Our Board of Directors

Bold Leadership, Backed by More Than a Century of Experience

With extensive expertise across the pharmaceutical, medical, and nonprofit sectors and a passion for advancing public health, our Board of Directors supports NP2’s efforts in equalizing access to life-saving prescription drugs.

William C. Buhles

Co-Founder + Board President

Bill is a pharmaceutical scientist who has served as a clinical leader bringing life-saving medicines to market including the antiviral drug ganciclovir. Beginning in 1983, Dr. Buhles designed and ran Phase I, II, and III clinical trials in virology, oncology, and transplantation and oversaw later stages of drug development including authoring and submitting new drug applications to the FDA and European Union. He worked at Roche, Syntex Corporation, Gilead, and Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Buhles holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, both from the University of California, Davis.

Jacob P. Lalezari

Co-Founder + Board Vice President

Jay is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Quest Clinical Research in San Francisco and has served as a principal investigator for Phase I, II, and III clinical studies of new therapies for viral diseases including HIV/AIDS, CMV, HPV, HSV, Hepatitis B &C, Influenza, RSV and cancer. He has published many research papers and presented research at numerous international conferences. Dr. Lalezari holds an M.A. degree in English Literature from the University of Virginia and earned his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania.

David Figg

Board Treasurer

David is the Chief Executive Officer of Rice’s Pharmacy, one of the largest retail pharmacies in Kentucky. He oversees payer engagement, purchasing/procurement, workflow efficiency, and patient experience. He is an engineer by training with expertise in data analytics, process optimization, and automation. He earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering and at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.

Donna Kato

Board Secretary

Donna is Founder and Strategic Advisor to Regulatory Professionals Inc. (RPI), a Division of Premier Research, where she currently serves as an advisor and holds an observer seat on the Board of Directors. Donna brings more than 35 years of experience developing drugs in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. She has led teams of professionals with deep preclinical, clinical, and CMC expertise in the development of small molecules, biologics, cell-based therapies, and combination products through all phases of development, including preparation of marketing applications and post-approval activities. Donna started her career at Syntex in discovery research and later joined its worldwide regulatory affairs department (acquired by Roche) and led regulatory affairs departments at several biotech start-ups. She holds a BS degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Jodi Andrews

Board Director

Ms. Andrews is an established Silicon Valley leader with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, device and clinical research industries. She is the co-founder and CEO of ProTrials Research, Inc. a multi-million-dollar global company. ProTrials Research has been noted as one of the 50 top women owned businesses in Silicon Valley from 2007 to 2022. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. degree in animal science and business, Ms. Andrews began her career in toxicology and clinical research at Syntex Pharmaceuticals where she held several roles within the toxicology lab and clinical development. She later served as a Global Clinical Project Manager at Otsuka America, where she directed multiple Phase I through IV protocols focused on HIV therapies in the U.S. Europe, and Asia.

Dr. Molly Chiah

Board Director

Dr. Molly Chiah holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and has nearly 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Molly has worked in many pharmacy settings, including hospital pharmacy, long-term care, retail, and specialty pharmacy. She has also served as the lead pharmacist on clinical trials, including Phase 2 and 3 studies for COVID-19 treatment, a targeted cancer vaccine, and HIV and Hepatitis B therapies.

Dr. Joe Jacobson

Board Director

Joseph Jacobson, MD serves as Chief Quality Officer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he is responsible for patient safety and quality of care in the principal disciplines of oncology at the main institution and its network programs. He is trained in Medical Oncology and Hematology, holds a Master’s degree in epidemiology and completed advanced training at the Intermountain Healthcare Institute for Healthcare Delivery Research. He has practiced extensively in academic and community settings and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Terri Miller

Board Director

Terri is a Board member and the Executive Director at NP2, and brings more than 30-years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector with particular expertise in fundraising, marketing, strategic planning, and organizational development. Throughout her three decades of working with nonprofit organizations large and small, Terri has remained committed to helping organizations see the big picture while supporting them in taking the necessary action steps to achieve their goals. Terri earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management from San Francisco State University. She later returned to her alma mater to teach a post-graduate course in Strategic Planning.

Jon Nygaard

Board Director

Jon is senior counsel in the drug and device regulatory and healthcare law practice of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He brings many years of experience to the firm, regularly advising clients in the medical device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology fields on a variety of regulatory and healthcare issues, such as FDA compliance, clinical studies, FDA product approvals and clearances, labeling, advertising, and promotional matters. Jon’s prior experience includes a long tenure as senior counsel at Syntex Corporation before its acquisition by Roche. Jon earned his Bachelor’s Degree in French from Yale University, his Master’s Degree in Education from Butler University, and his Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University.