Hi everyone -
Welcome to the fall newsletter of 2020. I hope that you and yours are doing well and staying safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Like everyone, all of us here at IMPACT are looking forward to a brighter 2021!
In this newsletter, you'll find news about recent developments at IMPACT, as well as some information on our plans for the future.
Whether it be by subscribing to our newsletter or blog, joining us at one of our Making an IMPACT events, or following us on social media, we hope you'll engage with us, and don't forget to call if you need us! We're here to help.
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The Making an IMPACT team donated $1.5K to StepUp Durham's One by One fundraising campaign for their program that offers free employment readiness training, personalized job coaching, employer referrals, and supportive services to job seekers in Durham.
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Season of Giving
We'll be hosting our 5th annual Season of Giving event this year by raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, participating in IMPACT on Health's virtual mission, writing holiday cards for the residents at Chatham Commons, and adopting 4 angels through Angel Tree in an effort to spread some holiday joy. |
Want to be part of our events? Email Brandi and Laurel to join our Making an IMPACT mailing list. |
Virtual Lunch
In an effort to stay connected and get a chance to actually see each other more often, we set up biweekly virtual company lunches. Game Series Our series of games continued virtually! We played trivia, Codewords, Scattegories, Never Have I Ever, and other games on video chat. Halloween Trunk-or-Treat We hosted a Trunk-or-Treat event to celebrate Halloween this year. We had a lot of fun decorating our trunks, passing out candy to the kids, making s'mores, and watching the classic "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"!
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Holiday Gift Exchange
December 11, 2020
We're taking our end of year holiday party virtual this year. We'll be getting together in ugly sweaters, eating lunch, and swapping gifts.
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| Walking Group
The virtual walking group is going strong, with employees sharing tidbits from their exercises.
IoH will also be sharing favorite trails/greenways in the area.
Breathing and Exercise ResourcesIoH will be sharing resources for employees to practice breathing exercises and stretches at home, along with a sample workout routine.
Virtual Mission IoH announced and launched a new virtual fitness challenge to promote fitness during the holiday season! We are working together as a team, logging exercise, to journey from our office in RTP to Quebec City, Canada!
We will also be collecting donations
for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
on our journey.
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Book Club
We gathered (virtually) to discuss Spillover by David Quammen
in July and Bad Blood
by John Carreyou in October.
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We are always hiring Experienced Medical Writers! Check us out!
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Drug Development & IMPACT
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Wonder Where You Can Find Us?
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Round up of past virtual appearances:
June
* Steph attended 3 medical device RAPS seminars.
July * Steph attended the "How to Transform Quality and Regulatory Programs from Cost Centers to Profit Centers" through RAPS.
August* Ryan was a speaker for the Duke PostDoc Association Alum Zoom series. * Steph attended the "Peer Insights to Audits and Regulatory Professional of the Future" seminar through RAPS.
September * Mark virtually attended the annual RAPS conference. * Amanda D attended the NCACPA Business & Industry Fall Conference. * Brandi and Steph attended an NCRAF seminar titled "The Art of Effectively Managing Virtual Presentations and Meetings". * Julia attended a seminar from the FDA called "Achieving Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Clinical Research".
October * Julia attended a seminar from STAT called "The Future of Clinical Trials".
Upcoming appearances:
We are practicing social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, but please reach out to us virtually!
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Behind the Curtain at IMPACT
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Executive Leadership Team Update
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As part of a year-long review of our performance as an organization, IMPACT has commissioned 2 new leadership teams. The first, the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), is responsible for setting strategies that support IMPACT's mission to develop and inspire pharmaceutical professionals. The positions that serve on IMPACT's ELT are:
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| Top (left to right): Nancy Gasper-Smith, Amanda Derr;
Bottom: Mark Cierpial; Not Pictured: Tim Garver |
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* CEO - Mark Cierpial, PhD, RAC
* CSO & CCO - Tim Garver, PhD
* Senior VP, Business Operations & CFO - Amanda Derr, CPA, CGMA
* VP, Medical Writing Services - Nancy Gasper-Smith, PhD, RAC
* VP, Regulatory Services - Mark Cierpial, PhD, RAC (acting)
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The second team, IMPACT's Leadership Team, is charged with the
cross-functional implementation of IMPACT's corporate goals and strategies. In addition to the members of the ELT, the members of IMPACT's Leadership Team are::
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| Top (left to right): Jac Camp, Leigh Grieco, Kim Nice;
Bottom (left to right): Chrissy Williams, Jenny Garver, Jeff Golden |
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* Senior Director, Medical Writing Services - Christina Williams, PhD, RAC
* Director, Medical Writing Services - Jennifer Garver, RAC
* Principal Consultant, Medical Writing Services - Kim Nice, PhD
* Director, Regulatory Services - Jeff Golden
* Director, Human Resources - Leigh Grieco
* Director, Information Technology - Jac Camp
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In October, we added to the management team for Medical Writing Services, and we are very excited to announce the following promotions:
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Top (left to right): Kelly D'Arezzo, Rebecca Pogue, Caroline Drucker;
Bottom (left to right): Kasturi Puranam, Abby McLeod
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* Kelly D'Arezzo - Manager, Quality Control
* Caroline Drucker, PhD, RAC - Manager, Medical Writing
* Abigail McLeod, PhD, RAC - Manager, Medical Writing
* Rebecca Pogue, PhD - Manager, Medical Writing
* Kasturi Puranam, PhD - Manager, Medical Writing
We are very appreciative that Kelly, Caroline, Abby, Rebecca, and Kasturi are willing to serve in this capacity, and we have no doubt that they will fulfill their management responsibilities with the same professionalism and competence that they demonstrate in their project work for our clients.
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 Nicole Tackmann was promoted to Senior Clinical Research Scientist. Since joining IMPACT in 2017, she has demonstrated remarkable growth as a medical writer and as a wonderful mentor and leader. She has taken on increasingly complex projects, successfully collaborated on a multitude of documents and projects, and offered her time and talents to serve on several of IMPACT initiatives. In her first PM role this year, Nicole's stellar scientific expertise, organizational abilities, and leadership skills have been highlighted and consistently praised by her team. Nicole is a phenomenal team player who is always willing to go above and beyond to help out a colleague in need. Each of us benefits on a daily basis from Nicole's outgoing personality, sense of humor, and kindness. |
Euan Griffiths joined our QC group in July. He comes to IMPACT from Lionbridge Technologies where he worked as a Project Manager in the Life Sciences division. Euan has a PhD in Comparative Literature from UNC Chapel Hill, which means he's a Tar Heel fan! He speaks French, German, Spanish, and Japanese! Euan is originally from England, but now lives in North Carolina with his wife Jessica, their 2 daughters, Caroline and Genevieve, and dog named Pippin.
Bernice Wolen joined IMPACT in September as a Clinical Research Scientist II. She has prior experience in medical writing from Blackbriar Regulatory Services and PPD. Bernice will be working remotely from Memphis, Tennessee where she lives with her husband Aaron and their 2 kids, Max and Zoe. Bernice enjoys spending time outside and completing DIY projects for her home in her spare time.
 Tom Hedberg joined IMPACT in October as a Consultant, working remotely from Connecticut. He has over 20 years of CRO and pharmaceutical experience spanning multiple indications and specialties. Tom and his wife, Chikako, have 2 sons, Aron and Moshe, and several unique pets such as turtles, a lizard, and a pair of geckos. Tom's hobbies include antique automobiles, astronomy, and cheering for the Yankees and Manchester United.
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