About Us
We are the connecting, convening, facilitating body for the broader Life Sciences industry in New Hampshire.
Andrea Hechavarria
President & CEO
Andrea Hechavarria is President & CEO of NH Life Sciences (NHLS). This is the Granite State’s first ever life sciences association. Its arrival in New Hampshire represents an exciting new chapter in the state’s economic history. The organization will advocate to nurture, protect and grow the Granite State’s cutting edge life sciences sector and the high quality jobs it delivers.
Prior to becoming a founding member of NHLS, Andrea was Vice President of Government Affairs and Chief of Staff to the CEO at Butterfly Network, a disruptive digital health company transforming ultrasound with semiconductor technology and artificial intelligence.
Prior to joining Butterfly, Andrea co-lead U.S. Federal Affairs for 3M Company with a focus on 3M’s Health Care Business, guiding the company through its COVID-19 response in Washington including the ramp up of global N95 mask production. While in Washington she also was one of the first Ambassadors for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, where she helped advocate for a Memorial to be built on the Mall in Washington, DC to honor the service and sacrifice of all who served in the Global War on Terrorism.
Earlier in her career, Andrea spent nearly a decade as a U.S. Senate aide. During that time she had the privilege of working for four different U.S. Senators culminating with supporting two Senators on the Environment and Public Works committee with a focus on energy, environmental and regulatory reform issues.
Andrea is a proud NH native. She enjoys advising senior business leaders and executives on engagement and communications strategies with government officials and public policy stakeholders. She holds an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a B.A. in political science from Loyola University Maryland.
Cindy Conde
Co-Founder & Board Member, NH Life Sciences
Cindy recently retired and lives on the NH Seacoast. She is currently a co-founder and board member for NH Life Sciences, an industry association launched in March 2023, NH’s 1st ever “connecting, convening, and facilitating body for the broader life sciences industry in NH.” Cindy also serves on the NH EPSCoR Council, UMass Lowell’s Chancellor’s Advisory Board, and is Co-Chair of UMass Lowell’s Industrial Advisory Board for the Francis College of Engineering, and Advisory Board member for the Biomedical Engineering department.
Prior to her current roles, Cindy’s 30-year professional career spanned across the consumer products, retail, medical device, biotech/pharma, information technology, and consulting industry sectors. She spent 20 years at Sanofi and Genzyme in various roles such as CIO, Director of Operations, & Engineering. Prior to Sanofi Genzyme, Cindy was the Director of Manufacturing Operations at CR Bard Cardiovascular Division, was co-founder Hawkeye Software Systems, a start-up software development company, and held various engineering positions for both CR Bard and Polaroid Corporation earlier in her professional career.
Cindy earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering and was inducted into the Francis Academy of Distinguished Engineers in 2017.
John Whelan
Co-Founder & Board Member, NH Life Sciences
Prior to the founding of NHLS, John had been an active community builder in the NH Technology Eco-system, having started and run multiple Technology User Groups throughout New Hampshire. The success from these User Groups came in part, from the partnerships formed and collaborations built with technology industry leaders in the state. John went on to serve two, three-year terms as a board member of the New Hampshire Tech Alliance (NHTA). It was during his time he met Cindy Conde and joined her as a Co-Chair on the NHTA’s Bio Med Tech committee and his passion for the NH Life Sciences industry was born.
Along with being a founding member of NHLS, John is Managing Director of Alexander Technology Group. ATG is a New Hampshire based high tech staffing business which John has been a part of since 2009. Over his 13+ years with ATG John has been part of a tremendous team that has placed thousands of people in high tech jobs throughout New Hampshire.
John moved to the Seacoast of NH in 2013 with his wife Kerri and their two children. He continues his work growing NHLS and advocating for the Life Sciences industry in New Hampshire.