Who We Are

Andrew Cleeland

Chief Executive Officer

As recounted by Greg Bakan

Andrew is a seasoned executive with over 30 years experience in the medical device industry. During this time, he has held key leadership positions in organizations ranging from early-stage startups to large multinationals. In joining Fogarty Innovation he further broadens this range of experience to include managing a nonprofit. The versatility required to be effective across such diverse groups is rare and is a testament to Andrew’s strong leadership skills.

A native Australian who grew up in a suburb of Melbourne, Andrew’s leadership capabilities became evident at an early age. Raised by a single parent, Andrew was forced to grow up quickly and play a supportive role for his mother and brother. These early experiences were formative in shaping the person Andrew would become and the things he would inevitably accomplish.

Andrew’s values and life philosophy were also greatly influenced by sport. His natural athleticism and leadership propelled him into many team captain roles and ultimately competing in Australian Rules Football at a semi-professional level. If you’ve never seen this sport played, do so. It won’t take long to recognize the toughness, teamwork and grit the sport demands, all traits which Andrew continues to bring to every position he holds.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Andrew began his medtech career working for the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. This provided an invaluable introduction to the industry along with an appreciation for the challenges regulators face when balancing innovation with protecting public health. Several years into this role, serendipity presented him with a unique opportunity to work for a company based in the United States. Although he had never lived outside Australia, he saw it as a great opportunity and moved alone to Denver, Colorado, to work for Telectronics. He probably didn’t realize it at the time, but this move exemplifies a classic element of Andrew’s personal and professional mindset: think big, set audacious goals and act boldly. At the time, Andrew expected this to be a two-year position. Thirty years later, he’s still in the U.S., setting and achieving big goals.

Andrew’s rapid career advancement during this timeframe has been impressive. After Telectronics, he accepted a management role at Baxter Healthcare’s Novacor division, and later as vice president of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at Bay Area startup company Radiant Medical. Following this, he was CEO of Ardian, which pioneered the use of renal denervation to treat hypertension. Ardian was acquired by Medtronic in 2011 in a transaction valued at over $1.3B which, at the time, was the largest medical device acquisition ever for a pre-revenue medical device company.

Whenever a first time CEO has such a wildly successful exit, the market often wonders: Is the person really that good or were they just lucky? Andrew quickly answered that question by taking the role of CEO at Twelve, a startup in the transcatheter mitral valve space. Several years after his joining, this company was also acquired by Medtronic in a transaction valued at $458M. Back to back successes at such large valuations answered the question – it wasn’t just luck.

Propelled by these successes, Andrew has become a key figure in the medical device community. His leadership, experience and insights have led many organizations to seek his involvement. He currently serves on the board of three venture-funded companies — Saluda Medical, Zenflow, Inc. (chairman) and MMI S.p.A. (chairman). He also holds advisory positions at two top-tier venture capital firms: Longitude Capital and Arboretum Ventures. At a global industry level, he has been invited to serve on multiple initiatives including the UCSF-Stanford Pediatric Device Consortium; the Medical Device Innovation Consortium; and the Singapore government’s Biomedical Research Council (BMRC).

Passionate about healthcare, Andrew is a champion of innovators and innovation in the medtech field. His commitment to mentoring and education is rooted in his passion for helping patients and being a catalyst for positive change. This purpose and drive is captured in one of his favorite quotes, by Mahatma Gandhi: “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”

“Working at Fogarty Innovation gives me the ability to positively influence the medtech ecosystem and give back in a meaningful and effective way,” summarizes Andrew. “To have worked with such amazing teammates on such impactful programs has allowed me to do something BOTH meaningful and enjoyable…I love the challenge.”

Andrew has received numerous awards and honors and is a frequent invited lecturer at major industry conferences and leading academic institutions. Andrew holds a BS in biophysics from the Swinburne Institute of Technology.

Bernie Andreas

Engineer in Residence

As recounted by Laura Hamilton

With his love of repairing cars, building medical devices, or running a company, Bernie has been a hands-on, key contributor in the medical device industry for more than 30 years.

Bernie attributes his strong personal values and “will do” mindset to his parents, who immigrated from Germany to California a few years before he was born. Growing up, Bernie witnessed firsthand that almost anything was possible with a goal, a plan and a solid work ethic. A key formative example illustrates how he lived out his belief: his goal was to attend college; his plan was to use his talents as a mechanic; and his solid work ethic enabled him to earn and save enough money to cover his University of California, Davis, tuition.

After graduating from UC Davis with bachelor’s degrees in both mechanical engineering and materials science, Bernie applied for what he believed was an ideal engineering opportunity with a medtech company, a position he learned during the interview had already been filled. At that point, his career could have taken a drastic turn when he was offered more senior engineering positions at companies in other fields. 

However, undeterred in his desire to follow his passion and armed with that “will do” mindset, Bernie got his first taste of the medtech world by joining DVI, a company that later became part of Guidant, in an entry-level position. He was quickly promoted to a role as an R&D engineer, designing and developing medical devices. That began an illustrious career in the medtech industry, where he has helped create therapies that have improved the quality of life of tens of thousands of individuals.

Over his career, Bernie has held senior management roles with both industry pillars and startups, including Chrono Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Acclarent, The Foundry and Perclose. His decades of R&D engineering experiences provided him a solid foundation in innovation that led to him earn more than 100 medical device patents and co-found two companies, Xtent and ReSept Medical Inc.

Bernie appreciates the opportunity he has at Fogarty Innovation to work alongside a group of professionals who have already achieved excellence in their careers and now share their years of industry experience to mentor, support, educate and elevate the next generation of medtech innovators. 

In his spare time, you can find Bernie serenading his fantastic family, or playing golf, or hiking. And if you know Bernie and his giving spirit, you wouldn’t be surprised to find him helping out his neighbors.

Greg Bakan

Director of Strategic Initiatives

As recounted by Andrew Cleeland

Greg has a deep passion for medtech. “A major driver for my interest in this field is the purpose-driven nature of the work. We’re developing products and services that directly improve patients’ lives.” Another attraction is that successful medtech innovation truly requires the integration of science and business know-how, both of which are areas of keen interest for Greg as reflected in his educational background.

That’s why he has devoted over 30 years to the medical device industry, holding senior management positions at several successful startup companies, including Ardian, Emphasys Medical, Nevro and Fox Hollow Technologies. In aggregate, these startups have generated more than $2.5 billion in returns to their investors, reflecting the impact on the thousands of patients who benefitted from their therapies.

Earlier in his career, he built a strong foundation working at larger, well-established companies, holding positions in marketing, sales, strategic planning and business development at Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Guidant and Eli Lilly and Company. Greg feels this early experience was invaluable and laid the foundation for his success in start-ups. “My time at the larger companies afforded me incredible training, the chance to work on a wide range of projects across many sectors, and most importantly, the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best and brightest leaders in our industry,” notes Greg. Another advantage Greg sees in this early career experience is that it allows him to understand and work more effectively with larger companies which is critical since they form an important funding and exit pathway for medtech start-ups.

Greg sees his work with Fogarty Innovation as not only allowing him to pursue his passion for the medtech space, but also as a way to give back to an industry which has afforded him so many unique opportunities. He fondly recalls the many people throughout his career who were willing to take the time to share their insights, experience, and advice. This mentoring has had a life-changing impact on him both professionally and personally. The hope of “paying forward” this gift is a large part of what attracted Greg to Fogarty Innovation.

Fogarty’s Companies in Residence CEOs in turn have a great amount of respect for Greg’s keen strategic mind and seek him out to help them think through the chess moves they must consider as they steer their companies forward. As one of them said, “One of the things that attracted me most to Fogarty Innovation was my interaction with Greg and, now that I’ve joined, I am fully convinced that my collaboration with him and the rest of the management team has been incredible. He is a trusted resource.”

In his free time, Greg enjoys working with his hands, whether it’s woodworking or restoring old cars, and riding motorcycles. He also has a passion for teaching and occasionally gives guest lectures at Fogarty Innovation and Stanford University.

Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of California, San Diego, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Gretchen Berstler

Program Manager

As recounted by Birgit Johnston

With 17 years of experience working in the healthcare industry, Gretchen is always ready to extend a hand and tackle new programs and projects.

Prior to joining Fogarty Innovation, Gretchen oversaw a number of key communications initiatives at El Camino Health, including supporting internal services programs, managing events, directing patient and physician outreach and developing marketing campaigns. “Working with such a close-knit team of like-minded individuals was a real privilege,” she said. “While we weren’t in direct contact with the patients, we felt that the programs we launched went a long way towards supporting the hospital’s mission to heal, relieve suffering and advance wellness.”

Striving to continue making a deep impact on patients’ lives, she joined Fogarty Innovation as one of its first employees. As program manager, she plays an important role in supporting both the education and incubation programs by developing, managing and executing educational programs and events for the organization, its companies-in-residence, the FDA and the Ferolyn and Lefteroff fellowships. “I am honored to have been part of the organization since its inception and while we have grown, our mission to advance human health and personalized approach is still what we live by.”

Education is where she thrives—closely interacting with the students as she helps them learn the ins and outs of developing a medical device and explore different career paths, whether with a startup or larger company. She especially loves to hear from them later in life to learn how well they are doing and see how they are already giving back to the community, appreciating how their internship influenced their future success.

Gretchen also welcomes the chance to help support the entrepreneurs, watching them as they conquer their daily challenges and seize opportunities to develop and advance therapies, with the promise that one day they may help improve or save the lives of a significant number of patients.

An Ohio native, Gretchen likes to cook, particularly Italian favorites. She loves spending time at the coast for its beauty and fresh air and has recently found a new passion in meditating, which helps her tackle new challenges and opportunities that come her way.

Peter Carlotto

Engineer in Residence

As recounted by Birgit Johnston

Whether he’s fabricating car parts in his backyard workshop or medtech devices at Fogarty Innovation, Peter is in his element building things and working with his hands. Like many Fogarty staff who found their inspiration in different fields, Peter’s initially came from the automotive sector; he’s been tinkering with cars since high school, where he discovered an affinity for identifying and solving various issues his classmates had with their vehicles.

After high school he joined De Anza College Auto Technology program, where he excelled at troubleshooting and helped lead the school’s participation in state and national competitions.

That led him to mechanic roles with BMW and Nissan and an initial plan to own his own shop. But then he got into car racing, and the experience offered the ideal background to pivot to fabricating and maintaining the cars.

Peter got his first taste of medical technology through a college friend who was working for one of Dr. Fogarty’s startups, Microline Surgical, a company dedicated to delivering precision instruments for minimally invasive surgery. It turned out that the initial troubleshooting they were doing with the wiring was very similar to the type of engineering work Peter was doing as a lead car mechanic, and he joined the company full time. It suited him fine as he was a hands-on kind of guy, who enjoyed going from the “napkin” design to market, improving through all the iterations to develop a product and get it to the end users.

He stayed there for 12 years until the company was eventually sold, when he began working as a consultant. One day he stumbled upon an article on Fogarty Innovation which caught his eye since he had met Dr. Fogarty while at Microline.

His interest piqued, he toured the facility and met the Terumo Medical Innovation team, which resides at the organization, and joined their team as an R&D engineering consultant. While there he parlayed his expertise in maintaining equipment into a position with Fogarty Innovation’s machine shop, which turned into a full-time job in 2021. It’s the perfect match for his skills and desire to constantly improve each prototype or part he builds.

He loves the opportunity to work with so many different technologies and is able to indulge his interest in passing on his skills by training the Lefteroff interns on how to program and run select machines.

No big surprise, but Peter spends much of his free time racing cars – he has three of his own. And, he also loves to camp and boat camp, with a race car or dirt bike along for the trip behind his motor home.

Zach Edmonds, MD

Strategic Advisor

As recounted by John Morriss

As a hospitalist practicing at El Camino Health’s Mountain View hospital and a site director for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) Department of Hospital Medicine, Zach is, first and foremost, a clinician. He describes his hospitalist role as being the patient’s primary care physician while they are in the hospital. This involves building a rapport with the patient, identifying their needs, bringing the necessary resources together, and finding solutions. He says he is proudest of his professional success when he receives a note from a patient thanking him for the positive role he played in their care and the difference he made in their life during a time of great vulnerability and need.

He brings that passion to the companies and his projects within Fogarty Innovation as well. Zach provides what he describes as a clinical lens, a practitioner’s point of view, as he assesses potential innovations to anticipate whether they would be adopted by physicians and hospitals. Because he shares patients in common with physicians across various specialties, Zach understands his colleagues’ perspectives and the possible inertia that must be overcome to change clinical practice and adopt a novel system. Yet Zach remains an avid believer in innovation as he sees countless examples of unaddressed clinical needs in his daily life — conditions and diseases that lead to pain, suffering, and loss of life. “I am passionate about medtech for its potential to help address these unmet needs,” says Zach.

Fogarty Innovation is an opportunity he appreciates for the chance to support the efforts of young innovators. Zach plays a key role in clinical diligence, facilitating clinical research, and building collaborations with community physicians. He blends his clinical perspective with a business background, stressing that even early stage projects should establish how they will be cost-effective solutions.

He believes his work with Fogarty has enhanced the rest of his career, allowing him to be part of an incredibly rich, stimulating and rewarding “professional village.” That’s largely because of the resonance he finds between his own values and that of the Institute: mission-driven purpose, passion, hard work, accountability and excellence.

When he’s not in the hospital, you’ll find Zach with his wife and two daughters. Family dinners each evening, Friday movie night and discussion, and a Sunday ritual that starts off with the kids ceremoniously putting the family’s phones and iPads in a drawer and closing it are only a few examples of how they spend time together, being silly, having adventures, and learning new things.

Zach holds an MD from the UCLA School of Medicine and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He completed his internal medicine residency training and the Biodesign Fellowship at Stanford University.

Eric Goldfarb

Engineer in Residence

As recounted by John Morriss

In many ways Eric’s enthusiasm for solving problems, motivation to help patients, and expertise across clinical areas has found an ideal fit at Fogarty Innovation. As he describes, “I’ve known about Fogarty Innovation for a long time and have great respect for the team. I was very attracted by the diversity of initiatives at the organization – from innovation to education to outreach – and the variety of therapies and technologies the companies-in-development are pursuing.” 

The son of a surgeon-innovator, Eric grew up planning to follow in his father’s footsteps. Seeing his interest, his dad encouraged him, and Eric began helping his dad prototype devices when he was only 12 years old. He went on to earn BA in biology at Dartmouth College, but before taking his MCATs, spent time working in environmental management and clinical trial consulting. The interlude helped him realize that his interest in medicine lay more in being able to create and build products that could help patients rather than practicing as a physician.

Eric was accepted into the mechanical engineering master’s program at Stanford.  His coursework was complemented by his hands-on role as a teaching assistant in the Product Realization Lab. “That was amazing, a true melting pot of different people and innovative ideas, which really confirmed my passion for engineering,” Eric says.

He also helped develop and teach the university’s first class in medical device design, which eventually merged into the program now known as the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. As a teaching assistant for that class, he escorted the students on a visit to The Foundry, which proved to play a pivotal role in his career.

After graduation, Eric reached out to The Foundry and connected with Ferolyn Powell, who was spearheading Evalve, one of the newly incubated companies. He took a position leading the R&D team that was responsible for developing the MitraClip, a breakthrough technology that repairs leaky heart valves in patients with mitral regurgitation without open-heart surgery. At Evalve, Eric had the opportunity to attend the company’s first in-human case. “To this day it is incredibly rewarding to have been at that first case and to know how well the patient did with the procedure – it is a testament to why we work in this industry,” he says.

After Evalve, Eric sought the experience of developing a device with a broad commercial customer base. He joined Acclarent as director of R&D and was responsible for the evolution of balloon sinuplasty technology, which was a disruption of the standard of care for sinus surgery. Eric next joined ExploraMed as project architect, where he gained an even broader perspective on need finding and product development by helping to co-found a women’s health company, Nuelle.

Following the Nuelle product launch, Eric returned to the otolaryngology space. He co-founded Tusker Medical and led R&D and operations with the goal of commercializing Tula, a technology that originated at Acclarent.  Tula enabled pediatric ear tubes to be inserted in awake, unsedated children in the physician’s office rather than in the OR under a general anesthetic. After Tusker was sold to Smith+Nephew, Eric stayed on as vice president of R&D and operations and was the site leader in Menlo Park.

Realizing his passion remains with early-stage startups, Eric joined Fogarty Innovation in August 2022. “I’m thrilled to be a resource for the community and to continue to develop technologies that improve patient care and outcomes.”

In his spare time, Eric enjoys spending time outdoors skiing, mountain biking, windsurfing, running, hiking, camping and chasing his dog around; and joining his family in all their pursuits.

Mary Gorman

Executive Services Administrator

As recounted by Marga Ortigas-Wedekind

Mary wants to see people happy. “If there are 100 people in a room with different philosophies, backgrounds, and levels, I’ve found that I can bring them together, break down social and status barriers, and relate to them myself, especially when entertaining with food.”

She seeks that happiness for people in many other ways as well, which is why she thinks the executive administrator role has been a great fit for her. Starting as an executive assistant at the age of 18, she put herself through school at night and did other weekend work. She found she had strong listening and organizational skills as well as a streak of creativity, always seeking to “wow” with any project she took on; “I was a natural at it, I got better, adapted, learned and developed.” As she gained more responsibility and progressed through her career, now at Fogarty and in previous roles at Vertex Ventures HC and Stanford Biodesign, Mary found that working in the medtech innovation space fit right in with her personal goals as well. She has a particular interest in healthcare solutions for the elderly because she is drawn to “helping people who don’t have a voice,” having experienced it firsthand in the last 11 years as primary caregiver for her mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

Born and raised in California to working class parents, she was taught to “work hard, be respectful, and learn how to get along in the world,” and that comes to life as she relates her proudest professional moments planning and executing the Stanford Biodesign fellowship graduations over the past 10 years.

It’s not surprising that Mary’s own family today is “rich in science.” Her husband works in the pharmaceutical industry, one of her sons works at a startup out of Stanford Biodesign, and the other works in fishery sciences and is involved in ecological pursuits. A common thread that has run through generations in this family is a fondness for fishing and crabbing which plays right into Mary’s love of entertaining, cooking, and organizing gourmet meals for family, friends, and neighbors!

Allie Gregorian

Chief Alliance Officer

As recounted by Stacey McCutcheon

Eighteen years ago, Allie Gregorian had a career epiphany. She was working for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, cultivating corporate and individual relationships and helping wealthy clients make charitable gifts. “When I started, I didn’t realize how transformative these gifts could be to the organizations that received them,” she said. “But once I saw the impact of giving, I knew that I wanted to be on the other side. I wanted to work with mission-driven organizations and help them secure the financial resources they need to support their work.”

Since then, she has been a leader and an advocate in the nonprofit sector and has never looked back. “I made a decision to dedicate my skills and service to supporting these kinds of organizations and I have not wavered,” she said. “I have raised almost $100 million in philanthropic resources and am very proud of what those funds have accomplished.”

The decision to devote herself to supporting high-impact charitable work is a perfect fit for Allie’s broad and varied skill set. She is a gifted communicator with a journalism background, an experienced relationship manager, and a strategic visionary who excels at aligning philanthropic interests with programs that provide critical support for vulnerable populations. It’s also a career that makes her feel at home.

“I was raised in a family that always gave back,” she explained. “We did community service on the weekends, and my mom dedicated her life to supporting and fighting for at-risk youth. I always wanted to be involved in work like hers.”

After leaving Morgan Stanley, Allie joined her first nonprofit, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, as the director of major and planned gifts. There she solicited high-profile benefactors and secured transformational funding to establish the Children’s Orthopaedic Center, which currently ranks fourth in the nation for pediatric orthopaedic programs.

Her success caught the attention of LA Family Housing, which recruited her to create a giving program, re-develop the board of directors, and partner with the LA Housing Commission to provide permanent supportive housing to formerly homeless families. She was part of a team that developed the first-ever housing development for homeless seniors in Los Angeles.

Around that time, a chance encounter at a coffee shop led to marriage, a subsequent move to Northern California, and two small energetic boys who love the beach, building forts, hiking, and anything else outdoors. The family is also devoted to baseball, in part because of the boys’ burgeoning t-ball careers, and in part because Allie’s dad is the long-time pitching coach for the 2021 World Series-winning Atlanta Braves.

Not surprisingly, athleticism runs in the family. Allie’s mom was a swimmer, and by the age of six, Allie was swimming competitively and practicing two hours a day. As she got older, the practices stretched to four hours a day and trophies and medals on the shelf multiplied, reflecting her status as an aspiring Olympic athlete in 200M breaststroke. Allie trained alongside other swimming luminaries including Misty Hyman, Gary Hall Jr., and Amanda Beard, and continued to compete as a D1 athlete throughout her first two years of college at University of Arizona.

After relocating to the Bay Area, Allie joined Stanford University as a senior director of development for the Medical Center. In that capacity, she managed complex fundraising programs for Department of Neurosurgery and the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign, where she first learned about, and became fascinated with, health technology innovation. That passion, for helping innovators address important unmet medical needs and bring their solutions all the way to patient care, is what led her to Fogarty Innovation. As Fogarty’s Chief Alliance officer, Allie is focused on building strategic partnerships and a robust fundraising program for the organization and its companies-in-development.

When Allie isn’t working or parenting, you can find her open water swimming and training for triathlons.

Birgit Johnston

Communications Consultant

As recounted by Gretchen Berstler

With a passion for working with nonprofits and companies that inspire others and make an impact, Birgit founded Johnston Communication over 16 years ago. Her proudest achievements revolve around promoting groundbreaking ideas and ideologies— telling her clients’ stories as a way to inspire others to push their own boundaries.

Joining the Institute in 2015, her work at the Fogarty Institute combines all these core competencies, while allowing her to be part of a close-knit community that thinks outside the box in the endless pursuit of finding a better way to care for patients. It fits well with her ethos of continuously striving to learn something new and conquer a new challenge.

Prior to consulting, Birgit led the communications function at Solectron Corporation (Flextronics), where she gained valuable global experience in the broad range of industries served by the company. That well-rounded view influences her ability to bring a well-balanced perspective and fresh ideas to clients.

Birgit’s interest in advancing nonprofits stems from forming and spearheading the communications department at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit that donated over $500 million in grants to worthy projects locally, nationally and internationally. She expanded her experience in advocacy and policy by heading the communications function at the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (Silicon Valley Leadership Group), a leading nonprofit that represents over 300 companies forming the innovation economy of Silicon Valley. For her work at this organization she was honored with the YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry Award.

A competitive athlete throughout her life, she believes in the power of teamwork and abides by the goal of “doing something that challenges you” every day.

Born in Denmark and raised in Italy, Birgit holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. An outdoor enthusiast, she is an off-road triathlon age group World Champion and winner of the Silicon Valley Marathon—and also uses those athletic skills keeping up with three active kids and two equally active dogs. Birgit loves to travel. She also enjoys cooking for her family, and aspires to grow her own garden full of fresh ingredients to cook with.

Gayle Kuokka

Chief Financial Officer

As recounted by Craig Straley

With a long history of working with medical startups, Gayle has more than 30 years of diverse experience in a variety of senior management roles that include finance, accounting, human resources, manufacturing and operations. After stints at other technology companies, she found that medtech’s mission to help patients mirrored her own philosophy and was more personally rewarding. Perhaps an enigma for an expert in finance, Gayle’s regard for financial return, while understanding its importance, is far outweighed by her devotion to advancing human health and making the world a better place.

She has had the opportunity to work across several sectors in medtech (e.g, medical devices, drug discovery, diagnostics, instrumentation), including serving as chief financial officer for Biodesy (now Blue Light Therapeutics) which commercialized a tool for drug discovery. She also was the vice president of finance at Isostent, a radioisotope stent which was acquired by Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson company, and the chief financial officer at Radiant Medical, which induced local hypothermia in heart attack patients to preserve heart tissue.

She later started her own company offering chief financial officer consulting to more than 15 life science startup companies. In total, she has been responsible for helping raise more than $200 million in venture funding.

Gayle is always happy to help Fogarty CIRs with all types of finance matters, but what really excites her is when she can help with broader strategy – to assess markets, plan how to navigate the path to market and treat patients, and how to position a business to be financially appealing to potential investors.

Gayle also offers unique perspectives based on her experience on both sides of clinical trials, as a patient and a technology provider, which further inspires her passion for the field. “Medical technology literally saved my life, and I would like to return the favor to others,” acknowledges Gayle

She received her MBA from the Tepper School at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her BA in economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Gayle was the fifth of seven children, with a father who was an engineer and a mother who was a nurse – clear influences that impacted her career choices. Before moving back to her birthplace of Seattle after high school, she grew up in a rural college town in eastern Washington which gave her a lasting appreciation for the value of education, a strong work ethic, a belief in social justice and the desire to impact the lives of others less fortunate. A health devotee and mother of two grown children, Gayle loves running, traveling, and gardening. Between tackling her own remodeling projects, she was also responsible for the buildout of Fogarty Innovation’s brand new home in the Sobrato building on the El Camino Campus.

Corinne Landphere

Strategic Consultant

As recounted by Denise Zarins

Corinne Landphere helps propel individuals and teams into high-performing, emotionally intelligent excellence with her unique ‘people-first’ approach and nearly 30 years of experience in the life sciences industry.

After 20 years of coaching with Corinne Landphere Consulting, Corinne has become a ‘go to’ resource for guiding individuals and teams through a wide variety of challenges and growth, including team building, conflict resolution, leadership transitions, rapid growth/downsizing, and executive development.

Corinne’s vision for empathy-based leadership drew her to Fogarty Innovation, where she could work with like-minded individuals dedicated to building something bigger and better every day. She was particularly drawn to our commitment to developing the next generation of life sciences industry executives and our unwavering promise to always put patients first. In addition to her performance-based coaching, Corinne also leads our wellness efforts including introducing the ongoing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, curating best-in-class wellness resources, and encouraging team creativity as a stress-releasing outlet by initiating the Creative Spotlight series for amateur talent. 

Prior to consulting, Corinne excelled in a variety of high-profile sales and marketing positions at Genentech, Guidant and Perclose (Abbott), after beginning her professional career as an E.R. nurse at Methodist Hospital’s Trauma I Center in Indianapolis. This diverse background has provided her with a 360-degree view of the industry, having first worked closely with patients, physicians and healthcare practitioners, and now working with industry professionals.

Born to Polish immigrant parents and a proud Hoosier, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University, along with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Notre Dame de Namur University. She serves as a mentor and guest lecturer at both schools and others, including Stanford University.

Corinne is a big believer in incorporating compassion and mindfulness into life and business, something that she lives every day. As an entrepreneur, mentor, artist, philanthropist and mother of two, Corinne leads a full and varied life and prioritizes volunteer work with nonprofit organizations. She is an avid runner, a former volunteer coach for Girls on The Run and a strong advocate for diversity. A talented painter who was part of Papyrus’ Artists in Residence program, she donates all proceeds from her sales towards the causes she supports.

Stacey Paris McCutcheon

Director, Communications & Education

As recounted by  Allie Gregorian

As the Director of Communications & Education, Stacey is here to make some noise! By creating relevant, timely content for FI’s digital platforms, as well as developing a robust series of educational offerings for FI’s varied constituent base, Stacey seeks to sharpen the focus on things that differentiate and elevate Fogarty from other incubators.  “We need to be louder sooner, because it helps drive the interest that will help our organization and its companies succeed,” she said.

A professional writer for more than 20 years, Stacey began her career in public relations, leading communication campaigns for companies in diverse industries, including law, commercial real estate, technology, architecture, and non-profit, before starting her own public relations firm and discovering her passion for healthcare.  “When I found healthcare, I was communicating in a space that matters to everyone,” she said. Her ability to transform complicated material into clear content is a powerful tool that brings immeasurable value to the organization.

Prior to joining Fogarty, Stacey was the communications manager for Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign, a training and education program for healthtech innovators and long-standing partner of Fogarty Innovation.  “I love that there is a strong partnership between Fogarty and Biodesign because it enables me to stay in touch with my Biodesign family,” she said. Now, Stacey is looking forward to supporting her Fogarty work family by taking on the exciting challenge of leading education programs, which is a new endeavor for her.

A resolute optimist, Stacey loves spending time with her three adult children, playing tennis, scuba diving, and listening to audiobooks.  She admits to having a childlike sense of humor and believes that “if you look for the humor in most situations, it’s much easier to thrive.” This open, welcoming view of the world enables her to be a constant problem solver. Stacey does not just have big ideas- she comes with the plan to see them through.

Peggy  McLaughlin

Strategic Clinical and Regulatory Advisor

As recounted by Birgit Johnston

Peggy loved STEM before STEM was a thing. By third grade she already knew she wanted to focus on science and went to UCLA as a biology major with the intention of attending medical school after graduation. But anxious to “get to work” and cognizant of the many years that medical school would require, she decided to jump into the industry, making her mark in a host of ways that didn’t involve a medical degree.

That was 30 years ago and along the way she has amassed an impressive list of experiences and successes. Her first job out of college was in sales with a startup in the medtech space doing chemosensitivity testing for cancer patients, where she had first-hand access to clinicians and cutting-edge science. She soon joined Target Therapeutics, a joint venture between Advanced Cardiovascular Systems and Eli Lilly, where she handled projects ranging from pre-clinical trials to the lab and eventually hired the company’s first salespeople, customer service and marketing team and selected and managed its international distributors.

She spent over 10 years there as both an employee and later a consultant and helped to guide the evolution of the business from a focus on oncology to becoming a leader in the nascent interventional neuroradiology field.

After the birth of her second child, Peggy began a consulting career, which allowed her flexibility while her children were young. When she felt like her third child was settled in elementary school, she took a full-time role with Abbott Vascular Devices, where she led its drug-eluting stent project.

One of her former colleagues asked her to join a startup housed within The Foundry, which was the perfect match for her skillsets and interests. She later joined the Kleiner Perkins-backed start-up, Autonomic Technologies, which was developing a neuromodulation technology for the treatment of migraines. While neither of these companies reached commercial success, the experiences and lessons learned added to Peggy’s acumen.

Today she is delighted to bring that expertise to Fogarty Innovation where she is a strategic clinical and regulatory advisor, indulging her passion for early-stage companies.

With particularly deep experience in First In Human clinical studies and de novo petition submissions for novel medical products her skills are uniquely suited to support both clinical and regulatory needs at Fogarty.

In her spare time, Peggy likes to garden, hike or run, do yoga and spend time with her family and new puppy. She also enjoys indulging her passion for books and reading while helping the local community by serving on the board of her local library foundation. And she continues to mentor and teach at the Stanford Biodesign program, which she has done for over 11 years. Peggy is also an avid traveler, which she found to be a fantastic byproduct of working on clinical trials.

John Morriss

Director of Invention Acceleration

As recounted by Zach Edmonds, MD

A seasoned R&D professional, John has 18 years of experience in the medical devices industry, with a focus on supporting early-stage companies through the entire process, from device inception and iteration to technological and clinical validation and finally, physician training.

John’s passion for the medical field developed organically. Growing up, family dinner conversations were often about medicine, given that both his parents are physicians. He saw how they valued hard work, attention to detail and putting the patient first, and aims to live by those same values. He firmly believes that poor health is an overwhelming stressor and is passionate about medtech innovation because of its potential to reduce suffering. Working on challenging, complex problems motivates and inspires John to get up each day and come to work with enthusiasm and passion.

As an endurance athlete, John has learned the importance of focus, persistence, and tenacity. He finds running and cycling great distances to be meditative and restorative. These activities continue to deepen John’s ability to keenly observe himself and the world around him. He brings this attitude of commitment, consistency, resilience, and full attention / presence to his work and passions outside the lab / office.

Most recently, John served as partner of the Foundry for six years, where he also co-founded Twelve and led the development of its transcatheter replacement mitral valve. Prior to that, he gained his vast experience working in a variety of R&D engineering positions within several startups, including Acclarent, now a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. He is named on over 80 patents.

John finds Fogarty Innovation to be a rare combination of extremely bright people, a diverse set of projects, the energy of a startup environment and a collective sense that together they can advance the ecosystem. Through the Invention Accelerator Program (IAP), he has had the privilege of working with physicians who are developing their own novel solutions for unmet clinical needs.

His background is rooted in broad experiences and his R&D training has influenced how he approaches building anything new. He tackles each product with an open and fresh approach. In his own words, “In part, it’s the set of activities: rapid iterations of defining the problem, developing a strategy for addressing it, implementing the prototype, testing it, and analyzing the results. In part, it’s the mindset—ideally a combination of optimism, criticism, and flexibility. And in part, it’s the motivation that the outcome will improve the quality of life for many others.”

John holds a BA from Duke University, a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. As an avid outdoorsman, nothing prepares him better for a busy morning or smoothens a rough day than a long run, bike ride, swim, or hike.

Mike Regan

Chief Innovation Officer

As recounted by Marga Ortigas-Wedekind

Mike Regan feels a strong sense of duty given his experience in medtech. He believes there is a need to let the upcoming generation of entrepreneurs know just want an honor it is when a product they’ve worked on potentially helps improve people’s lives. “Unlike any other business, the profit motive is subservient when people rely on you to make their family member better. People count on us every day to do our job and make the right decisions to provide safe and reliable solutions.”

For all the seriousness with which he takes his business responsibilities, Mike is one of the sunniest and most likeable people you will meet. Both Fogarty Innovation entrepreneurs and his colleagues seek his counsel, which is often delivered with self-effacing humor. “As cliché as it sounds, it IS all about the people, and the medtech industry attracts the ones who are passionate, ethical and determined.” Mike is observant and loves learning people’s stories, “gaining magical insight” about them. He thrives when surrounded by those who share his core values yet are willing to challenge his point of view, creating a healthy tension that leads to better outcomes.

After a first job with American Medical Optics (now Johnson & Johnson) that had him moving quickly up the management track, he decided to give it all up and became a “ski bum,” for 18 months. “That was a foundational experience because I discovered that I could be just as happy as an engineer or a short order cook. It was up to me to look for things that made me happy as a human being.”

After that, Mike put his mind to a 35+ year career which spanned several leadership roles, not to mention clinical foci. Before moving to the medtech field, Mike worked with Coopers & Lybrand consulting, Clorox, and Walt Disney Engineering. Immediately prior to joining Fogarty Innovation, he served as chief operating officer at Minerva Surgical, a medical technology company focused on women’s healthcare. Before that, he was vice president of operations at Emphasys Medical (now Pulmonx), a developer of therapeutic solutions for emphysema patients. He was also chief operating officer of Cardeon Inc., working on innovative approaches for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. His first major medtech company was Guidant Corporation, which absorbed the start-up company where he was working, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems. Mike had roles as varied as Pilot Plant Manager, Director of International Sales and Division General Manager of the Peripheral Systems Group. Guidant has a special place in his heart be use it was there he met his wife, Theresa, whose outgoing personality he attributes with helping to draw him out of his own shyness. It also gave him his first opportunity to work and live outside the US, which he has done and enjoyed in many subsequent roles.

Mike still gets a catch in his voice when relating his proudest professional achievement. In a pediatric procedure where the patient was crashing and the doctor could not get a central line into the baby, someone in the ER suggested trying the Ultrasound needle product. He clearly recalls that faint little sound that guided the doctor to locate the baby’s vein and enabled him to revive the infant; even the most callous and experienced ER nurses had tears in their eyes. “If my whole career was just that one day and that one kid, we’d have done okay.”

At Fogarty, Mike loves to visit with each entrepreneur daily to see what he can do to help. He epitomizes our “full contact mentoring” approach, winning our innovators’ appreciation. Mike has been a great ambassador for Fogarty, representing us in the broader medtech ecosystem. He is one of the founders of the Diversity by Doing initiative with colleagues from Stanford School of Biodesign. Mike is also a frequent speaker and panelist in different industry forums.

When not working, Mike likes to keep moving — hitting the ski slopes, open water swimming in San Francisco Bay, hiking, playing tennis or learning Italian with his wife, who is a nurse at Stanford and with whom he shares the love of their two adult children. Mike holds a BS in industrial engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Julie Regan

Operations and Quality Associate

As recounted by Mariela Baughman

As a business associate at Fogarty Innovation, Julie spends her time working on projects related to people, safety, and operations.  She is particularly focused on creating a safe and efficient lab area for the engineers at Chronus, one of Fogarty’s current companies in residence. “Chronus works with blood, so their lab space has to meet higher safety standards,” she explains. Julie purchases chemicals and consumables for the team, creates safety binders and training presentations, and provides personal trainings.

While she loves the intense operations focus, she notes that the variety of work she encounters on a daily basis that keeps her engaged. “Working here has taught me to switch gears in a second,” she says. “One minute I am working in the lab learning about a new chemical, and the next minute I have a completely different project. I am learning how a facility operates, the legalities of owning a business, and how medical device companies operate,” she says.

A Bay Area native, Julie went to school at St. Johns in Queens, New York, where she earned a degree in marketing and discovered that she likes the East Coast, cold weather and all. After graduating she completed an internship in the employer division at Stanford University to learn more about the field of human resources. Still uncertain about a career path, she stepped into a role in lab operations at Fogarty Innovation and discovered a passion for designing and implementing procedures that help companies operate safely and efficiently. “Creating streamlined processes for startups makes me feel like I helped them keep their minds on the bigger picture for their companies – solving important medical problems,” she said. “I want to see these companies succeed and really enjoy doing whatever I can to help.”

Going forward, Julie hopes to be able to take on more responsibilities in the lab area for the companies incubating at Fogarty. Her goal is to eventually move into a facilities manager role. She’s also interested in continuing her East Coast adventures and is considering an eventual move to North Carolina. A club swimmer for ten years, she has also worked as a swim instructor and is particularly fond of teaching children. She also likes to spend time listening to live music, walking her dog, hiking, and going to the beach.

Craig Straley

Clinical and Regulatory Director

As recounted by Gayle Kuokka

Craig sums up his love for the medtech industry:”at the end of the day, your work ends up helping patients with life-improving or life-saving therapies, that is easy to get passionate about.”

With more than 25 years of experience conducting clinical research, Craig has forged strong relationships with co-workers, health-care providers, patients, and regulators. It has been a rewarding way to combine his engineering education—he holds a BSE and ME in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University—with his strong interest in medicine to help drive medical device innovation.

Craig has worked at both large companies and early-stage startups, most recently at Medtronic, following its acquisition of Twelve, Inc. As vice president of clinical affairs at Twelve, Craig developed and executed the early clinical studies for the Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement program. Earlier, as VP of clinical affairs at Ardian, Craig led the early stage clinical studies for a first-of-its-kind therapy of renal denervation, culminating in Ardian’s acquisition by Medtronic.

One of Craig’s proudest professional achievements is Ardian’s groundbreaking European randomized study of renal denervation to treat hypertension. He is delighted not only with beating enrollment projections and the trial’s ultimate success, but also with the team he worked with, including the physicians, research nurses, as well as the patients who courageously agreed to participate.

At Fogarty Innovation, Craig continues to embrace Dr. Fogarty’s philosophy of a “patient-first” focus, emphasizing to the companies-in-residence that developing robust clinical evidence will drive the ability to benefit the most patients.

Craig feels fortunate to work with a stellar group of experts, who also happen to be good friends. The opportunity to impact the next generation of medtech entrepreneurs across a fascinating variety of devices and technologies is more than exciting to him.

While he loves traveling with his family, he’s also always ready for a round of golf locally. Craig has a unique talent for practical jokes – just ask him to share a story or two when you meet him.