Dr. Stefano Bertuzzi is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). ASM is one of the largest life sciences professional societies in the world, with more than 30,000 members and activities in 122 countries. Its mission is to promote and advance microbial sciences.

Bertuzzi has wide experience in science policy and scholarly publishing, and was a senior scientific executive at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Office of the NIH Director, where he advised Dr. Elias Zerhouni on a wide range of science policy matters. He led the U.S. government negotiations with the European Union to achieve funding reciprocity between the NIH and the EU. He also worked with the Obama White House to develop an information system to captures the benefits of scientific investments during the Great Recession of 2008.

He is one of the leaders who spearheaded the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) to fight the misuse of journal impact factor metric. He contributed to the NIH revision of the peer review system and to the development of the key public access policy for NIH funded research, which started the Open Access movement in scholarly publishing. He is the recipient of many national and international awards.

Most recently, Bertuzzi has led ASM's efforts to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This included working directly with the White House COVID-19 Task Force, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase access to diagnostic testing supplies and addressing roadblocks to coronavirus testing. Bertuzzi penned a New York Times editorial and an mBio editorial outlining testing roadblocks and emphasizing the need for microbiologists and other scientists to support clinical laboratories to help contain the pandemic.

Bertuzzi received a Master's degree in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biotechnology from the Catholic University in Italy. He served as Director of Neurogenetic Laboratory in the Dulbecco Institute Telethon Scientist in Milan, Italy. He has authored numerous research publications, editorials, and science policy pieces in top journals. He is a thoughtful leader in science and a fellow of the prestigious Aspen Institute and a member of the Cosmos Club. In 2020, the President of the Italian Republic bestowed upon Bertuzzi the title of Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, one of the highest honors in the Italian Republic.

Jonathan Stevens-Garcia is the Chief Operating Officer for the American Society for Microbiology. In this role, he works to ensure that organizational priorities translate into clear, tangible, sustainable outcomes. He is a member of the CEO’s Direct Reports Team, and his direct reports include the Program Directors of the Academy, CPHM, Education, Meetings, Journals and ASM Press.
 
Previous to ASM, Stevens-Garcia was SVP for Global Thought Leadership at AARP where he focused on building a network of global thought leaders to meet the challenges of global aging.
 
Before AARP, Stevens-Garcia was CIO for Family Matters of Greater Washington (FMGW); Director of the Global Futures Project at the Bertelsmann Foundation; and Policy Director for the Main Street Partnership.
 
He began his career as an epidemiologist at the CDC in Atlanta, and a math and science teacher at the Boston Renaissance Charter School in Boston.
 
He holds a B.S. in biophysics from Florida State University, an MPH in epidemiology from University of South Florida, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler School of Business.
 
In his spare time, he plays rugby, boxes, runs, rock climbs and reads.
 

Kimberly "Kim" Shankle serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). In her current role, she is responsible for leading ASM’s overall human resources strategy, leadership development, talent acquisition, cultural development, member ethics, facilities, asset management, and general services.
 
She has been with ASM for more than 30 years. Her longevity with the society is a resource to the ASM team providing context and connectivity between the organization’s rich past and its future direction.
 
Prior to ASM, Shankle has work experience in the for profit and government sectors. She values the concept of lifelong learning, both formal and informal. Shankle holds professional memberships with the American Society for Association Executives, Council of Engineering and Scientific Association Executives, Society for Human Resource Management, DC Society for Human Resource Management, and Association for Talent Development. Under her direction, the ASM Headquarters building has received the EPA’s Energy Star designation for its operating efficiency for the last 15 years.

 

Chris DeCesaris is the Chief Financial Officer for the American Society for Microbiology. Prior to joining ASM, he served in various financial positions at National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). He began his career at the public accounting firm Grant Thornton where he served nearly 30 nonprofit clients. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Maryland.
 

Catherine Ort-Mabry has delivered game-changing results for scientific societies for more than a decade. Currently the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for the American Society for Microbiology, she has executive responsibility for engaging myriad members and customers, telling the exciting story about the renaissance in microbial science across multiple channels and platforms and serving as ASM’s brand evangelist.
 
Ort-Mabry is an active member of the senior leadership team, collaborating with ASM’s CEO to achieve the society’s goals and objectives and serving as a strategic leadership advisor. Other leaders frequently seek Ort-Mabry's guidance on effectively structuring and executing change initiatives that are taking the world's oldest and largest single life science membership organization into its second century. She also leads an integrated team of membership, marketing and communications professionals who provide a full portfolio of services: media relations, member communications, social media, website, digital strategy, product promotion, audio/video production, public outreach, graphic design, member engagement, local and student chapter relations and archives/organizational history.
 
A Certified Association Executive, Ort-Mabry thrives on partnering with organizations to achieve their missions through measurable outcomes. She holds a Master’s degree in communication from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. An active community volunteer, Ort-Mabry serves in leadership positions in her professional society and a number of cultural organizations.
 

Tom Lyons, Chief Information Officer, joined ASM in 2014 to help the organization update and transform its use of technology, data and business systems. He is responsible for enterprise-wide IT operations as well as planning and implementing information systems to support the business. As part of the senior management team, Lyons provides vision and leadership in the development and utilization of ASMs information assets and technology tools. Lyons collaborates and partners with units across the breadth of the organization on strategic opportunities to help advance the mission of the Society through the investment in and application of technology tools.
 
His background includes over 30 years of experience in technology operations, software development, project management and strategic planning. Those past experiences include global law firms, large national not-for-profits as well as other associations. Lyons holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the Catholic University of America as well as pursuing ongoing education and certifications in business, leadership and technology.
 

Allen Segal joined the American Society for Microbiology in July 2018 as Chief Advocacy Officer. Working with the Society’s Public and Scientific Affairs Committee, he is responsible for programing focused on policy development, member engagement, and policymaker outreach. He also serves as part of ASM’s executive leadership team. Segal joined ASM after 7 years with the Society for Neuroscience, where he served as Senior Director, Policy and Member programs. In that capacity, he oversaw departments responsible for the bulk of SfN’s programmatic functions, including advocacy and animals in research activities as well as the development of a scientific training program. Prior to joining SfN, Segal served as the Director of Federal Affairs for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. He also developed expertise in federal budget and appropriations work while advocating for the American Cancer Society. He began his career in government relations working on federal employee and postal issues for the National Association of Letter Carriers and served as federal legislative director at the National Association of Home Builders.

Segal holds a Juris Doctor from the American University, Washington College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in American Government from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Dr. Christine Rousseau became Chief Business Development Officer on December 1, 2020. She brings over 20 years of international experience as a life sciences executive supporting the development of diagnostics, devices and vaccines. She has skills in strategy development, partnership engagement, clinical/regulatory affairs (Global Health, Infectious Disease, Cancer) and operational management.

In her role as a Vice President of Corporate Development at Chembio Diagnostics Systems, Inc. and as Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, she established partnerships between major biopharmaceutical, diagnostic industry, academia and global organizations including Takeda, Mylan, Roche, UNICEF, UNITAID, the Global Fund and many others. Most recently, she led and closed deals raising $8.5M/year for Chembio Diagnostics Systems, Inc. At the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, she directed over $250M USD in assets for the development of molecular, cellular and serology diagnostic technologies. To enable such technology development, her work included the creation of an innovation hub to support laboratory systems globally and an African research organization to support clinical studies necessary for regulatory submission. She has played several leadership roles on cross-functional teams covering corporate strategy, acquisition prospecting, deal negotiations and financial investments, i.e. grants, equity, loans, strategic partnerships and license agreements. 

Rousseau has been recognized consistently by peers for integrity, strategic acumen, leadership and scientific expertise. She received her B.S. in Molecular Genetics from Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California (Berkeley, Calif.), and an M.S. in Epidemiology from the University of Washington (Seattle).

 

Amy Kullas, Ph.D., is the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)'s Director, Ethics. Kullas is responsible for oversight and management of ASM's organizational ethics policies and procedures program. She oversees and facilitates the reporting process, discussions and resolution of allegations relating to science ethics, misconduct and harassment. Kullas came to ASM from the National Institutes of Health, where she had been an intramural research fellow with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from Stony Brook University.

Dr. Nguyen K. Nguyen joined ASM as the Director, American Academy of Microbiology in August 2019. Before ASM, Nguyen was the Associate Director for Science & Practice Programs at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) where he served for three years to bring together clinical laboratory scientists to pioneer scientific programs at AACC.
 
Before AACC, Nguyen was the Partnership Development and Relations Manager at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR).  In this role, Nguyen managed the partnership mechanism to foster scientific collaboration and transfer technologies and expertise of the National Laboratory to the scientific & business communities. Nguyen also directed the Visiting Scholar Program to bring in prominent researchers to FNLCR to exchange expertise. At the beginning of his career, Nguyen was selected as a Science & Technology Policy Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He served as the Futures Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) working on strategic planning, foresight research, and data analytics.
 
Nguyen received his Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and his B.S. degree at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
 

Peggy McNult is the Clinical Director at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). She works with volunteers to advance the practice of clinical and public health microbiology by developing and delivering professional development content for members to increase their knowledge, enhance their skills and contribute to the profession.

To achieve its mission, the Clinical and Public Health Microbiology Committee (CPHMC) offers professional certification, online education, mentoring, accreditation of postgraduate education programs, development of evidence-based guidelines and monitoring of issues that impact the practice and profession ― coding, reimbursement, personnel standards and workforce.

McNult has worked at ASM for more than 30 years in several different departments, allowing her the luxury to develop relationships with many members who work in multiple disciplines of the microbial sciences. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland.
 

Janet Hedrick joined the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in June 2017 as the Director, Membership & Engagement. She has worked exclusively for non-profit associations during her career, previously serving as the Director, Member Services with the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA).
 
Hedrick has 20+ years as an association executive working on membership engagement, marketing, fundraising and data management strategies. She has spearheaded the development of creative membership and volunteer programs, managed committee and chapter relations and guided the systems implementation of numerous association software platforms. She has an undergraduate degree in International Relations and Spanish from Virginia Tech. 
 

Irene Hulede is the Director, Education at the American Society for Microbiology. In her role, she is responsible for developing strategic goals to advance education, professional and career development in the microbial sciences, and executing policies and practices to achieve its goals. She oversees the development and implementation of ASM education initiatives and helps lead ASM efforts that promote a culture of inclusion to achieve diversity in science. She is co-principal investigator of ASM’s signature STEM conference, the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) and serves on national external advisory committees of several organizations including the National Summer Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP), Understanding Inventions and the Leadership Alliance.
 
Prior to joining ASM, Hulede held several positions at Bentley University, Student Affairs Division, where she led university wide student and faculty development programs. She was instrumental in launching diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Bentley University.
 
She holds a B.S. degree in economics-finance and a certificate in human resources management from Bentley University, Waltham, MA.
 
She joined the ASM Education Department in 1994.
 

Jennifer Tomb joined the ASM Meetings Department in Sept. 2015. Prior to ASM, she directed scientific programs and meetings operations at the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Tomb has over 20 years of experience in the meetings industry. 

Tomb received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Certified Exposition Manager (CEM).