Amrita Madabushi, PhD
Founder & CEO
Dr. Amrita Madabushi founded EmpowerBio with the goal of providing biotech training and career transition support for individuals at all levels from undergraduate to post doctorate level. She has a decade long experience of teaching and training undergraduate and high school students at Baltimore City Community College as a professor. She has also served as an Associate Director in the Training Office at the National Institute on Aging (NIA/ NIH) Intramural Research Program where her primary role is to oversee the graduate and postdoctoral fellowship program. She serves as a professor at University of Maryland Global Campus and adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University. She holds leadership positions in various state-level STEM organizations serves on advisory boards of several community colleges and high schools in Maryland. She has received numerous awards, including the NISOD Teaching Excellence Award, 2023 Women In Bio Capital Region Rising Star Award, and the 2024 Trailblazer in STEM award. She relentlessly works on her mission to bridge the gap between biotech education and workforce in the state of Maryland.
Da'Kuawn Johnson
Scientifc Program manager and Training Faculty
Da’Kuawn Johnson, a PhD student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), is a native Baltimorean and a proud product of Baltimore City public schools. After graduating from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Johnson attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a Meyerhoff Scholar and was involved in research, studying the metabolism of bacteria. He played in the pit band for musicals, served as a student justice for non-academic infractions, tutored science and math, and was a teaching assistant in biology. He reveled in “the nerdy environment” of UMBC and felt that it was both collaborative and relaxed in a way that perfectly suited his needs.
Da’Kuawn was enticed away from dreams of a career as an entrepreneur to one in science and medicine at the age of 8 when an attentive third-grade teacher noticed him excelling in math. His PhD work investigates how differences in a certain immune response to pertussis at different ages affects the outcome of infection and disease.
Sneha Saggurthi
Subject Matter Expert and Training Faculty
Sneha Saggurthi is a GxP professional specializing in training program development, quality management, and external quality oversight within the biotechnology industry, with a focus on the Cell and Gene Therapy sector. As a Quality Assurance leader, she ensures compliance with cGMP and GCP regulations, oversees vendor management, and enhances workforce readiness through strategic training initiatives.
Sneha began her career as a manufacturing associate, an experience that shaped her deep understanding of operational challenges and fostered her passion for quality and training. She leverages this unique perspective to develop training programs and quality oversight strategies that empower operators for success—both in entering the industry and excelling in aseptic manufacturing environments.
With expertise in adult learning methodologies, regulatory preparedness, and instructional design, Sneha creates customized training programs that align with industry regulations and business objectives.
Bill Fleming
Business Strategy Manager
Bill Fleming is a senior-level writer, editor and public relations practitioner with advanced expertise in AP Style, editing, digital communication, data, and analytics. As the deputy communications director for Baltimore City Community College (BCCC). Bill generated $5 million of earned publicity ad value during the most recent five-year period of his tenure. In addition to his longtime focus on communication, Bill oversaw state and local grants for BCCC resulting in $1.1 million in funding from the State of Maryland, T. Rowe Price, Campus Consortium, Truth Initiative, Baltimore's Promise, BB&T Bank/Truist, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and others. Bill is an experienced user of technology and has been an administrative assistant in the public, interagency governmental, and private sectors of Washington, D.C.