John F. Lewis, Jr.
Interim President
John F. Lewis, Jr., is a 4th generation Ohioan, his family tracing Ohio roots to the mid 1800s. He is a licensed attorney with experience in international business, venture capital investments and economic development.
He is currently the Interim President of BioOhio, the business development, trade association and membership organization accelerating bioscience economic growth and quality of healthcare in Ohio. John leads BioOhio’s expansion, attraction and site selection activities and is an outspoken advocate for industry led, market facing academic/industry collaborations. During the last 7 years, John has helped raise nearly $1 billion for Ohio bioscience entities. He was a founding partner of the First Fifty Fund and Ohio TechAngel Fund both based in Columbus. John has more than 18 years international experience, lived in Jamaica, Korea and China, the latter two with Perkin Elmer, while traveling to more than 42 others. A graduate of Miami (Ohio) University and Capital University Law School, John is married to Judy Huang and has one daughter.
Bill Tacon, PhD
Senior Director, Workforce and Education
Bill Tacon joined BioOhio in September 2002. He leads BioOhio’s statewide strategy to build a world-class bioscience workforce infrastructure aligned with industry needs. Central to this has been the establishment of industry-academic partnerships, which aim to develop educational curriculum and content that better prepare Ohio’s future workforce.
Bill brings a significant track record as a technical leader, innovator, visionary and research manager to BioOhio. With 29 years of experience in the development and commercialization of biotechnology-based products in the biopharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology arenas, he helps shape BioOhio and Ohio's biosciences future. He has proven expertise in anticipating technology trends and has been extremely effective at placing those organizations where he has worked at the leading edge of technology development and commercialization.
Bill came to BioOhio from Battelle, where he had spent 12 years shaping their biotechnology focus and business, most recently as a key member of Battelle's Healthcare Products business sector. Prior to Battelle, Bill was Director of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at Mycogen Corporation, San Diego, for two years. Mycogen (now part of Dow Agrosciences) was an ag-biotechnology company developing products incorporating the natural protein biotoxins produced by certain isolates of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) for the control of harmful insect and nematode pests. Bill received a B.S. degree in zoology from the University of London, in his native England. Later he earned a M.S. degree in Oceanography from the University of Southampton, England, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Sussex, England.
Scott Osborne
Director, Business Development
Scott focuses on bio-industry company attraction to the state of Ohio. He brings 30 years of experience in business development, general management, technology administration, strategic planning, and organization building.
Before joining BioOhio, Scott consulted for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and universities doing business planning, project management, market research, and grant writing. His preceding role was CEO of BioLOC, a biotechnology spin-out company from the Ohio State University. Prior to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Scott was Vice President of New Ventures for Battelle Healthcare Products where he managed the investment portfolio for the Healthcare Products Business, directed commercialization initiatives, and administrated the technology pipeline. He previously held various management positions at Neoprobe Corporation and Abbott Laboratories. Scott is an inventor on nine issued U.S. patents.
Jennifer Goldsberry
Manager, Member Services & Events
Jen manages BioOhio membership activty, including new member recruitment, and plans events. Born and raised in Ohio, Jen attended Bowling Green State University and completed her interpersonal communications degree with an internship at Walt Disney World. She spent some time in Tallahassee, Florida working as a blood drive coordinator for the local blood center and then as a stewardship program and events director at Florida State University Foundation before returning to Ohio.
Drew Cook
Project & Technology Manager
Drew was born in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Wittenberg University with a degree in East Asian Studies. Drew spent four years teaching in Osaka, Japan and returned to continue teaching here in Columbus. Drew joined BioOhio just as the Ohio Bioscience Resource Directory was being redeveloped, and continues to work on expanding and updating this valuable tool. Drew also works on general information management and reporting projects, including assisting with the preparation of the annual Ohio Bioscience Growth Report.
William Poore
Vice President, Finance & Administration