Get an inside look at the entrepreneurial journey as women leaders in life sciences and biotechnology share their experiences creating companies, raising funding, overcoming leadership challenges, and driving growth.

Note: Ticket includes heavy appetizers and two drink vouchers.

Program 

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  Networking
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.  Panel and Q&A

Speaker Bios

Jessica Blomberg, PhD, Founder and CEO of Quality CMC Consulting

Jessica came to NC in 1999 for graduate study in chemistry at Duke University, built her career in the RTP life sciences community, and launched the firm in 2012. She bootstrapped Quality CMC from $100 and grew it organically through client trust and referrals. She brings laser-focused analytical precision and perseverance to complex problem solving. As both a strategist and execution partner, she helps life sciences leaders evaluate opportunities through technical due diligence, resolve complex CMC, Quality, and Regulatory challenges, and advance products through development, commercialization, or back to market. With nearly 25 years of experience, she helps founders and leadership teams make phase-appropriate, product-specific, and compliant decisions when the path forward is not obvious. Triangle Business Journal named her its 2020 Life Science Consultant of the Year, and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation honored her with its 2025 Neil Armstrong™ Award of Excellence. She also advises and mentors emerging STEM entrepreneurs and growing life science companies. 

Hadassah Eley, PMP, Owner of CME Strategies

As the owner of CME Strategies, Hadassah frees up her clients’ space for innovation. Prepared with a pharmaceutical science degree from North Carolina Central University, two decades in the manufacturing industries, and certifications in project management, root cause analysis, Lean Six Sigma, and problem-solving facilitation, Hadassah is committed to amplifying company operations. She has been a consultant with problem-solving and decision-making experience for multi-million-dollar processes within manufacturing, a strategic planner for the VP and C-Suite levels for organizations needing to respond to organizational structure changes, and a change manager for implementing new company-wide software processes and workflows. When it comes to manufacturing, those processes are easily quantifiable, and the benefits from Hadassah’s expertise have been undeniable: increase product output by 30%, reduce product rejects derived from deviations, increase process adherence with easy-to-execute procedures. She is passionate about sharing her expertise; she believes in equipping businesses with productivity methods because, as she says, every business deserves to succeed.

Pepper Landson, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UNC

Pepper is a life sciences executive, biotech founder, executive coach, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UNC. Over her 30+ year career, she has worked across the drug development continuum, from discovery through NDA filing. After leadership roles in multiple early-stage companies, she moved into the C-suite, then co-founded and led a biotech company focused on the chronic diseases of aging. She has raised millions in dilutive and non-dilutive funding and now advises biotech startups as a fractional CXO and founder thought partner, helping translate science into fundable, operationally sound companies. She is currently studying AI for Biotech & Pharma at MIT, focused on AI tools to accelerate drug development. Pepper brings 15 years as a certified leadership coach and a deep service mindset, reflected in her four years of volunteering with WIB, where she has co-led and recently overhauled the eMAPS program. Pepper's work is shaped by lived founder experience: ambition, uncertainty, resilience, humility, and grit. 

Kimberly Lupo, Founder and CEO of Portrett Pharmaceuticals

Kimberly is the founder and CEO of Portrett Pharmaceuticals, a cGMP-compliant contract research organization based in Wilmington, NC, specializing in small molecule analytical testing. With over 19 years in the pharmaceutical industry, Kimberly built her career at Metrics Contract Services (Mayne Pharma) before launching Portrett in 2021 with a clear mission: to make a meaningful impact on her team through a collaborative, growth-focused culture, and on patients worldwide through the analytical services that help bring safe, effective drugs to market. Kimberly holds a BS in chemistry from UNC Pembroke, an MS in analytical chemistry from UNC Charlotte, and an MBA from East Carolina University. She is a recipient of the 2022 (Emerging Company) and 2024 (Biotechnology) Coastal Entrepreneur Awards.

Leah Townsend, PhD, Executive in Residence at Cofounders Capital

Leah currently works at Cofounders Capital, a seed-stage venture capital fund focused on B2B software companies in the Southeast. She is an entrepreneur and executive turned venture capitalist, focusing primarily on B2B software startups in the Southeast. Moving into venture capital was inspired by her work with startups, especially as an angel investor with the RTP Angel Fund. She has a deep understanding of early-stage companies, taking a faculty-founded startup from university to acquisition in ~2.5 years that she initially identified from a list of over 60 university startups, as well as extensive experience with due diligence and investment decisions. She is also passionate about graduate education and professional development, serving as adjunct faculty for GRAD 726, advising student professional development clubs, and mentoring numerous students as they navigate transitions to careers in industry. Leah is an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a BA in philosophy, a BS in psychology, and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Pricing Information

• Members: $25
• Non-members*: $40

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Please read WIB's Code of Conduct and Refund Policy.

Note: A confirmation email will be sent after registration has been completed.  

Registration Deadline

September 2, 2026

Maximum Capacity

150

Parking Information

Free parking is available on-site.