Shawna brings over 27 years of experience in Clinical Operations and Program Management. As Co-founder of Elite, she shares a common goal with clients to optimize the development pathway and bring novel therapies to patients in need. Shawna provides tailored clinical development and program leadership throughout the trial execution, focusing on program oversight across all phases of clinical development ensuring operational efficiency and quality.
Shawna holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Castleton University.
Jill has over 27 years of experience in clinical operations and program management, leading cross functional teams through all stages of clinical trials. With a broad history of industry roles and almost all areas of clinical development, she has the extensive knowledge required to successfully execute both early and late phase clinical development programs. As a cofounder of Elite BioPharma Consulting, she provides experienced leadership to clients to help drive excellence and their clinical programs.
Jill holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Vermont.
Réne is a strategic clinical outsourcing expert with nearly 30 years of experience in procurement strategies, contract negotiations, vendor management, and governance. He has led global clinical outsourcing programs for Astellas, Pfizer, and TransCelerate Biopharma, and worked in business development at M2S, Neeman Medical International, and Harvard Clinical Research Institute.
Réne holds an MS in Health Sciences, Clinical Research Administration, from George Washington University and a BA in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Western Kentucky University.
Michelle Higgin, Ph.D. CEO, PharmaDirections, a Danforth Health Company – Michelle is a versatile development strategist in all phases of drug development. She has been a pioneer in the virtual biotech model for the past 20 years and has successfully guided over 60 new drugs (all modalities) into the clinic in US, Europe, and Australia in all major therapeutic categories (CNS, rare, oncology, GI and metabolic). Her primary competencies are in tactical strategic development and translational sciences: taking therapeutic concepts from scientific infancy to a tactical clinical development and business model that is fundable and tractable. She has played C-level leadership roles in a number of biotech companies and has founded and funded several emerging biotech companies.
Dan is an accomplished life science executive officer with more than 30 years of life science experience leading finance and operations for both venture-backed and publicly-held companies. Prior to co-founding Danforth Advisors, he was COO or CFO of a number of life science companies, including biotechnology, medical devices, life science tools and diagnostics entities. From 1997-2002, he was CFO of Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc and participated in the launch of a drug to treat Fabry disease.
Dan holds a BS from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a MBA from Harvard Business School.
Select Achievements
- Participated in 14 IPOs and multiple filings, two SPAC mergers and numerous private placements
- Participated in raising more than $2 billion through public and private financings
- Past President of the Association of Bioscience Financial Officers
Steve is a well-established leader with more than 35 years of experience in life sciences and healthcare. He has served as a CFO, CEO and COO in companies ranging from venture-backed start-ups to subsidiaries of Fortune 100 firms and publicly traded entities. In these roles, he had responsibility for finance and accounting, human resources, information technology and facilities, and played a key role in business development and strategic planning. He was formerly Chairman of Cognoptix, and served on the board of Phytera.
Steve holds a BS from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from
Babson College.
Select Achievements
- Led multiple IPOs and public and private financings as CFO
- Served as CFO for multiple public biotech companies
- Co-founded and successfully exited two life science companies
Dan brings over 20 years of experience in strategic advisory, accounting, and auditing for life science companies of all sizes. Prior to Danforth, he was a partner at CFGI, leading projects in audit readiness, IPO preparation, and M&A. He also ran his own accounting practice and spent over a decade with Ernst & Young and KPMG.
Dan is a Certified Public Accountant with a BS in Business Administration and Accounting from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.
Select Achievements
- Led multiple IPO projects on behalf of management
- Built a professional services firm with 18FTE and $3m turnover
- Led multiple international project teams focused on bribery, corruption, and financial fraud
Barb is an accomplished finance executive with 25+ years of life science experience leading finance and operations for venture-backed and publicly-held companies. In addition to serving as a CFO consultant to several Danforth clients, Barb leads Danforth’s Mid-Atlantic practice, serving as a relationship partner for clients from Connecticut to Florida.
Prior to Danforth, Barb held CFO and senior finance leadership roles at companies, including Enterin, Egalet Corporation, SOBI, Topaz Pharmaceuticals, Genaera Corporation, Moksha8 and Vicuron.
Barb holds a BS and MBA from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.
Select Achievements
- Led accounting / finance operations and S-1 preparation for several IPOs
- Established corporate and finance organizations for multiple companies
- Support clients raising capital from seed through IPO financings
Gregg is the founder of Danforth Advisors and an accomplished life sciences executive with nearly 30 years of experience in finance and operations for both venture-backed start-ups and public companies.
He served as CFO at ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN) and Archemix and previously worked as an investment banker at Adams, Harkness & Hill. Gregg began his career as a corporate attorney.
Gregg holds a BA from Middlebury College, JD from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Select Achievements
- Involvement in five IPOs and multiple filings, one SPAC merger, numerous private placements and three acquisitions as CFO to client companies
- Built and managed operational departments including finance and accounting, human resources, facilities, corporate communications and information systems
Candice brings more than 20 years of experience as a finance and operations leader in the life science, pharma, and digital health sectors. Prior to joining Danforth, she served as Senior Vice President of Finance Operations for Flagship Pioneering, where she led financial operations and FP&A across the firm’s 30+ portfolio companies.
Candice’s previous roles include CFO of PatientsLikeMe and FP&A leadership at Alkermes and Cubist Pharmaceuticals. She also served as Vice President and leader of the life science practice at Archetype Consulting.
Candice holds a BS and MBA in Finance from Bentley University.
Select Accomplishments:
- Served as CFO and acting head of HR for digital health company divested from United Health Group; established accounting, investment and operations policies and controls, streamlined revenue forecast and revenue recognition and partnered in business development
- Successfully built Finance and FP&A functions for two publicly traded biopharma companies.
