeling, simulation, and laboratory assets that still serve the Federal Aviation Administration and the aviation community. Ms. Warren spent several years in industry as a software product development lead for Fortune 500 and international clients. She was the global director for Electronic Product Development at General Motors. Ms. Warren earned her B.S. in computer science from Syracuse University in New York and a M.Sc. in artificial intelligence from Edinburgh University in Scotland.
Lauren Baker ’82 serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of Boston Biomedical Associates (BBA), where she directs all aspects of the company’s clinical research practice and a team of consultants who assist clients with regulatory strategy, clinical trial development and implementation. Prior to founding BBA, Dr. Baker had a distinguished career in academia and industry, including positions of Director of International Clinical Research and Director of Corporate Clinical Affairs at Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC). Prior to joining BSC, she was employed as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School where she worked in the Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Departments. She has served as a Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has established herself as a leader in clinical research in a variety of medical areas including cardiovascular, neurovascular, orthopedics, GI and GU. Dr. Baker is a licensed Professional Engineer and holds a BS in Chemistry and a Masters and PhD in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Biomedical Engineering. She has received her degrees from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and her research was performed in the Vascular Surgery Department at UMASS Medical School.
Douglas Borden III ’96 is an independent management consultant and committed lifelong learner. In 2019, Mr. Borden retired after five years as a management and program analyst at the US Department of Labor in Washington, DC. Before joining the Department of Labor, Mr. Borden worked for Booz Allen Hamilton providing program management and quality management consulting services to a wide range of US Government agencies. Prior to joining Booz Allen, Mr. Borden led consulting projects for smaller companies supporting the US Coast Guard. He previously served honorably in the US Coast Guard and retired with nearly 23 years’ service. Mr. Borden received his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from Wentworth Institute of Technology, a Master of Science degree in Mathematics for Educators from WPI, a Master of Science in Quality Systems Management from the National Graduate School, and a Graduate Certificate in Change Management from Georgetown University. In 2011, he served as a member of the WPI Provost’s Global Task Force and in 2012 joined the WPI Arts and Sciences Advisory Board.
Neal Cappellino ’87 Originally from Rochester, NY, Producer/Engineer Neal Cappellino (B.S.E.E. ‘87) now calls Nashville, TN home. As a lifelong musician and creative, he combines both his enthusiasm for the arts and a technical education in his career in the recording industry that spans more than 30 years. Neal is a multiple Grammy® Award recipient with a selected discography that includes platinum artists Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, and Brad Paisley. He is the owner and principal engineer of The Doghouse Studio and is a member of The Recording Academy, the Audio Engineering Society, and Leadership Music ’15. Neal is an educator and mentor within the industry with a philosophy towards giving back. He previously served on the board of directors for The Melodic Caring Project, a non--‐profit organization that dedicates live--‐streamed music events into the hospital rooms of critically ill children. Neal is also active in the field of energy work and the healing arts as an Usui Tibetan Reiki Master practitioner utilizing mixed modality applications of frequency and vibration through sound immersion. Most importantly he is a dedicated father to his two daughters.
John Gabranski ’75 is a retired partner from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. While at PwC, he lead the Hartford office Assurance practice while also serving SEC, higher education, and health care provider clients. John currently provides consulting services to several companies, including due diligence, M&A, financial analysis, contracting, internal controls, accounting and external reporting services. He graduated from WPI with a degree in computer science and went on to complete his MBA at the Columbia Business School. With his sister, John established the Adam and Agnes Gabranski Memorial Scholarship Fund in 1990; the Fund has assisted WPI to attract and graduate bright, promising students ever since.
Maryann Goebel ’73 is a member of the Board of Directors, the Enterprise Risk Management Committee, and Audit Committee and chairs the Compensation and Governance Committee for Seacoast National Bank, providing business and technology expertise and insight. She is also a member of the Board of REPAY, where she chairs the Technology Committee. In July 2012, Ms. Goebel retired from Fiserv, Inc. where she had served as executive vice president and chief information officer. In this role, she was responsible for all internal Fiserv IT systems, as well as IT infrastructure, operations, engineering, and middleware services for Fiserv clients who chose to outsource the processing of their Fiserv applications. Prior to Fiserv, Ms. Goebel served in the role of CIO for DHL Express (2006 to 2009), General Motors North America (2003 to 2006), General Motors Europe (1999 to 2001), General Motors Truck Group (1997 to 1999), Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile (1995 to 1997), and Frito-Lay (2001 to 2002). She has also held senior leadership positions at Texas Instruments, Aérospatiale Helicopter Corporation, and the Southland Corporation, among others. In recognition of her distinguished career, WPI awarded Ms. Goebel with the Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement in 2008. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from WPI.
Mary Ellen Lane Dr. Lane is the current Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Umass Meidcal School. Before Dr. Lane, associate professor of neurobiology, was associate dean for curriculum and academic affairs, and senior director of administration in the GSBS, has been a member of the faculty since 2011. Among many pivotal initiatives and accomplishments, Lane created the Office of Academic Affairs within the GSBS; led a team of faculty in remodeling the first year student experience in the Basic Biomedical Sciences program and in implementing the new problem-based learning “Foundations” curriculum; created and convened the Academic Advancement Committee; and implemented structural improvements to the Pathways to Graduate Study program. She holds an AB from Colgate University and a PhD in biological sciences from Columbia University. Prior to joining UMass Medical School, she was on the faculty of Rice University in Houston, and served as assistant dean for admission at the MD Anderson University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston.
Kenneth Maynard is a Senior Director at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with 21 years pharmaceutical industry experience. Dr.Maynard previously led a research laboratory centered on cerebral ischemia and stroke as an Assistant Professor in Surgery (Neurosurgery) at Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School. His doctorate in neurobiology is from University College, London, U.K., and he is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and is a certified coach and member of the John Maxwell Team. Dr. Maynard formerly served on the Executive Committee of the International Dose-Response Society, the External Scientific Panel of the NIH Director’s program on Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training and on the committee on the Next Generation Initiative Board on Higher Education and Workforce Policy and Global Affairs, which published a recent National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine sponsored report titled, The Next Generation of Biomedical and Behavioral Researchers: Breaking Through. Currently, Dr. Maynard serves on the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council (NINDS, NIH) and the advisory board of Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience (BRAINS), which is a national program dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion in neuroscience. Dr. Maynard’s leadership experience positions him to combine academic and pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) and business knowledge.
Ellen McCaskill ’89 is Senior Project Manager for ExxonMobil Global Projects Company. During her 30+ years with ExxonMobil, she has supported engineering and operations of numerous oil and gas facilities, but has been most involved with execution of domestic and international projects of varying sizes and complexities. She has had the opportunity to live internationally in Japan, Papua New Guinea, England, and Kazakhstan to execute projects and has supported STEM activities wherever she has been assigned. She is currently the Senior Project Manager for the Guyana Payara Project, the third project to be executed for the country of Guyana as they grow their oil production capability. Mrs. McCaskill holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Eliza Jane Reilly
is the Executive Director of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement (NCSCE). The NCSCE is a national educational network committed to empowering citizens as responsible, lifelong learners who can apply the knowledge, values, and methods of science to complex civic challenges facing their communities. Its primary work focuses on professional development for faculty and community-based educators that helps them link STEM learning outcomes to broader civic and social challenges. She was formerly a Research Professor in Technology and Society at Stony Brook University, and faculty member and administrator at Franklin & Marshall College where she served Director of the Phillips Museum of Art and Director of the Center for Liberal arts and Society. Prior positions included Director of Programs in the Office of Science, Health, and Student Engagement at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and Executive Director of the American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD), a national organization of chief academic officers and other academic administrators committed to improving undergraduate liberal education. Dr. Reilly received an MA in the History of Art and a PhD in US History from Rutgers University. Since 2001 she has been a Senior Scholar with the NSF funded project Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER), is the general editor of the SENCER Models series and Co-Editor of the journal Science Education and Civic Engagement: An International Journal. For her work advancing civically engaged STEM learning, Dr. Reilly was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, Division Q) in 2019.
Richard Resnick ’98 (Former Co-Chair) is the CEO of Cureatr, a telehealth company that helps patients as they are being discharged from the hospital to reconcile and manage their medications so that their return to home is permanent. Prior, he led GQ Life Sciences, a venture-backed software and data company, through a successful turnaround and acquisition in Q4 2016 by Aptean, Inc. He was previously CEO of Harmony Line, Inc., an MIT Media Lab company, where he partnered with the famous composer/technologist Tod Machover to develop and commercialize Hyperscore, a unique software tool to enable anyone to compose music. Prior to Harmony Line, Resnick was the CEO of Mosaic Bioinformatics which he sold to NetGenics in 2000. Resnick was the global bioinformatics software head for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and got his start in genomics working on the Human Genome Project under Eric Lander at the MIT Whitehead Institute, authoring software applications like primer3, still widely in use some 20 years later.
Sharon A. Savage, M.D. ’91 is the Chief of the Clinical Genetics Branch in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She joined the Clinical Genetics Branch, DCEG, NCI in 2006 as a tenure-track investigator and was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and appointed senior investigator in 2012 and subsequently became branch chief. Dr. Savage received her B.S. in Biochemistry from WPI and her M.D. from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. She completed residency training in Pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center, in Washington DC, and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the NCI Pediatric Oncology Branch and Johns Hopkins University. She is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Savage is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Her current research is focused on the genetic and molecular epidemiology of telomere biology, pediatric cancer etiology, and inherited cancer predisposition syndromes. She leads clinical, genetic, and epidemiologic studies of individuals at high risk of cancer to improve understanding of cancer etiology and advance clinical care. Sharon received the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement in 2021.
Naveen Selvadurai ’02 is Co-founder, Director and Advisor of Foursquare Labs, Inc. He stepped down from day to day operations in March 2012. Founded in 2009, Foursquare is a venture funded smart telephone applications company. The company’s product is a social network friend-finder, social city guide and a game that challenges users to experience new things, and rewards them for doing so. Mr. Selvadurai is now a Partner at Expa, a startup studio working on lauching new products. He has also been an Adjunct Professor at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art since 2009. Prior to founding Foursquare, he was Lead Architect and VP of Engineering at Socialight located in New York, NY. Founded in 2005, Socialight is a location-based social media platform for smart phone and web based applications. Previously he was a Senior Software Architect with the Global Digital Business group at Sony Music Entertainment. In this role, he oversaw and developed various applications that dealt with content management and distribution of mobile products and was the lead developer of Sony's Music Box mobile application. Before Sony, he consulted for New York-based Run Tones which was later acquired by Sony in 2002 and worked at Sun Microsystems and Lucent Technologies while at WPI.
Nina Simon is an author, Ashoka fellow, cultural manager, and a leader in the movement for more inclusive and relevant cultural and civic organizations. She has been described as a “museum visionary” by Smithsonian Magazine for her community-based approach to design. Nina is the founder of OF/BY/FOR ALL, a global nonprofit that creates digital tools to help civic and cultural organizations become more inclusive, relevant, and sustainable. The OF/BY/FOR ALL Change Network includes over 100 museums, libraries, parks, theaters, and community organizations around the world. Prior to founding OF/BY/FOR ALL, Nina was the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, where she led a dramatic turnaround and eight years of growth rooted in community involvement. Nina is the best-selling author of The Participatory Museum (2010) and The Art of Relevance (2016). Nina lives off the grid in the Santa Cruz mountains with 20 people, 16 chickens, 3 dogs, and 1 zipline.
Urvashi Tyagi ’01 is the Chief Technology Officer of ResMed, responsible for leading the company’s Digital Health Technology team to drive its world-leading cloud-based digital health platforms, as well as investments in emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Urvashi has over 25 years’ experience in software development and delivery, product strategy, finance, and business development. Before joining ResMed, she was chief technology officer and senior vice president for ADP, responsible for its technology vision and strategy, products modernization, and enterprise technology. She was also the global head of commercial data engineering for American Express, along with senior roles at Amazon’s Audible, Microsoft, and IBM. She is passionate about delivering meaningful products to users, scaling teams and architecture, and building technology that eliminates barriers to business growth. Urvashi has been a spokesperson at conferences and events, particularly for tech talks, diversity in tech, and technology for social good.
Michael Wallent ’91 works at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington and is the Corporate Vice President of the Enterprise Mobility Management group. His team develops Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which is a service to help companies manage employee use of PCs and mobile devices. MEM is used by tens of thousands of customers worldwide on nearly 200 million devices of all kinds. Michael joined Microsoft in 1996 and worked on Internet Explorer, Windows and Windows Server. Michael lives in Seattle with his wife Anh, and kids Peri, John and Daniel. Even though he’s been in Seattle for more than 25 years now, he’s a die-hard Pats and Sox fan (root for where you are from!). Michael grew up mostly in Rhode Island, where his parents taught him about east coast perseverance and how to quickly clean lobsters. He’s often found in the mountains, spending time with skis and friends.
In Memoriam
Steven Davi ’85 (1963-2022) was Senior Vice President at Synacor, Inc. which provides a technology platform to telecom companies that allows end-users to receive digital entertainment services and apps. He was formerly Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology and CTO at SeaChange International, a global multi-screen video software company. Mr. Davi received an Emmy for his work in video software while at SeaChange. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from WPI and his Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Northeastern University. Mr. Davi previously served as a member of the WPI Provost’s Global Task Force. In 2013, Mr. Davi established the Steven M. Davi ’85 Endowed Scholarship to help provide promising students the opportunity to attend WPI.
Emeritus Member
David Johnson ’82 is CEO and President of Jenne Distributors, a leading value-added distributor of business telephony, data, audio and video conferencing, and security technology products, including equipment and software for the SMB and Enterprise markets. He previously held many senior executive positions at Avaya, with his most recent role as Senior Vice President of Global Alliances and Channel. Before his work with Avaya, Mr. Johnson was Senior Vice President, International Sales and Service for Lucent Technologies' Enterprise Networks business, where he was responsible for all sales and service operations outside the United States. Mr. Johnson also served as Lucent's Business Communications Systems (BCS) Regional President for the Asia/Pacific region, residing in Hong Kong for three years. Before his assignment in Hong Kong, Mr. Johnson was Strategic Marketing Director for BCS. Mr. Johnson began his communications career in 1982 with New England Telephone, where he worked in the Field Services Organization supporting business customers. Mr. Johnson earned his bachelor's degree in Engineering from WPI in 1982. He previously served as a member of the WPI Provost’s Global Task Force. In 2013, Mr. Johnson established the David P. Johnson ’82 Global Fund to support WPI’s strategic initiatives in Asia.
Emeritus Members (Life Sciences Advisory Board)
Marni Hall ’97 serves as Director of Regulatory Science, Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration. In this role, Dr. Hall leads post-market drug safety activities focused on adverse event signal detection and characterization. Dr. Hall leads pharmacoepidemiology research programs, pharmacovigilance innovative tool development efforts, and regulatory science policy initiatives to support post-market drug safety. Prior to being selected as Director of Regulatory Science, Dr. Hall served as Program Director for Regulatory Research in the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, and as Senior Analyst conducting strategic planning for translational sciences and for data standards in the Office of Planning and Informatics. Before joining FDA in 2008, Dr. Hall was a Program Director at Pfizer, in the Public Health Group of External Medical Affairs. Dr. Hall continues to lecture at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where she has been an adjunct professor since 2007. Dr. Hall holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and in society, technology, and policy from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a master’s of public health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and a master’s in biochemistry and Ph.D. in toxicology from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
David LaPré ’74 is currently Head of Pharma Global Technical Operations at Roche. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company and the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics. Technical Operations at Roche is a global organization tasked with ensuring the availability of Roche medicines worldwide. This involves activities ranging from the scale-up of production processes for new molecules from lab to commercial scale; to manufacturing; and, ultimately to the delivery of medicines to more than 150 countries around the world. Mr. LaPré joined Roche in 1997 as Vice President of Materials Management for the Pharmaceuticals division in the US. He moved to Basel in 2002 where he led a major supply chain initiative and subsequently became Head of Global Supply Chain. Mr. LaPré returned to the US in 2007 to head Technical Operations for North America. After a special assignment as program leader for the Roche-Genentech integration, he moved to the Diagnostics division to run Global Operations in 2010. Mr. LaPré moved back to Switzerland in 2013 to assume his current role heading Pharma Global Technical Operations. Prior to joining Roche, he held various operations, supply chain and general management roles with Proctor & Gamble and other consumer packaged goods companies. Mr. LaPré received a Bachelor of Science degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts and an MBA from New York University.