Before founding Gulf Sterilization, Michelle Scott built a thriving speech pathology private practice, which continues to flourish 15 years later. During and after the pandemic, she became increasingly aware of medical product supply chain challenges through conversations with colleagues and family in the healthcare industry. Her research revealed a critical issue: limited sterilization capacity and growing concerns over the environmental and safety risks associated with traditional sterilization methods.

Determined to provide a safer, more sustainable solution, Michelle established Gulf Sterilization—a state-of-the-art facility specializing in chlorine dioxide (CD) gas sterilization. CD offers an effective and environmentally responsible alternative, ensuring both sterility and safety without the harmful emissions of conventional methods.

As CEO, Michelle led Gulf Sterilization through the rigorous ISO 13485 certification process and continues to drive innovation in CD technology, including process optimization and packaging development. In Spring 2024, she represented contract sterilizers at the Alternative Sterilization Scientific Exchange, hosted by Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson in Munich, Germany. Most recently, she was appointed co-chair of the Kilmer Alternative Modalities Team.

Michelle is an active leader in the sterilization industry, serving as a member of Bio Alabama, Women in Bio, and the Biotechnician Task Force for ACCS Innovation Center. She also contributes to the Industrial Sterilization and Sterile Processing Working Groups and is currently drafting TIR124: Guidance Document on CD Sterilization for the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

CSO, Member, Board of Directors and Chair, Scientific Advisory Board i-Seq Biotechnology.

Dr. Rayner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Director of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases (LID) at the University of South Alabama. He earned his PhD in Microbiology from Colorado State University in 1998 and completed post-doctoral research with the CDC and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, focusing on vaccine development. Dr. Rayner worked as a Research Scientist at AlphaVax, optimizing vaccine platforms, before joining MRIGlobal in 2005, where he expanded his research to therapeutic drug development. In 2012, he joined Southern Research, overseeing infectious disease research and serving as Principal Investigator on contracts with the NIH and BARDA. Since joining the University of South Alabama in 2017, his research continues to focus on the discovery and development of vaccines and therapeutics against emerging and re-emerging infectious disease of significant consequence to public health.

Michael is the CEO of Chonex, a pioneering bio-tech company focused on reducing chemical inputs and improving soil and crop health. Under his leadership, Chonex developed StrongSoil, revolutionizing soil microbiomes and enabling profitable agricultural outcomes with less risk.

Michael’s career features a strong track record of innovative programs for rural communities. His initiatives include recruiting Teach for America to Alabama, launching a rural housing program for seniors with mental illness, and developing a remote tutoring program for at-risk children with Auburn and UAB’s honors colleges. These programs have significantly impacted Alabama’s most vulnerable populations.

Dr. Josh Duplantis is Dean of Workforce and Economic Development for Coastal Alabama Community College. For over 20 years, Josh has supported business and industry needs along the gulf coast including building award winning apprenticeships, leading federal adult education programs, and designing and delivering short- and long-term certificate programs offering relevant credentials to job seekers. As a self-proclaimed data dork, Dr. Duplantis supports a regional infrastructure of chambers of commerce, workforce intermediaries, education, and industry by helping colleagues understand regional labor market information and use that information to create action plans focused on enhancing workforce and economic development. Josh is a federal grant reviewer for the National Institute of Health and has secured and managed over 20 million in grant funding focused on community development.

He currently serves on the board of directors of The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber and the Baldwin County Education Foundation; the advisory boards for the National ACT Work Ready Communities Council and the Southwest Alabama Regional Education Commission. Josh also serves on Governor Ivy’s Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways as a technical expert in education and training and is the Vice-President of the Workforce Officers Association of Alabama.

Dr. Duplantis holds a BS from LSU in Human Resource Education and Workforce Development, a MEd from Auburn in Higher Education and a PhD from Southern Miss in Human Capital Development.

Natalie Siracusa serves as the Laboratory Director of Green Health Laboratories in Foley, Alabama. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Natalie completed undergraduate studies at Christian Brothers University and received her Masters of Science in Forensic Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, graduating with honors in 2012. Natalie has spent the majority of her professional career in private analytical laboratory and forensic science. She has served as an executive and resident expert for multiple laboratories in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. She has assisted legislators and law enforcement at the state and federal level in understanding cannabis analytics best practices for the determination of quality and safety. Natalie’s commitment to community service and public safety has been a forefront in her professional development and her choice to practice in the cannabis industry since 2018.

Chris Harber is an orthopedic medical device veteran with 34 years of experience in product commercialization, corporate development and M&A. After leading commercial organizations in five start-ups and three multi-billion, multi-national companies at an executive level, Chris has co-founded and is CEO of Simparo Surgcial, headquartered in Mobile, AL. Since late 2021 Simparo has developed and launched the Anchor Line CMC Suspensionplasty System for the treatment of thumb CMC arthritis, which currently affects roughly 11 million Americans. The patented technology at the core of the Anchor Line system is a platform for an estimated sixteen additional surgical procedures throughout the body, positioning Simparo for robust future growth. www.simparosurgical.com

Caley Anderson brings a decade of experience in sales and business development within healthcare, biotech, and life sciences. She began her career at Cardinal Health, where she navigated diverse markets and geographies, helping surgery centers optimize resources and streamline operations. Her passion for the intersection of healthcare and technology led her to Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD), where she supports researchers across the southeastern U.S. with CDD Vault, a secure platform for managing and sharing drug discovery data.

As Director of Partnerships for Bullpen, an exclusive club for life science and biotech executives and investors, Caley curates strategic connections, attracts key resources, and enhances member experiences leading up to major industry conferences. With an undergraduate degree and MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University, she combines her expertise in business, economics, and consultative sales to foster innovation and collaboration in the scientific community.

An Alabama native, Jenny Hobgood began her career in medical sales over twenty years ago with a Silicon Valley-based startup, igniting her passion for innovative healthcare solutions. Now representing Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) in the Southeast, she collaborates with academia, AgTech, and biotech companies to streamline data management, foster collaboration, and expedite discoveries through CDD Vault.

With expertise in medical device sales, business development, and customer success, Jenny is dedicated to advancing scientific research by delivering secure and intuitive informatics solutions. She excels at building strategic partnerships and driving technology adoption in life sciences.

Jenny is passionate about empowering researchers because, when they succeed, the whole world benefits

Wes began his financial planning career in 2004 and established C2 Wealth Strategies in 2009. Wes helps individuals with their financial planning needs; including investment management, risk management, tax and estate planning strategies. He also works with corporations to help design and implement their employee benefit and retirement plan needs. Wes obtained the professional designations of AIF, CEPA, and CFS. He has earned the NAIFA Alabama Top Advisor Award for 2022, 2023, and 2024. As well, he will serve as Vice President of the NAIFA board for 2025.

Joseph joined C2 Wealth Strategies in early 2019. He serves clients as a financial advisor with a focus in risk management and serves as director of technology. Joseph earned his CRPS (Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist) designation.

Mike joined C2 Wealth Strategies in early 2017. He is a partner in C2 Insurance Group and is responsible for the overall sales and marketing strategy for C2 Insurance. He is certified to offer Medicare and employee benefit plans. He specializes in life, short term disability, long term disability, vision, dental, and long-term care insurance.