Solana Beach resident appointed executive director of Biocom Institute

Solana Beach resident Karmin Noar was appointed executive director of the nonprofit Biocom Institute, which works on behalf of California’s life science industry, where her focuses include science, technology, engineering and math education, as well as workforce development.

“I knew it was a possibility,” Noar said of her reaction when she found out she had been named to the position.

Noar had been serving as interim executive director since March, then appointed permanently in August. Biocom announced her appointment to the position in a Dec. 4 news release.

The nonprofit, headquartered in San Diego, was founded in 1995 and has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo.

According to Biocom’s 2019 Economic Impact Report Databook, California’s life science industry accounts for approximately 1.3 million jobs and economic activity that generated about $346 billion in 2018. California also received $4.2 billion in research funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2018, the most out of all states.

“I’m focused on increasing our impact and visibility,” said Noar, a Los Angeles native.

Noar moved south to attend UC San Diego, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and ethnic studies. While she was a student there, she began volunteering with nonprofit organizations to build her work experience, which helped propel her to her current position.

After UC San Diego, she received a master’s degree in education from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education & Psychology.

She previously served as director of programs at the San Diego Workforce Partnership, where she helped increase the organization’s funding from $250,000 to $3 million.

In the news release announcing Noar’s appointment as executive director, Biocom’s president and CEO, Joe Panetta, said she has “the knowledge and experience to continue and expand the important work” the organization does.

“I’m eager to see her continue to grow some of our key initiatives to help build a sustainable workforce for the California biotechnology industry,” he said.
For more information, visit www.biocom.org.