Leadership - Pacific Northwest Research Institute

Executive Leadership

PNRI is a small, lean, and independent biomedical institute. Our structure is nimble and flexible, with an administrative team built around a core value of supporting the scientists in their pursuit of discovery. Together, we are improving human health for generations to come.

John Wecker, PhD

President and Chief Executive Officer

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John Wecker, PhD, is the President and CEO of PNRI. Prior to joining PNRI, Dr. Wecker was Global Program Leader, Vaccine Access and Delivery at PATH, where he established and managed projects accelerating the introduction of life-saving vaccines into the poorest countries in the world. Dr. Wecker spent over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently with Boehringer Ingelheim, where he was International Project Leader for the development of Viramune® (nevirapine), an antiretroviral for the treatment of chronic HIV infection and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Dr. Wecker established the Viramune Donation Program, an innovative public-private partnership that provided developing countries access to Viramune free of charge for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Dr. Wecker holds a PhD in Biological Psychology from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.

Dionne Gordon

Chief Financial Officer

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Dionne Gordon is the Chief Financial Officer at PNRI where she manages and oversees accounting, financial planning and analysis, grants management, and purchasing. She brings to the position over 20 years of tax, audit, finance and accounting management experience with local and global companies. Most recently, Dionne was the Corporate Controller at TwinStrand Biosciences where she built the finance department and supported several rounds of record-breaking fundraising efforts. She earned her undergraduate degree from University of the Pacific, post-graduate management degree from University of California, Berkeley, and an advanced certification from the Internal Revenue Service.

Shannon Bowen

Chief Advancement Officer

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Shannon Bowen is the Chief Advancement Officer for PNRI where she oversees both development and communications. She brings 17 years of development and communications experience and has a long track record of securing six-and-seven-figure gifts from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government entities. Previous positions include Senior Director of Development for the Center for Environmental Health, Vice President of Development for Making Waves Foundation, and Director of Development and Communications at Civicorps. Shannon earned her BA from Trinity University and is a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Advancement Northwest.

Justin Dukes

Director of Operations

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Justin Dukes is the Director of Operations for PNRI where he oversees information technology, building facilities, animal facilities, glass wash, systems engineering, and tenant relations. Justin has held a variety of roles in IT and systems engineering with several companies before joining PNRI as the IT Director, and then advanced to Director of Operations.

Lisa Latendresse, SPHR

Director Human Resources

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Lisa Latendresse, SPHR is the Director of Human Resources (HR) for PNRI. Lisa brings her extensive global HR experience in several industries including healthcare and tech to her position. Her areas of expertise include recruitment, benefits, compensation, employee relations, organizational development, immigration, training and development, managing change, performance management, talent engagement, HR tech, coaching and mentoring, and HR strategy design/alignment/execution. Previously, she was the Head of People for Route Line and the AVP, Senior Human Resources Business Partner for OYO USA. Along with her HR-subject-matter expertise, Lisa brings a strong business acumen as she was previously the CEO of two software companies and an HR consultant. She is a developer of people who is committed to the success of the team and the accomplishment of their career goals. Lisa earned her BA from the University of Washington and her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resources Certification Institute.

Gina Marchesini

Research and Administrative Services Manager

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Gina Marchesini, MPA is the Research and Administrative Services Manager for PNRI where she oversees the team who supports business operations leaders and principal investigators through collaborative project management planning and development and budgeting and timeline performance to ensure advancement of the common goal. She is an experienced program and project manager in the fields of medical and social science research and education. Previously, Gina was the Translational Research Program Manager and Administrator for Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason. She earned her Master of Public Administration and her BA from the University of Washington. For over 20 years, Gina has committed herself to supporting the scientific community to drive science forward.

Scientific Leadership

PNRI currently has seven independent labs each led by a principal scientist. Each lab pursues answers to fundamental questions about how genetics contributes to our innate ability to remain resilient to or to succumb to disease development.