GLS President & CEO, Maria Thacker Goethe Recognized as One of Georgia's 2025 Top 500 Most Influential Leaders

GLS President & CEO, Maria Thacker Goethe Recognized as One of Georgia's 2025 Top 500 Most Influential Leaders

Congratulations to our President & CEO, Maria Thacker Goethe, on being named to the 2025 Georgia 500, recognizing the state’s most influential leaders shaping Georgia’s economy and communities.


Maria’s inclusion reflects the growing impact of Georgia’s life sciences industry and the collaborative efforts of our members, partners, and statewide ecosystem advancing innovation, workforce development, and health.


This recognition isn’t about one person’s success — it’s about the collective strength of Georgia’s life sciences community. We would also like to congratulated leaders in the life sciences community recognized including, Tim Denning, GRA; Lynn Durham, Georgia CORE; and Mason Ailstock, Rowen.


We’re proud to see Georgia’s life sciences leadership recognized on this statewide stage!


Read the full Georgia 500 issue here.

February 20, 2026
Recognition highlights Brookhaven’s commitment to life sciences growth and biomanufacturing readiness Brookhaven, GA, Feb. 18, 2026 – The City of Brookhaven has been designated a BioReady Gold Community by Georgia Life Sciences, the state’s leading life sciences membership organization. The BioReady Community program evaluates a community’s preparedness to support life sciences development across key areas, including zoning and permitting, utilities and infrastructure, workforce readiness, and coordination among local government and economic development partners. The Gold distinction represents a high level of readiness and alignment with industry needs. “Achieving Gold BioReady status underscores Brookhaven’s commitment to being a competitive destination for life sciences innovation and manufacturing,” said Aaron Szarowicz, City of Brookhaven Economic Development Director. “This designation reflects the intentional investments and partnerships we’ve built to support companies as they scale and create high-quality jobs in our community.” Brookhaven’s BioReady assessment highlighted the City’s modern infrastructure, strategic location within metro Atlanta, access to a skilled workforce, and collaborative approach between City leadership, regional partners, and the business community. Together, these assets position Brookhaven to support companies across the life sciences value chain—from research and development to scale-up and manufacturing. The BioReady rating system evaluates communities across three tiers—Bronze, Silver, and Gold—based on their readiness to attract and support life sciences facilities. Through these ratings, Georgia Life Sciences helps municipalities better showcase biotech-zoned sites, strengthen infrastructure planning, and clearly identify life sciences-friendly locations. This approach enables communities like Brookhaven to compete more effectively for private investment and job creation. Georgia Life Sciences works to advance innovation, strengthen the workforce pipeline, and grow Georgia’s life sciences economy through the BioReady Community program, modeled after MassBio’s nationally recognized rating system which assesses a community’s readiness to host life sciences facilities based on zoning practices and infrastructure capacity. For more information on the non-profit, membership-based organization, visit www.galifesciences.org . For more information about Brookhaven’s economic development initiatives, visit www.BrookhavenGA.gov/EconDev . ### Media Contact: Ann Marie Quill, Assistant Communications Director 404-205-3832 AnnMarie.Quill@BrookhavenGA.gov
February 18, 2026
Georgia Life Sciences Releases “Pathways & Partnerships: A Roadmap for Georgia’s Life Sciences Sector”
February 17, 2026
by Maria Saporta February 9, 2026
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