NH Research and Industry Council

As Director of Workforce Development, Doiron works to advance state workforce development strategies and oversees and administers the staff and programs at the Office of Workforce Opportunity (OWO) within the Department of Business and Economic Affairs. The Office of Workforce Opportunity administers New Hampshire’s federal funding under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Joe previously served as Deputy Director for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR), as the Workforce Development Administrator in OWO and as Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Prior to state government service, Joe worked in Senator Kelly Ayotte’s office. He has a BA in political science from New England College and a master’s degree in public administration from Norwich University. He lives in Pembroke with his husband Gabré and their rescue dog King.

Sarmad Saman is the President of White Mountains Community College. President Saman studied and conducted research in microbiology before transitioning to administrative positions.

Saman completed the Community College Leadership Academy in 2014. He holds the academic rank of Professor in Microbiology and most recently served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Academic Officer at Bristol Community College. Saman also served at Bristol as Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Acting Dean for Online Learning, and Interim Dean for Behavioral, Social Science and Education. At Mass Bay Community College, in addition to fulfilling the primary responsibilities as Professor of Microbiology and Chair of the Life Sciences Department, Saman held appointments as Interim Dean of STEM. 

Saman has extensive experience in grant writing and management, including a $4.4 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to Bristol Community College to build a Clean Room (spaces typically used in manufacturing to ensure a low level of pollutants). He was honored by the Massachusetts Medical Research Society for his leadership in building new programs that develop the skills of today’s students for the industries of tomorrow.  Saman has received awards from The League for Innovation in the Community College for Excellence and for Innovation on Corequisite Models of Developmental Math Education.

Sister Paula Marie Buley is President of Rivier University in Nashua, NH. A member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Immaculata, PA, Sister Paula brings to Rivier more than twenty-five years of experience in higher education administration. Formerly Executive Vice President of Administration at Seton Hall University, she has served in senior roles at Anna Maria College, Mount St. Mary University and Immaculata University. She holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A.L.S. in Catholic Studies from Georgetown University, and an M.B.A. from Villanova University. She currently serves as a director for Catholic Charities of New Hampshire and St. Joseph Hospital. She is also a member of the executive committee for both the New Hampshire Higher Education Commission and the New Hampshire College and University Council. Her professional service has included extensive experience in the development and implementation of comprehensive master plans and programs which support teaching and learning excellence, and her research interests include issues of organizational governance and leadership in higher education.

Dr. Erin Santini Bell is the Interim Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire. She earned her Ph.D. in Structural Engineering and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Tufts University, and her B.C.E. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to her current role, Erin served as Department Chair and Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNH.

Dr. Bell is a passionate educator and expert in steel work, bridge engineering, and structural design, Dr. Bell has deep roots in the ironworking tradition, being the granddaughter of a Tuscan blacksmith and the daughter of a Massachusetts steel fabricator—experiences that have shaped her unique perspective on engineering education. She specializes in bridge health monitoring and structural performance, having led groundbreaking research projects such as the Living Bridge project in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Erin has received multiple research grants, reflecting her expertise and innovative approach to the field.

A dedicated professor since 2003, Erin is committed to inspiring the next generation of engineers, combining her love for teaching with her ongoing work in bridge engineering.

Dean Madden is a Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He also serves as PI and Director of the COBRE Institute for Biomolecular Targeting and the Dartmouth Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Research Center. His research interests include ion-channel conformational flexibility, trafficking, and localization. In the context of CF, Dean’s lab focuses on the molecular interactions that regulate the half-life and overall abundance of functional CFTR. The group then uses biochemical and structural approaches to develop patented and patent-pending inhibitors of endogenous and bacterial protein targets. Dean received his A.B. in Physics (1985) and his Ph.D. in Biophysics (1992) from Harvard. During a post-doctoral fellowship, and then as an independent group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany, he directed his interests towards ion channels and their molecular structures and interactions. He joined the Dartmouth faculty in 2002.

Marian McCord joined UNH as Senior Vice Provost for Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach in February 2020.

McCord came to UNH from North Carolina State University, where her 25-year career spanned faculty, research and administrative roles. Most recently, she was the Associate Dean for Research at NC State’s College of Natural Resources, where she oversaw the college’s sponsored program portfolio and research infrastructure with more than 200 active projects and 19 testing and service centers. During her tenure, multidisciplinary research proposals and awards increased by 50 percent

A biomedical engineer, McCord’s research focuses on human health applications of textiles and biomaterials. She co-founded two startups based on her research: Katharos, Inc., which aims to provide phosphate filtration solutions for end-stage renal disease patients, and Vector Textiles, LLC, which produces textile-based vector protection for humans, plants and animals.

McCord received an M.S. in bioengineering and Ph.D. in textiles and polymer science from Clemson University. She received a Sc. B. in biomedical engineering from Brown University.

Lisa Thorne is communications director for the University System of New Hampshire and serves as a representative for Chancellor Todd Leach. Prior to joining the University System, Thorne was Verizon’s vice president of legislative, regulatory and community affairs for New England. Prior roles at Verizon included national director of grassroots and public policy, in Washington, D.C., and vice president of regulatory and municipal affairs in NH. She is a graduate of Leadership NH and graduated from St. Michael’s College with a BS in business/biology. She serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester.

Liz Gray joined the NH Small Business Development Center as State Director in July 2018. Prior to this, she served as director of entrepreneurship at the NH Business Finance Authority. She established Live Free and Start, an initiative to make New Hampshire an even better place for innovative companies to be able to start, grow, and succeed. She held the position of economic development business services manager at the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development, and has extensive experience within the New Hampshire political community. Additionally, she worked for more than ten years in various capacities in the offices of governors Shaheen, Lynch, and Hassan, and as a legislative aide in the NH State Senate. Gray serves on the UNH Manchester Advisory Board, and on the boards of directors of the UNH Alumni Association, the Alpha Loft, and the NH High Tech Council, where she is the council’s chair of the Government Affairs Committee. She earned her master’s in public administration from UNH, as well as her bachelor of science, cum laude, with dual majors in environmental conservation and international affairs.

With more than seventeen years of experience at Lyophilization Services of New England (LSNE), Aimee has direct responsibility for the operations, validation, facilities and project management group across numerous contract manufacturing facilities. She brings together knowledge of industry practices, regulations, quality and customer service to ensure the successful execution of all pharmaceutical and medical devices projects. She holds a number of patents for medical devices and received a B.S. in Biology from the University of New Hampshire.

James (Jay) Hoying, Ph.D. FAHA is Partner and Chief Scientist of Advanced Solutions Life Sciences (ASLS), a company pioneering solutions in vascularized tissue fabrication and biomanufacturing. Prior to joining ASLS, Dr. Hoying was the Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Therapeutics at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (CII) and Professor in the Department Physiology at the University of Louisville. He has over 25 years of experience in basic and applied biological sciences research with a focus in tissue biology, tissue vascularization, and cell therapeutics. He received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Biology and Molecular Biology from Case Western Reserve University and his PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology, with an emphasis on the microcirculation, from the University of Arizona. Following this, Dr. Hoying served as a New Investigator in the National Institutes of Health Program of Excellence in Molecular Biology of the Heart and Lung (POEMB) in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Cincinnati. He currently serves on the Editorial staff of two national scientific journals and reviews for several other national and international journals. Dr. Hoying reviews individual and program grant proposals for the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Affairs, the American Heart Association, and international funding agencies. In addition to his numerous published works, Dr. Hoying holds patents related to vascularizing tissues and related cell-based therapies; technologies that have been translated to companies. Dr. Hoying was one of the first to publish in the area of vascularized tissue model fabrication. He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Jeff McIver is consumer product manager at Consolidated Communications, a broadband and communications provider. Prior to joining Consolidated Communications in 2018 he was senior product manager at SilverTech, a digital marketing agency, and at FairPoint Communications, he was application and infrastructure release manager. He earned his Master of Business Administration in Global Studies at Southern New Hampshire University and his Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics the University of Maine.

Cindy Conde is currently an independent consultant focused on helping companies build highly effective teams/leaders, develop effective strategic plans and execution roadmaps, build a robust competency around Project & Program Management. She also works with many technical organizations on organization & operating model design and implementation in the digital era. Her 30-year professional career spans across the consumer products, retail, medical device, biotech/pharma, information technology, and consulting industry sectors. Prior to her current role, Cindy spent 20 years at Sanofi and Genzyme, and was CIO for Sanofi Genzyme, CIO for Sanofi North America, VP of Information Technology for Genzyme Genetics, and Director of Operations for Genzyme’s Diagnostics Products Division, as well as a four-year sabbatical consulting on Program & Project Management and Building Highly Effective Teams. Prior to Genzyme, Cindy was the Director of Manufacturing Operations at CR Bard Cardiovascular Division, was co-founder Hawkeye Software Systems, a start-up software development company, and held various engineering positions for both CR Bard and Polaroid Corporation earlier in her professional career. Cindy also currently serves as Co-Chair for the BioMed|Tech cluster of the NH Tech Alliance and is a member of UMass Lowell’s Industrial Advisory Board for the Francis College of Engineering. Cindy earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering and was inducted into the Francis Academy of Distinguished Engineers in 2017.

Terrance (Terry) Large served as the Director - Generation Engineering and Technical Services for Eversource/PSNH/Northeast Utilities until he retired in 2018. He had more than 32 years of service with the company in a variety of roles including Operations and Administration. Terry has also served in roles leading New Hampshire's strategic and business planning processes, legislative and regulatory work associated with Generation ownership and operation, and Renewable Energy Market activities. He has overseen PSNH's Economic and Community Development and Energy Efficiency functions and managed the PSNH Capital and O&M budget processes. Most recently, he served as the Director of PSNH Customer Operations. Previously, Terry served on the staff of the New York State Department of Public Service. Additionally, Terry served for six years as a member of the Board of the Northern Forest Center, an organization working to promote sustainable forest-based economies in the northern forest regions of New England. He currently serves as Board Chair for Leadership New Hampshire, and on his local community’s Planning Board and Business Development Commission. Terry earned his AB in Engineering Science from Dartmouth College and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Union College. He also completed the Penn State University Executive Management Program and the Leadership New Hampshire program.

A New Hampshire native, Justin joined the Belknap Economic Development Council (Belknap EDC) in 2014 as its Executive Director. He is responsible for implementing Belknap EDC's strategic goals including supporting entrepreneurs, enhancing business development programming; and managing its business financing programs. He joined Belknap EDC from the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development where he worked on workforce and economic development initiatives throughout the state. Earlier in his career, he served as an aide to Governor John Lynch. He volunteers as a Director of the Granite United Way and New Hampshire Research and Industry Council and is Past President of the New Hampshire Alliance of Regional Development Corporations. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Plymouth State University.