Building a More Inclusive Future in Biotech

OUTbio is the largest LGBTQ+ life sciences professional network in the world. The original OUTbio was founded in Boston in 2015 by Ramsey Johnson and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2019.

As one of the top global hubs for biotech and innovation, Boston provided fertile ground for growth, and the organization quickly expanded to over a few thousand members. Its overarching mission has always been to empower LGBTQ+ professionals across biotech and pharma through community, mentorship, education, scholarship and advocacy.

Today, OUTbio has grown into an international network with branches in cities such as New York, Seattle, the Bay Area, London, Dublin and, more recently, Switzerland and Denmark. Each branch is an independent 501(c)(3) with its own board of directors and is entirely volunteer run.

In the current model, no one is paid to run these organizations. We do it because we know this work is important and if we don’t do it, who will? Someone has to step up and build the community we all wish we had when we were starting out.

While each branch operates locally, we’re united by a shared goal: to create a more inclusive life sciences industry and ensure LGBTQ+ professionals have the support, visibility and community needed to thrive at every stage of their career.

The OUTbio events in Boston opened my eyes to a vibrant community of LGBTQ+ professionals working across the life sciences, something I quite honestly didn’t know existed beforehand. Their community-building happy hours were often hosted on-site at well-known biotech and pharma companies in the Boston area, where senior leaders including VPs and C-level executives spoke openly about their ongoing DEI initiatives and why diversity was central to their company culture.

I still remember one OUTbio event where the CSO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals gave such a speech at their Seaport location and even stayed afterwards to speak with attendees. That level of visibility and support made a lasting impression and is one of the unique aspects of OUTbio, which is its ability to create a welcoming, supportive space for professionals to connect and grow.

I began volunteering with OUTbio Boston and helped grow their Mentoring Program, where we paired early-career professionals with experienced biotech leaders. It was a rewarding experience that allowed me to bring together both my professional and personal identity. Through those events, I found real community, formed lifelong friendships and gained support that helped shape my professional career.

When I heard that leaders like Eric Dube, CEO of Travere Therapeutics, and Carin Canale-Theakston, former CEO and founder of Canale Communications, were exploring the idea of launching OUTbio in San Diego, I knew I had to get involved. I remember seeing a LinkedIn post about a boat party to build interest and immediately booked a flight to be part of it.

My partner and I have family in Southern California, and we had always envisioned moving back someday. After a period of traveling between Boston and San Diego, I stepped up to formally found and lead the San Diego branch, and we were fortunate to relocate soon after. San Diego has one of the most vibrant LGBTQ+ communities in the country, especially in the Hillcrest neighborhood, and it is also one of the nation’s leading biotech hubs.

With both the energy and the need already present, it felt like the right time and the right city to launch OUTbio San Diego in 2023. Our first event drew over 120 attendees, including Mayor Todd Gloria (the first openly gay Mayor of San Diego), and it quickly became clear that the community was eager for a space like this to connect and thrive.

Since then, we’ve had tremendous support from local companies and organizations, like Biocom California, Travere Therapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, iBio, Genentech, Ionis Pharmaceuticals and many others, who have helped us host events and spread the word.

Over the past two years, we’ve grown from a small grassroots effort into a vibrant, fully incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit with over 900 members, and we’re continuing to grow! 

While local happy hours remain a core part of how we build community, we’ve expanded our programming to include professional development events, corporate training sessions, volunteer opportunities that give back to the community, our annual San Diego Pride Parade Watch Party, and most recently, our Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program. 

I’m especially proud that this year we were able to award our first scholarship, in partnership with Travere Therapeutics and the local Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) chapter, to a recently graduated LGBTQ+ high school student who will be attending UCSD in the Fall. 

I’m also very proud of our dedicated Board of Directors who are actively creating and leading new initiatives, and we’ve seen incredible engagement from local companies and community leaders. Their support has helped accelerate our growth and deepen our impact across the Greater San Diego region.

The OUTbio San Diego Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program, spearheaded by one of our fabulous board members, Glenda Didienne of Travere Therapeutics, brings together our members from all career stages and backgrounds to support one another through structured, relationship-based connection. It goes beyond what you might find through chance networking by creating intentional spaces for shared growth.

We kicked off the program with a creative launch event in partnership with ArtReach, designed to break the ice while making art. ArtReach is a San Diego-based nonprofit that offers accessible visual arts programs for local youth and hosts community workshops in the historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood of Hillcrest. Their focus on creativity, connection, and inclusion aligns closely with our goals for the mentorship program.

Due to strong interest, we limited this initial round to 30 participants. The program includes six two-hour sessions, held once a month over six months, where participants are grouped into cohorts of five to six individuals to share experiences, learn from one another and build lasting professional relationships.

The format is flexible and participant-led, with each cohort choosing the topics or activities they want to focus on. These can range from practical career advice, such as how to negotiate your salary, to sharing personal experiences in fields like bioinformatics, even organizing a group hike at the beautiful Torrey Pines State Beach.

OUTbio San Diego provides the framework and support, while participants drive the content in a way that reflects their needs and interests. Like the majority of our initiatives, the program is fully funded by our generous sponsors and community supporters, and there is no financial commitment required to participate. We believe anyone can be both a mentee and a mentor, which is why we intentionally broke the traditional “mentoring mold” to create a truly peer-driven experience that we hope our members will find meaningful.

Looking ahead, we plan to build on this momentum by launching an executive-level mentorship track to further support professional growth within our LGBTQ+ life science community in the coming years.