Her Story
About Jaclynn
I have spent almost 19 years in the biotechnology field, all at Biogen, which was my first job out of college. I started as a rotational employee, which I thought would be a good way to enter the workforce. The rotational program allowed me to spend 9 months to a year in different parts of the business - I started on the manufacturing floor, then moved to the chemistry lab, then to starting up the analytical development lab, and even did a rotation in South America. For the past 7 years, I worked in quality systems and enterprise management, where I ran the Quality Risk Management Program and provided global quality oversight for validation, qualification, facilities, utilities, maintenance, and equipment. As an internal consultant, my role involved socializing ideas and getting people on board with being compliant and solving problems. My most significant professional achievement was facilitating a risk assessment that led to a major facility upgrade for our flexible volume manufacturing, which allowed us to produce a higher quality, safer product, though it required extensive environmental upgrades. This work earned me a Biogen CEO Award in 2020. I also completed the employee rotational program in 2011 and received a CEO award for that accomplishment. Most recently, I received entrance into the Biogen 250 Club, which honors employees who have completed over 250 hours of community service work. I hold a Master's of Science in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins and a Bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering from NC State University. Beyond my corporate work, I serve as treasurer on the board of directors for Blazin' Trails Bottle Babies, a nonprofit in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jaclynn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say active listening, engagement, and the idea of servant leadership are key to my success. Kindness and adaptability have been crucial as well. In my job, I've been kind of an internal consultant, and to be able to socialize ideas and get people on board with being compliant and solving problems, you really just need to stop and listen to people for a while, and then ask questions. Being curious is really an important part, because you can't get to the bottom of a risk assessment if questions aren't asked, like, if the whole scenario isn't fully understood.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice, from my favorite boss ever, was if you are not voicing your opinions, then you're not doing your job. At one point in my career, I was more passive and just did as I was told, and then my boss kind of coached me to be like, look, you're here for your knowledge, don't be scared of what you know, and say it. If you have an opinion, say it. I think a lot of times, and also being a woman and not being the most senior person in the room, because as a consultant, an internal consultant, you're often not the decision maker - being able to not be afraid to stand by your convictions and to say, hey, this is what I think, and this is why, and you can agree with me or not, but it doesn't bother me if you don't agree with me.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to stay true to yourself and say it. Don't be afraid to have a voice.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In terms of risk management and quality, it is hard to use quality as an enabler, because of course it's important to produce a quality product, but as a business, businesses want to move faster and produce more. But we don't want to lose the quality aspects. A lot of corporations view quality as red tape, paperwork, the police, that kind of thing, and they really should lift up the production. They should lift up all of that. Quality should be used as enablers, not a hindrance that slows you down. Quality should be used in a smart way, with risk in mind, to make everybody stronger, because you don't want to produce a bunch of product that's not good or that's going to hurt somebody. Making quality more than a paper activity - the culture thing is very hard. Making things right makes sense, right?
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I really care about doing things ethically. I really care about treating others with respect. I care about doing the right thing. Integrity is a big thing for me, and increasing quality of life is very important to me. At Biogen, we have patients, and my quality role is to make sure the medicines they're taking are safe and effective, and the best quality product that we can make to help them live a better life. That's very important to me.
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