Current Page: Home Golden Tickets Career Forge News Contact Us WE IGNITE CHANGE to fuel greater diversity and inclusion across biotech in Boston and beyond Research shows that human diversity in the workforce is a driver of greater innovation. At Ignite, we are committed to a more highly diverse biotechnology sector, from labs to leadership and from the STEM student pipeline to the entrepreneurs advancing life-changing innovations that heal, feed, and fuel our world. We envision a new era for biotech that taps fully into the talents and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, Latinx/o/a, women, and other historically excluded students and professionals to help solve the world’s biggest problems with creative science. We promote innovation by expanding a community of partners equally dedicated to inclusive change in biotech. We build and scale programs that provide equitable access to industry labs, mentors, and career placement. We invest in the best training programs closing the racial and gender representation gaps for our industry. Our Model We are systemically radicalizing all levels of the talent advancement cycle. INVEST collaboratively in amplification of the work of others to inspire and educate CONNECT entry level talent to opportunities in our industry ADVANCE underrepresented scientific leaders, build maturity of DE&I in our industry REPEAT: create a positive feedback loop of scientific leaders inspiring, connecting and advancing the next generation Our Activities Advance Ignite Entrepreneurship We envision an innovative Boston Biotech community that reflects the demographic makeup of our community. Supporting promising talent from underrepresented categories requires intentional investment of time and money. LabCentral Ignite’s Golden Ticket and Fellowship program provides underrepresented entrepreneurs access to industry introductions, brilliant peers, and the most powerful investors. Learn More. Changing Perspectives Talent preparation is only half the challenge. Preparing industry leaders with training in diversity, equity, and inclusion will increase the ability for talent to succeed equitably. Industry leaders must think differently about how they carry their biases, how they imagine their team, and how they unlock the power of diversity for better results. In 2021, we are providing training to leaders of scaling early-stage companies and directing underrepresented talent from our network of training programs to their teams. Connect Career Forge We build and support programs that end under-employment of promising talent due to systemic challenges related to discrimination, race, ethnicity, and generational poverty. By placing talent from our high-quality program directly in our industry network, more talent will land in meaningful opportunities in the industry. Learn more. What the Heck is Biotech? Ever wondered ‘What is the biotech industry that everyone in Cambridge keeps talking about?’ We’re offering community members the opportunity to join us at LabCentral for the chance to learn the basics of biotech, experience life as a scientist (lab coat and all!), and discover what potential career opportunities they could be missing out on! Email us at ignite@labcentral.org now to learn more! Invest Talent Ecosystem Fund There are dozens of impactful nonprofits and educational institutions already building internship opportunities, supplying job training, and developing technical education. In partnership with industry, we employ our comprehensive map of the regional talent development ecosystem to efficiently invest in high quality programs through collaborative grant-making. Initial investments are already underway. Invest with us. The Opportunity Interested in learning more or joining the Ignite Community? I'd like to... * Learn more about donor opportunities Join the Ignite network of non-profits Stay in touch by joining the Ignite mailing list 0% Advisory Board Deval Patrick Former Governor of Massachusetts Johannes Fruehauf, MD, PhD Co-founder, President LabCentral; CEO, Biolabs; General Partner Mission BioCapital John Harthorne Director, LabCentral; Founder & Managing Director, Two Lanterns Venture Partners Jo Viney, PhD Co-Founder, President, & CEO, Seismic Therapeutics Kenn Turner President and CEO at the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Peter Parker Co-founder, Director, LabCentral; Managing General Partner & Co-Founder, Mission BioCapital Steve Tregay, PhD Director, Chairman of the Board, LabCentral; Managing General Partner, Mission BioCapital Susan Windham-Bannister, PhD, D.Sc Director, LabCentral; CEO, Biomedical Growth Strategies Our Team Gretchen Cook-Anderson Executive Director Krista Licata Managing Director Harry Gerard Program Specialist Rachele Ryan Director of Partnerships Sara Bunch Communications & Program Specialist Matt Mackay IT & Data Intern Investments Gold Sponsor LabCentral LabCentral Ignite 700 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02139 ignite@labcentral.org