- President and CEO | Georgia Bio
- B.A., Environmental Studies | Sweet Briar College, 2002
- M.P.H., Health Marketing/Communications & Maternal and Child Health | Tulane University School of Health
Maria Thacker Goethe majored in environmental studies at Sweet Briar and went on to earn a master’s degree in public health at Tulane University. Hurricane Katrina forced her to move back home to Atlanta, where she found a job in marketing at a small biotech group just starting up. She is now president and CEO of Georgia Bio and the Georgia BioEd Institute. In addition, she is executive director of the Georgia Global Health Alliance.
Maria Thacker Goethe has a simple way of explaining the Georgia trade association she leads: “We represent anything that heals, fuels, or feeds the world.”
Georgia Bio focuses on life sciences ranging from pharmaceuticals to medical devices to agricultural innovations and encompasses strategies for tackling climate change and new uses for artificial intelligence to tackle the most complex issues facing patient care. “Covid really catapulted the sector to new levels, so we’ve seen a massive resurgence in innovation,” she says.
For Maria, Class of 2002, a key priority is developing a workforce capable of supporting this increasingly complex field. Her organization hosts a program that trains 50 to 60 teachers a year in life sciences, including biology, chemistry, horticulture, and agriculture technology. The course offers virtual and hands-on training and provides materials teachers can use in their own classrooms.
Georgia Bio also maintains a warehouse full of surplus industry equipment and supplies, which schools can use for teaching and training students. Maria, herself, blocks out an hour a week to talk with students who want to pursue careers in the life sciences. She talks to them about job opportunities and strategies for reaching employers beyond what the internet provides. “The reality is job seekers still need to send the email and pick up the phone,” she says. “Networking is critical.”
Maria majored in environmental studies at Sweet Briar and went on to earn a master’s degree in public health at Tulane University. Hurricane Katrina forced her to move back home to Atlanta, where she found a job in marketing at a small biotech group just starting up. She is now president and CEO of Georgia Bio and the Georgia BioEd Institute. In addition, she is executive director of the Georgia Global Health Alliance.
“I’ve been here a while and I’ve moved up the rungs, but it’s because the members and their innovations are always so fascinating, and I see what this industry brings to patients and how it can tackle food inequities and the climate crisis. Additionally, I have been able to try a variety of roles during my tenure and have built a broad skillset,” Maria says.
Maria credits Sweet Briar with providing her the “best group of girlfriends I could ever ask for, who encourage and support me personally and professionally” along with lessons in critical thinking. The campus outdoor program, especially, taught her how to lead.
“I really do think that leadership comes in all shapes and sizes,” she says. “You can lead a corporation or an organization. You can lead a lab. You can lead a classroom. You can lead your household. And the foundation you’ve received from Sweet Briar is something you can build upon.”