Her Story
About Andrea
Andrea Penn is a healthcare and life sciences leader with a diverse career spanning clinical practice, pharmaceutical sales, medical affairs, clinical training, and commercial leadership. She currently serves as Senior Director, Global Customer Training & Field Excellence at Autolus Therapeutics, where she leads customer and internal training initiatives designed to strengthen clinical knowledge, product understanding, field capabilities, and professional effectiveness. Her work encompasses training related to products and disease states, competitive treatment landscapes, customer interactions, patient registration, access to therapies, speaker development, virtual presentation skills, storytelling, and interpersonal effectiveness. Her career reflects a unique ability to bridge clinical expertise with commercial strategy and organizational learning.
Andrea began her healthcare career at age 16 and progressed through registered nursing and nurse practitioner roles before transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry in 2019. Her clinical background includes work in blood and marrow transplantation and medical dermatology, as well as expertise in oncology, hematology, clinical trials, and cellular therapy. She subsequently held roles with Amgen and Kite Pharma before advancing into commercial learning and development leadership and ultimately her current global customer training and field excellence position. She holds an MSN in Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner from Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and an MSN in Clinical Nurse Leadership from Saint Xavier University. She is also an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center and completed Strategic Sales Management continuing education through Harvard Division of Continuing Education in 2025.
Throughout her career, Andrea has focused on translating complex scientific and clinical concepts into practical strategies that empower healthcare professionals and support better patient outcomes. She has developed and led training programs, supported product launches, collaborated with cross-functional teams, and contributed to the advancement of cellular and gene therapies. Her accomplishments include recognition as Amgen's 2020 Rookie of the Year, Kite Pharma's 2021 Rookie of the Year, and a 2025 ALL-Star Award recognizing cross-functional excellence. Andrea is passionate about clinical excellence, innovation, leadership development, and advancing healthcare delivery. Looking ahead, she aspires to expand into marketing and strategic planning, where she can apply her clinical and commercial experience to product launches, messaging, and broader business strategy. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys traveling, photography, concerts, and live music.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Andrea
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my ability to bring together clinical expertise, industry experience, continuous learning, and a genuine passion for empowering others. My career has allowed me to work across nursing, clinical practice, pharmaceutical sales, medical affairs, and commercial learning and development, giving me a broad perspective of the healthcare ecosystem. I am passionate about understanding how different parts of healthcare connect and using that knowledge to help providers, teams, and ultimately patients. I also believe that remaining curious, developing my skills, and embracing opportunities to learn have been important factors in my professional growth.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would encourage the next generation of women entering healthcare and life sciences to remain open to non-linear career paths and to embrace opportunities that allow them to grow beyond their initial area of expertise. My own career has evolved from nursing and nurse practitioner roles into pharmaceutical sales, medical affairs, clinical training, and commercial leadership. That experience has shown me that the skills you develop in one area can become incredibly valuable in another. I would encourage young professionals to stay curious, continue learning, build strong relationships, and look for opportunities where they can combine their expertise with their passion to make a meaningful impact.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The information provided does not give a direct response to this question. However, Andrea's professional focus reflects significant opportunities in cellular and gene therapy, clinical education, customer training, healthcare innovation, and improving the adoption and delivery of advanced therapies. She is particularly interested in translating complex science into actionable strategies that empower providers and improve patient outcomes.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The information provided does not include a direct statement identifying Andrea's specific personal values. However, her professional profile demonstrates a strong emphasis on patient-centered care, collaboration, continuous learning, mentorship, clinical excellence, innovation, and service. She is particularly passionate about empowering healthcare professionals, strengthening relationships across the healthcare ecosystem, and ensuring that scientific advancements translate into meaningful outcomes for patients.
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