Dr. Mary Maxon is a Visiting Associate at Caltech’s Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy. Previously she was Executive Director of the Biosciences Institute at Schmidt Sciences where she led a new effort to seed innovation in synthetic biology and the bioeconomy. Dr. Maxon has worked in the private sector, both in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as the public sector, highlighted by her tenure as the Assistant Director for Biological Research at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she was the principal author of the Obama Administration’s National Bioeconomy Blueprint. She is a member of the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy, a member of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium Board of Directors, and a member of the Carnegie Science Board of Trustees. Dr. Maxon serves as a biotechnology subject matter expert for Eric Schmidt, a Commissioner on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology.