Speakers

Mark Fischer-Colbrie has more than 30 years of experience in building laboratory tools and diagnostic, therapeutic, and medical device companies. He was most recently CEO at Strateos, Inc., a software technology and automation company that seeks to accelerate life science research by enabling cloud access to broad-scale automation. Previously, Mark was the CEO for over ten years at Labcyte Inc., which invented novel lab tools and automation that have been adopted worldwide.

Before Labcyte, he ran business development and was the CFO at Adeza Biomedical Corporation, a women’s healthcare company. He holds four issued patents for diagnostics and therapeutics. In 2013, Mark was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Life Sciences for Northern California. Mark is the former Chairman of the Board for JDRF International, the largest global funder seeking a cure for type one diabetes.

As a 21-year JDRF volunteer, he served on the JDRF International Board for 7 years and was a member of multiple committees including Research, Finance and Nominating & Governance. For the Greater Bay Area JDRF Chapter, Mark served as the Chapter President for 3 terms and has been a board member for 18 years. Mark holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley. He served on a life sciences industry board, the Analytical, Life Sciences Diagnostics Association (ALDA), from 2011 to 2024. Mark enjoys long-distance endurance events and has completed 14 Ironman Triathlons. 

Linda is a retired k-8 science teacher who taught teachers about the ocean at the Monterey Bay Aquarium summer institutes for 30 years.  She now volunteers at the Saratoga History Museum as the Director of Education programs. All the schools in Saratoga come for the interactive Pioneer Living program where children visit the Saratoga Blacksmith's home, wash clothes on a washboard, write on slates, read McGuffey readers in the one room schoolhouse, and visit the new Blacksmith building to learn about what blacksmith's do.

Her talk today features archival photos of some early people and their activities that built the little town that later became Saratoga.