The Speakers

Matt Simon is a business and innovation leader focused on advancing industries by aligning higher education, industry partners, and public investment to build scalable workforce and commercialization infrastructure. He serves as Executive Director of several major initiatives at the University of New Hampshire, including the Biotechnology Innovation Center, where he leads a life sciences incubator that supports early-stage companies. Matt also serves as Executive Director of the ReGen Valley Common Campus, the education and workforce backbone of New Hampshire’s federally designated biofabrication Tech Hub, and as Executive Director of Enterprise Operations & Integration for the University System of New Hampshire’s Rural Health Transformation project. In these roles, he provides leadership for large-scale, multi-institution initiatives designed to strengthen workforce systems and innovation capacity across sectors throughout the State.  He serves as Co-Principal Investigator on more than $100MM in federal grant awards supporting these efforts. Matt holds an MBA and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire and a BA in Administration of Justice from the University of Pittsburgh, and is currently a PhD student in Education researching how higher education institutions collaborate in workforce development initiatives through the lens of game theory. With a background spanning engineering, business strategy, systems-level collaboration, and technology commercialization, Matt’s work focuses on building partnerships that help companies grow, strengthen regional innovation ecosystems, and expand access to high-impact career pathways.

Dr. Jared Nelson is chair of the Sustainable Product Design and Innovation at Keene State College, where he helps lead an interdisciplinary, hands-on approach to product development that integrates engineering, design, manufacturing, and innovation. His work focuses on translating early-stage ideas into functional, tested prototypes through a design-build-test process that emphasizes real-world problem solving, manufacturability, and practical impact. With more than 20 years of experience in polymer and composite materials systems, Dr. Nelson brings expertise in applied engineering, prototype development, and innovation strategy across academic, industry, and translational settings. At Keene State, he works with students and external partners to advance concepts from initial problem definition through proof-of-concept development and toward production-ready solutions.

Thomas Colarusso has over 26 years' experience in the life sciences industry, including more than 16 years in executive leadership roles at Definiens, PathAI, HalioDx and BioAI.   He is currently the CEO and co-founder of BioAI Health, a company focusing on AI-powered biomarkers for precision medicine. BioAI was founded in Manchester, New Hampshire, in January 2020. Thomas played a pivotal role in formulating BioAI's business plan and commercial strategy.   He has assembled a team of world-leading experts in data sciences, translational sciences, pathology, and corporate development.    He has led pharma partnering at BioAI, generating millions of dollars in revenue by developing AI models for biopharma clients.   While working at Definiens, he established a new Tissue Diagnostics services business that quickly became a global leader in quantitative digital pathology applications for oncology clinical development.   He was also involved in raising capital for Definiens' growth plan, which was led by Gilde Healthcare.   He served on Definiens' due diligence team, helping to execute a $300 million merger and acquisition with MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca, in November 2014.  He has a strong background in bringing new scientific and medical technologies to the oncology drug development, diagnostics, and healthcare markets.

Andrea Hechavarria is President & CEO of NH Life Sciences (NHLS), the statewide life sciences association she co-founded in 2023 to support industry growth, talent development, and innovation across New Hampshire. Under her leadership, NHLS connects stakeholders through programs, policy advocacy, and industry engagement to advance the state’s life sciences ecosystem. Andrea brings extensive experience across government, policy, and industry. Prior to NHLS, she led Global Government Affairs at Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies and held leadership roles at Butterfly Network, a pioneer in handheld ultrasound technology. She began her career in the medical device sector at 3M, where she supported national COVID-19 response efforts and contributed to major policy initiatives. Earlier, Andrea spent nearly a decade in the U.S. Senate working on regulatory reform, energy, and environmental policy. A New Hampshire native, she is widely recognized for her leadership, including honors from New Hampshire Business Review and Union Leader. She holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a BA from Loyola University Maryland.

Andrew Osterman is a commercialization strategist working at the intersection of healthcare delivery, reimbursement, and emerging technology. He focuses on capturing why clinically promising innovations will or won’t integrate into real-world care. Over 20 years, he has worked across the systems that determine the impact of promising innovations, bridging clinical workflows, payer economics, and product strategy. He began his career in clinical workflow design, supporting initiatives at Mayo Clinic and McKesson. At Humana, he led the evaluation of reimbursement and incentive models for emerging health technologies. He later served as Principal at The Advisory Board Company, where he led the Payment Transformation Initiative, developing strategies and tools to support novel reimbursement contracting. He is Founder and CEO of Patients Precise, advising early-stage biotech and medtech companies on market access, reimbursement, and capital strategy. He also serves as Executive-in-Residence with ARC Innovations (Boston), ARMI BioFabUSA, and Keene State College’s Sustainable Product Design and Innovation program. He holds an MBA from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in classical studies and government from Hamilton College. He lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire with his wife and three children.

Dr. Margaret Henning is a Professor of Health Science at Keene State College and a leader in public health with over twenty years of experience designing and leading high-impact equity initiatives across 25 countries. As a scholar-practitioner, Dr. Henning operates at the vital intersection of rigorous, data-driven research and the human narratives that define health. Throughout her career, she has managed complex, multi-stakeholder teams and portfolios, successfully launching scalable solutions that streamline operations while prioritizing community needs. Most recently, she served as a Senior Learning Advisor for USAID/Ethiopia, where she was instrumental in institutionalizing the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) framework. Hennings' expertise in cross-sectoral collaboration has been recognized with honors from the field, including the Fulbright Scholarship, the USAID Innovation Award, and the American Public Health Award. At Keene State, Dr. Henning mentors students, teaching them to bridge the gap between academic theory and field application. She remains a deeply active voice in the professional community. 

Dr. James Kraly is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Keene State College and also the principal investigator for NH-LIFT at KSC as well as the grant funded KSC Precision Optics program and trainings. Dr. Kraly will highlight developed pathways to support undergraduate research at KSC and how those have been leveraged by external funding partnership such as NH-LIFT and NH-INBRE. Funding opportunities for NH-LIFT will also be reviewed that can serve the HSIN network. Dr. Kraly will also discuss academic industry partnerships, and collaborative efforts that stimulate regional workforce development. Insights on STEM based connections with high schools and CTE Center will also be discussed.

Maggie Graul is a public health practitioner specializing in epidemiology and evaluation. Throughout her career she has worked in education, government, non profit, and healthcare settings to provide data analytics for program management and operations. She currently serves as the Population Health Epidemiologist at The Center for Population Health at Cheshire Medical Center since 2022, supporting hospital and community partners in making data-driven decisions about enhancing and sustaining the health and well-being of residents of the Greater Monadnock Region. 

Diliang Chen received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.  He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA. He is an active researcher in the design of smart wearable and sensing systems for healthcare and occupational safety applications. His research interests include wearable systems design, artificial intelligence (AI), edge and cloud computing, and human–computer interaction.

Eric Brown is a cybersecurity researcher currently pursuing a Master of Science in Computer Science at Dartmouth College, building upon his undergraduate foundation at Keene State College. His work focuses on the intersection of automated vulnerability research and embedded systems security, with a particular interest in firmware reverse engineering. As the founder of Granite Cybersecurity, Eric aims to bridge the gap between higher education and the security industry. His goal is to create a professional environment that maintains close ties to academic programs, offering students the chance to translate their classroom knowledge into tangible, real-world experience.

Julie Demers is the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Tech Alliance, a statewide organization dedicated to advancing innovation and supporting technology companies from startup through scale. With a background as a small business owner and ecosystem builder, she has spent her career strengthening New Hampshire’s economy through entrepreneurship, workforce development, and cross-sector collaboration. Prior to leading the Tech Alliance, Demers held leadership roles with the NH Sector Partnerships Initiative, the University of New Hampshire Manchester, and the Greater Manchester Chamber. She has served on numerous boards and advisory groups, including Pinkerton Academy Board of Trustees, the University of New Hampshire IT Advisory Board, the New Hampshire State Workforce Innovation Board, the UNH Paul College BIP Advisory Board, and the Currier Museum of Art Advisory Board. In 2015, Demers was recognized as part of the New Hampshire Union Leader 40 Under Forty for her leadership and impact across the state.