BHI Board of Directors

Anthony Lakavage is Senior Vice President, Global External Affairs and Secretary of the USP Convention and Board of Trustees. He oversees global communications, public policy, stakeholder engagement, and the USP Quality Institute. As the architect of USP’s external engagement strategy, he represents USP before the FDA, Congress, international regulators, and global health organizations. He works closely with USP’s 450 Convention member organizations and supports the Board on strategy and risk management. A veteran of GlaxoSmithKline, Gilead, and BD, he brings over 20 years of experience across pharma, vaccines, and medtech. He holds a B.A. in International Politics from Saint Joseph’s University and a J.D. from Temple University, and is admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Yaminah Leggett-Wells serves as the Senior Director of Alliance Management at Amgen, overseeing global partnerships spanning all stages of drug development. With over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, her expertise includes strategic leadership, clinical operations, business development, and project and alliance management.  

Joel S. Marcus is the Executive Chairman and Founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), an urban office REIT uniquely focused on collaborative life science and technology campuses in urban innovation clusters. Mr. Marcus co-founded Alexandria in 1994 as a garage startup with $19 million in Series A capital and, as CEO from March 1997 to April 2018, has led its growth into an S&P 500 company with an approximately $18 billion total market capitalization and significant market presence in leading AAA locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle Park. In, 1996, Mr. Marcus founded Alexandria Venture Investments, the company’s venture arm, which provides strategic capital to transformative life science and technology companies.  

Jay A. Perman, MD, became the fifth chancellor of the University System of Maryland (USM) in 2020. A pediatric gastroenterologist, he previously served nearly a decade as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), where he strengthened community partnerships, expanded innovation-driven economic development, and advanced health equity programs. Under his leadership, UMB’s professional schools earned national and international recognition for excellence in education and research. As USM chancellor, Dr. Perman focuses on expanding affordability, research, economic development, and community engagement. He earned his MD with Distinction from Northwestern University, completed a pediatric residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Sarah Porter is the Vice President of Government Solutions at Kelly Services, leading sales and operations for Kelly Government Solutions (KGS). KGS is part of Kelly’s Science, Engineering, Technology, and Telecom division, specializing in outsourced solutions for the federal government in Science & Clinical, Healthcare, Technology, and Professional services. Sarah holds an MBA and is a certified Project Manager. With nearly 20 years of government industry experience, including her former role as a Program Manager at the National Institutes of Health, Sarah has a deep understanding of the complexities of the sector.  

Rachel leads JLABS @ Washington, DC, overseeing strategy, operations, external engagement, innovation sourcing, and portfolio management. She evaluates and accelerates a pipeline of startups across the region. Previously, she served as Director of the BARDA Alliance for Johnson & Johnson Innovation, managing BLUE KNIGHT™, a collaboration with BARDA to support health security innovations. She directed global programming, including the annual BLUE KNIGHT™ Symposium. Before JLABS, Rachel was Chief of Staff at NESTcc, an MDIC initiative funded by the FDA to advance medical device evaluation. Earlier, she supported national clinical research efforts at PCORI, including the launch of PCORnet. Rachel holds an MBA from Georgetown University and an MPH in global health policy from The George Washington University.    

Dr. Steven Roberts joined GSK Vaccines in May 2021, where he is responsible for initiating collaborations with U.S. research institutions to advance the development of new vaccines and platform technologies. In this role, he works across industry, academia, and federal research groups to identify cutting edge opportunities. Prior to joining GSK, Dr. Roberts was as a Venture Analyst Associate at Biohealth Innovation, where he led initiatives to strengthen and grow research within the Biohealth Capital Region.  

Peter is CEO of Emmes, a global full-service CRO operating in 30+ countries across ophthalmology, vaccines, rare disease, cell & gene therapy, and neuroscience. He oversees strategy and operations while advising boards, investors, and biotech leaders. Previously, he served as Head of Global Development at Janssen R&D, managing a 10,000+ person team and $2B+ budget, delivering over 450 studies across all phases. He championed innovations in trial design, virtualization, digital health, and diversity. Earlier, Peter held senior roles at Bristol Myers Squibb in Clinical and R&D Operations, and served on the TransCelerate Biopharma Board. He began his career at Accenture and holds a degree from Nottingham University.  

John Sackett became President & CEO of Adventist HealthCare in August 2024 after a decade as COO and previously as President of Shady Grove Medical Center. He led the launch of Adventist HealthCare’s Leadership System and Standard Management Approach, earning national Baldrige recognition, and oversaw the integration of new hospitals and major facility upgrades. Prior to joining the system, John was CEO of Avista Adventist Hospital in Colorado for 24 years, where he earned top rankings in patient, physician, and employee satisfaction. He also served as Centura Health’s SVP for Mission and Ministry and as a Louisville City Council member. John holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Walla Walla University and a master’s in health administration from Loma Linda University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served on numerous local boards.

Brett Shealy is the Executive Director of Life Sciences at J.P. Morgan. He has extensive experience in corporate banking within the life sciences and healthcare sectors, having held various leadership roles at both J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo. At J.P. Morgan, Brett previously served as Executive Director and Relationship Executive in the Life Sciences & Healthcare division. Before that, he worked in corporate banking for Wells Fargo's Life Sciences division. Brett holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and Strategic Management from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business.  

Aimee Smart is Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Processes at Lung Biotechnology PBC and Lung Bioengineering Inc., subsidiaries of United Therapeutics Corporation. She leads a team of 60+ professionals across clinical development, regulatory affairs, quality, and more, and serves on United Therapeutics' executive leadership team. Aimee successfully restructured Lung Biotechnology and later led a turnaround at Lung Bioengineering. With over 20 years in biotech and pharma, she previously held regulatory roles at VIRxSYS, Human Genome Sciences, Nabi Biopharma, and Cato Research. She earned a B.S. in Microbiology from NC State (Outstanding Young Alumni) and an Executive MBA from the University of Maryland (Poets & Quants “Best & Brightest”). She also holds leadership coaching and regulatory certifications and serves on the NC State College of Sciences Foundation Board.