Inner-View Joan Koerber Walker

AZAdvances Creates an Opportunity for Donors and Supporters

What was your background prior to starting this company?

Following a 20-year career at Arizona’s largest publicly traded company, I was able to devote more time to support key non-profit organizations here in Arizona. I have served as Chairman of the Board of the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation since 2006 and served as president and CEO of the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) for over a decade.

Tell us a little bit about what your company does?

The Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation, OTEF for short, is a 501c3 public charity that educates and invests in people and organizations that create hope. OTEF’s annual entrepreneurship conferences served as a catalyst for what is today a thriving technology ecosystem here in Arizona. OTEF’s D3Bio initiative has provided opportunities for over 1,000 Arizona students to showcase their work and make connections with industry leaders. Our newest initiative, AZAdvances will support the creation and commercialization of the Arizona-based health innovation that patients are waiting for.

What made you decide to create AZAdvances?

Over the last two decades, more than $23 billion was invested by government, companies, and philanthropists to create Arizona’s bioscience sector. We’ve seen the creation and growth of TGen, the Biodesign Institute at ASU, and the BIO5 Institute at UArizona just to name a few. Our hospitals are now world class. We have made phenomenal progress, but there is one area where we must improve. That is where AZAdvances comes in.

How do you hope to solve great health challenges?

The missing piece in Arizona’s health innovation ecosystem is the early-stage investment that enables a discovery to begin the journey to become a health innovation. AZAdvances’ evergreen, non-profit model will allow a wide range of Arizona-based discoveries to begin the development process so that more treatments and cures can benefit patients.

What is the best way to make your company a household name?

One of our greatest challenges has been the “who knew” effect. People in our community often hear about the amazing work being done at our universities and hospitals. What we rarely hear about are the exciting health innovations being developed by Arizona life science entrepreneurs. Thanks to partnerships with AZBio, AZ Big Media, ABC15, Trends, and others, we are getting the word out. Since 2020, over 1.6 million people have had the opportunity to learn more about the impact Arizona life science innovators are making.

Where do you see AZAdvances five years from now?

Today, we are working to build a $200 million endowment and a $50 million current use fund that will support the development of Arizona-based health innovations forever. By meeting our goals today, we will have created a catalyst for the growth of Arizona’s life science sector. Arizona discoveries will be progressing in the development process. New, highquality jobs will have been created, and Arizona will have progressed from a topemerging bioscience state to a leading bioscience state. Most importantly, patients with un-met medical needs will have more hope.

What do you consider your greatest challenge?

Just as young companies struggle to find their initial investors, philanthropic support for a new, large-scale initiative like AZAdvances can be challenging. It also creates a wonderful opportunity for the donors and supporters who engage early and wish to be part of shaping the future of health innovation here in Arizona.

How can the social community benefit from your work?

2020 and 2021 have been challenging years for all of us. In 2022, as the AZAdvances Capital Campaign moves into full swing, volunteers and donors will have the opportunity for small group visits to meet some of these exciting young companies and to learn more about future health innovations that can make life better for people in Arizona and around the world. The greatest benefit of all, is the knowledge that as part of the AZAdvances team, you are working to make in impact in people’s lives today and for generations to come.

Joan Koerber-Walker, Chairman, Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation; President & CEO, Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) Web: www.azbio.org