About Us
The Bioscience Workforce Development Hub
The Bioscience Hub develops initiatives and secures funding to help bioscience faculty train a skilled technical workforce that meets industry needs with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We support 40 college bioscience programs in Biotech, Biomanufacturing, Medical Laboratory Technology, Histotechnology, Chemical Technology, and Food Science and Safety and high schools with dual enrollment and articulated programs throughout California. The Hub is hosted by Mira Costa College, in San Diego.
Our Mission
We help create and grow accessible pathways from K-12 to AS and BS Bioscience degrees that prepare a diverse workforce with state-of-the art, industry-relevant skills for a career in the bioscience industry.
Our Vision
Bringing innovation to bioscience education and training to create a diverse, inclusive and skilled bioscience workforce that meet employers’ needs.
WHAT WE DO
Bioscience pathways extend from K12 to higher education with the options to transfer to California Community Colleges (CCC) B.S in Biomanufacturing programs, UCs, CSUs, Historically Black Colleges, and other four-year institutions, or to work in industry. The Bioscience Hub supports these pathways working with faculty, administrators, industry employers, and bioscience organizations. We:
- Work closely with industry and workforce development partners to maintain awareness of industry demands through industry advisory boards, collaboration with the trade organizations, and our personal industry connections to advise curriculum development and gain access to jobs.
- Support rigorous bioscience program development
- Help promote programs to attract and recruit students
- Provide high school outreach through supply chain projects
- Facilitate events that familiarize high school and college students and counselors with Bioscience career pathways opportunities for students
- Provide faculty with professional development opportunities in state-of-the art technology and innovations
- Facilitate faculty forums and retreats for sharing of best practices
- Raise funding to support student and faculty work-based learning
- Partner with the NSF InnovATEBIO, National Biotechnology Center, to advance biotechnology workforce education and training nationwide.
The Life Sciences/Biotechnology Team
Terri Quenzer, Ph.D.
Executive Director for the Bioscience Workforce Development Hub at MiraCosta College
Terri Quenzer's Ph.D. is in Analytical Chemistry and she specializes in mass spectrometry instrumentation and method development. Dr. Quenzer introduced protein mass spectrometry to Pfizer, La Jolla in 2001 where it became a robust method for sequencing kinase and other proteins and developed other novel LC/MS methods for drug discovery. She served on the national committee for the American Chemical Society that granted ACS Approval to two-year Chemical Technology programs, and locally on the Biocom Education Committee. As Executive Director, Dr. Quenzer develops initiatives and secures funding to help bioscience faculty train a skilled technical workforce that meets industry needs, and to provide paid work-based learning opportunities for students (internships, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships) to launch their careers. Dr. Quenzer currently serves on the Leadership Team of InnovATE, the National NSF Biotechnology Education Center, and will be a Co-Principal Investigator on the next InnovATEBIO Center grant.
Josie Sette, MS
Hub Director
Josie Sette holds an M.S. in Education from Indiana University. She is a former California Community Colleges Life Sciences/Biotechnology Regional Director for the extended San Francisco Bay Area. Josie promoted and connected colleges to the industry, K-12 system and government. She supported curriculum development and K-14 career pathways, and facilitated training for instructors, teachers, industry employees and displaced workers. Josie has directed several successful biotechnology career pathways and workforce development projects throughout the region including the NSF-funded Learning Alliance for Bioscience with sixteen high schools participating and the work-based learning BioSCOPE Project with students from eight colleges producing educational lab products. Previous to her career with the community college system, she spent about 20 years working in the Bay Area industry as manager of training, technical publications and customer support.
Keau Wong, M.Bt.
Hub Director
Keau is the former Employment Engagement Director for the San Diego Region with the California Community Colleges. In this role, he applied his background in science, education, and research to the Biotechnology and Life Sciences initiatives in San Diego and Imperial County. He oversaw industry engagement, program development and research to inform best practices for the regional STEM programs, including K14 program replication and expansion as well as evaluating the labor market impact of these programs. Keau started his biotechnology education at Mira Costa College and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from CSU San Marcos in Biological Sciences and Biotechnology. Prior to this position, Keau spent the last 7 years working in the Clinical Genomics division at Illumina, Inc., as well as adjunct appointments in the Biotechnology department at Mira Costa College.
Wendie Johnston, Ph.D.
Hub Director
Wendie Johnston, Ph.D. (UCLA, 1968) designed and was the first Director of the Biological Technology Program at Pasadena City College. She is currently Lab Director at the Pasadena Bio Collaborative wetlab incubation and training facility and is the regional resource to community colleges in LA (16) and Orange County (4) and South Coast (4) which are training workers for the biotech industry.
Marilyn Roybal
Administrative Assistant
Marilyn Roybal supports the Bioscience Workforce Development Hub at MiraCosta College through coordination of communications, scheduling, and data-driven reporting. She plays a key role in helping the Hub meet its strategic objectives by ensuring timely and accurate tracking of outcomes. Marilyn has worked at MiraCosta since 2017 and brings a strong commitment to student success and operational excellence.