Carmen Caricchio
President
With more than a decade of public relations experience, Carmen has helped biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies gain awareness and recognition in the news and on Wall Street. She has launched and supported numerous ophthalmic, cardiac, oncological, dermatological, respiratory and endocrinological drugs, as well as medical devices, lasers, drug delivery systems, gene sequencing instruments, diagnostics and laboratory products.
In addition, Carmen has promoted award-winning disease awareness initiatives by bridging the work of worldwide advocacy organizations, research institutions and pharmaceutical companies.
Carmen is a communications advisor to BIO, the world's largest biotechnology organization and she is an entrepreneurial coach for Astia, an organization committed to high-potential, high-growth women-led start-ups at all stages. She is a member the San Francisco Publicity Club, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and Ophthalmic Women's Leaders (OWL) and she is a frequent speaker for medical device industry organizations worldwide.
Carol Hyman
Media Relations Director, CoActive SF
Carol has more than 20 years of public relations experience, including 10 years in healthcare. She formerly headed the news team for the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, and was the director of media relations for Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland. She has worked closely with a number of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, including Neopharm, Medtronic, Ceregene and Antigenics. In addition, she has covered basic science research, including groundbreaking work studying gold nanoparticles to fight certain cancers.
Carol began her public relations career as a press officer for the State of Maryland. She was a speechwriter for Govenor Parris N. Glendening and press liaison for Maryland's First Lady, Frances Hughes Glendening. After moving to California, she was the Public Information Officer for the City of Palo Alto, before transitioning into the field of healthcare communications.
Carol has an undergraduate degree in philosophy and attended graduate school in journalism at the University of Montana and the University of Maryland. She is a volunteer with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Until There's a Cure.
Drew Avril
Media Relations Director, CoActive NYC
Drew Avril is a public relations professional with more than ten years of experience in the fields of healthcare, entertainment and consumer goods. Most recently, Drew specialized in designing, managing and executing targeted media relations campaigns for high-profile physicians, hospital divisions, state health associations and medical device companies. He has been instrumental in the launch of several medical technologies and procedures, and effectively managed his clients' publicity needs as they navigated the sensitive FDA approval and clearance processes.
Drew's clients have received national and international coverage in major news mediums such as USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, TIME, Elle, Maxim, ABCNews.com, Yahoo! Health, WebMD, Associated Press Radio, CBS Radio Network, CNN Headline News, CBS Evening News, WNBC-TV, and more than 100 other major television affiliates nationwide.
Drew sharpened his communications skills in radio and television as a writer and reporter covering a wide variety of stories including the 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, the TWA Flight 800 crash and the environmental impact of pollution on the Long Island shoreline.
Drew studied environmental science and communications at Cornell University, English and journalism at SUNY Stony Brook and broadcasting at New York Institute of Technology.
Andrew Geddes
Account Manager, CoActive Sydney
Andrew has 20 years experience as a business journalist, correspondent and corporate communications and investor relations advisor. He has helped life science and healthcare companies position themselves to successfully speed their clinical trial recruitment, raise funding and drive international medical and investor awareness.
Andrew has worked internationally in print, television and radio and has created successful targeted communications for audiences in Australia, Asia and the USA. He specializes in helping companies develop products and services within the global life sciences and information technology industries.
Alisa Bonsignore
Medical Writer
Alisa has more than 15 years of experience as a writer and editor for healthcare, medical device, pharmaceutical and high technology clients on both coasts. She has extensive experience with devices for respiratory monitoring and therapy, as well as minimally invasive cardiovascular technologies.
Prior to joining CoActive, Alisa worked with a diverse client base including Covidien (Tyco Healthcare), Johnson & Johnson, Knoll Pharmaceutical and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She provided planning and development for PR campaigns, customer communications, continuing education programs, peer-reviewed scientific papers, marketing collateral and web content, and edited science textbooks and psychology manuscripts.
Alisa holds a BA in English and Political Science from Bucknell University and is a member of AMWA, the American Medical Writers Association.
Shauna Farr-Jones, Ph.D.
Analyst/Science Writer
Dr. Shauna Farr-Jones has 15 years of experience as a bench scientist and seven as an industry analyst. She currently consults for biotechnology companies writing government grant applications, conducting market research and technology assessment. She was recently at BioCentury Publications, the leading biotechnology business newsletter, where she analyzed and wrote about strategic market and technology issues affecting biotechnology companies.
Previously, Dr. Farr-Jones was editor at the Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modeling, covering developments in silico drug discovery. Her scientific research has included peptide and protein structure using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, protease mechanism and molecular modeling.
Dr. Farr-Jones' education includes post-doctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Tufts University in Boston, a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Southampton University, England and Certificates in Marketing and Finance from the University of California, Berkeley extension. She is a CFA level III candidate.
Stephanie Baba, OD, FAAO
Medical Writer
Dr. Baba has served on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley School of Optometry for more than 15 years. She has written numerous publications including white papers, journal articles, and instructional brochures for optometric journals and commercial endeavors. Dr. Baba is presently contributing editorials to publications of the American Optometric Association.
