Press Release

Industry, Workforce Leaders, GA Dept. of Education to Receive 2010 GaBio Community Awards

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ATLANTA, GA (January 13, 2010) -- Georgia Bio (GaBio) each year recognizes individuals, companies or institutions for significant contributions to Georgia’s life sciences industry with its GaBio Community Awards. The recipients will be honored at the Annual Awards Dinner January 21 at The Retreat of Dunwoody.

The 2010 recipients are Debra Lyons, Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development; Norene Quinn, Principal with Association Managements Services; Wayne Reid, Partner with Frazier & Deeter; and the Georgia Department of Education, represented by Sue Snow, Ed.D., retired Associate Superintendent for Standards Based Learning, and Gary Steppe, Director of  Career, Technical and Agricultural Education.

Debra Lyons was named by Gov. Sonny Perdue as director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development in 2006. She is responsible for advising the Governor on policy and implementing initiatives to strengthen the state’s workforce development enterprise. Ms. Lyons initiated the state’s Work Ready program and led the effort to organize the Innovation Crescent Life Sciences Work Ready Region. As a result, the Innovation Crescent region received Work Ready Region grants totaling  $1.7 million to create an articulated life sciences career pathway from high school to technical colleges to universities; create training for the existing life sciences industry workforce; eliminate the skills gap using Work Ready Certificates and Work Ready job profiling; and increase high school graduation rates.

Norene Quinn, principal and owners of Association Management Services, has brought energy, imagination and enthusiasm to the management of Georgia Bio for more than 12 years. First engaged by Georgia Bio in 1997, she helped rebuild membership and meeting attendance, stabilized revenue and brought much-needed structure to the operations of the Board of Directors and its committees.  The level of her commitment has not wavered over the years as a key member of the leadership team responsible for GaBio’s current stability and success.

Wayne Reid, a partner with Frazier & Deeter, is an original member and the longest-serving director of Georgia Bio as well as the long-time treasurer of the organization.  Mr. Reid has served Georgia Bio faithfully with intelligence, dedication and good humor. As a key participant on GaBio’s leadership team, Mr. Reid serves as an example of how one individual can shape the face of an organization and the industry it represents.

The Georgia Department of Education (GDoE) has implemented the first-ever statewide effort to bring biotechnology science and career education to Georgia’s middle and high schools. The GDoE has launched a biotechnology research and development career pathway, and is developing it as a cohesive curriculum which integrates both science and career and technical education standards. The GDoE’s strategy not only will teach students the science of biotechnology but also and make it relevant to post-secondary education and career opportunities. Linking the biotechnology curricula with career information provides tangible evidence of a pipeline of skilled bioscience workers for the growth of Georgia’s industry.

In addition to recognizing the GDoE, the 2010 Community Awards honor two administrators leading development of the biotechnology program: Sue Snow, Ed.D., retired Associate Superintendent for Standards Based Learning in the Office of Standards, Instruction, and Assessment; and Gary Steppe, Director, Career, Technical and Agricultural Education.

GaBio’s 2010 Annual Awards Dinner will be held Thursday, January 21, from 6 pm to 9 pm at The Retreat of Dunwoody. Click here for a list of past awards recipients. Credentialed members of the news media are invited to attend. Registration is complimentary. Please contact Maria Thacker (404-920-2042; maria.thacker@gabio.org).

Georgia Bio (www.gabio.org) is a private, non-profit association representing nearly 300 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, universities, research institutes, medical centers, government groups and other business organizations involved in the development of products that improve health and well-being of people animals and the environment. 

Media contact:         
Charles Craig
404-920-2043
charles.craig@gabio.org