San Francisco, CA 1956

Born in occupied Estonia. I have a MS degree in Chemical Engineering from TalTech (Tallinn Technical University) and completed my graduate studies (Ph.D) at Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, Germany. After graduation I completed a post-doctoral fellowship and then worked as a staff scientist at UCSF, School of Medicine. Since having transferred to Biotech, I have worked at several prominent multinational companies and startups in various technical and business management positions. I founded my own consulting company in 2010, and am a senior consulting Partner at Bridge4Bio and am a board member of Silicon Vikings.

The mission and goals of EANC ring true to my heart. I appreciate what EANC has done during its 70 years of existence. I have enjoyed the activities during my first term and would like to continue to be of service. I have volunteered at various events organized by the San Francisco Eesti Selts, attended the AABS Conference 2018 in Stanford, and was part of the team that brought the critically acclaimed exhibit "Estonia through 100 Pairs of Eyes" to the San Francisco World Affairs Center.

l am a member of the EANC Fund Raising and Strategy committees, and have frequently participated in the annual Baltic Advocacy Days coordinated by JBANC. I have helped to organize two meetings with Nancy Pelosi’s office (one live, one virtual) and visited with her and other Congressional offices in 2019-2021 during the JBANC Baltic Advocacy Days. More generally, my advocacy work has included in-person visits on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in 2019 and virtual meetings in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

As a council member I have also taken on roles to help connect the Estonian American community with Estonia and Estonian culture; I have been in touch with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir ("Kaljuste Kammerkoor") and hope to facilitate their performances in San Francisco and possibly also at surrounding events. As an elected EANC delegate since 2018, I have attended all in-person meetings in 2019 and was present virtually in 2020 and 2021.

During my first term on EANC I have served on the Fund Raising and Strategy committees, and participate in Estonian American National Council events and committee activities regularly. I am among the Council members who organized EANC’s first fundraising auction, ESTO|Raiser, in Autumn 2021.