The November MVEDA Business in the Borderplex Forum will focus on the developing Life Sciences cluster in our region. The forum will feature Wayne Savage, Executive Director of the Arrowhead Research Park at New Mexico State University and Emma W. Schwartz, President of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation (MCA).

The forum will be held on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entrée buffet.

Advance registration is $25.00 per person, payable by major credit card via the secure portal on the registration form. Payment at the door with cash, check or credit card is $30.00 per person. Reservations are required. Registration closes Thursday, October 27, 2016.

About the Speakers
Wayne Savage is the Executive Director of the Arrowhead Research Park at New Mexico State University, a 175-acre facility currently in development of a healthcare and medical technology industry campus centered around NMSU’s medical research capacities, the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Arrowhead Park High School Medical Academy, and a number of tenant partners.  The Park provides our tenants the lowest overall cost of operation available in southern New Mexico and is a major component of NMSU’s economic development mission. Wayne chaired the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Commercial Space Committee for four years and remains active in economic development activities for the community and the region as a whole, including serving on the Borderplex Alliance Life Sciences committee, and on the board of the New Mexico industry association BIO (www.nmbio.org).

Emma W. Schwartz is the President of the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation, a non-profit organization that developed and is operating the first private biomedical research facility in the region: the Cardwell Collaborative (60,000 square feet of wet-labs, dry-labs, big data, office space, collaboration spaces, etc.).  This project is the recipient of the Texas Governor’s Community Leadership Award for health through the OneStar Foundation, the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Vision of Excellence award and the AIA El Paso design award, all in 2016.  The MCA has also acquired land for redevelopment on the campus, funded the development of the TTUHSC Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing building and launched a biomedical research and commercialization institute that is working to start-up technology companies using various sources of innovation, including NASA patents.  The MCA has raised and received commitments totaling over $60 million to help it achieve its mission from sources such as the City of El Paso, U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and local philanthropists.

The MVEDA Business in the Borderplex Forums are monthly events that provide public discourse of relevant economic development issues impacting Southern New Mexico.