The Value of Integration

    Dr. Barry Swanson has excelled both in his study of organic chemistry and his career within the legal profession, and has managed to integrate these two seemingly unrelated passions into an extremely successful law practice. “I never felt like an entrepreneurial person,” said Dr. Swanson, “but followed the opportunities that became available to me.”

    Dr. Swanson graduated from Greenville College in 1977, with a degree in chemistry and biology. As a precursor to his success, he graduated in the top 10% of his class while at Greenville . Dr. Swanson found time for more than just his studies while at Greenville . He also played on the soccer team and participated in such organizations as Agora, the Vista and the Orange Berets.

    After leaving Greenville, Dr. Swanson enrolled at the University of Colorado and received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. Dr. Swanson then spent three years working for Ethyl Corporation as a research chemist in the field of zeolite catalyzed organic reactions. He was also the inventor on several patents relating to this work.

    Ever seeking a new challenge, Dr. Swanson enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School and was awarded a J.D. After graduating from Michigan , Dr. Swanson entered the legal community and has now spent 16 years working in the field of intellectual property and patents.

    Dr. Swanson's work securing patents is necessary for genetic research and allows his clients to pursue funding. “Once a client has products or services that are saleable, then the patent grants them the exclusive right to practice the claimed inventions,” said Dr. Swanson. “The amount of money required to take a drug from conception to market is monumental, and the risk can only be justified if there is some assurance of exclusivity for some period of time.”

    Dr. Swanson explains the importance of patents to the bio-tech industry. “I could name two dozen clients who have spent $100 million or $50 million and their sole asset is intellectual property. They are working on developing drugs or technologies, but nothing has been proven yet. If Pfizer or Lilly decided they wanted to do the same thing, they could be up and running in a few months. What prevents them is the intellectual property.”

    Most recently, Dr. Swanson established his own law firm, Swanson & Bratschun, L.LC. The firm is a full-service intellectual property firm located in Denver, Colorado . It represents many companies in various aspects of biotechnology patent law. In 2002, Swanson & Bratschun was rated as the fourth best patent law firm in the nation for biotech patent prosecutions.

Service in Leadership

    Facing closure in 2001, the board of directors of Latinos United approached Juanita Irizarry ‘89 to lead the struggling housing policy and advocacy group back to fiscal and operational health. Irizarry rose to the challenge; she inherited debt, had all of her staff quit within her first two months, worked without regular pay until she was able to rebuild a funding base, and tackled the organizational reputation crisis head on. In three years, she has successfully rebuilt the organizational infrastructure and repositioned Latinos United as a well-respected voice on Latino housing issues in the Chicago metro region.

    Latinos United originated in 1983 as the Housing Committee of the late Mayor Harold Washington's Mayor's Advisory Committee on Latino Affairs (MACLA) and incorporated as Latinos United in 1989. The organization's early work focused on improving Latino access to public housing in Chicago.

    Now, Latinos United work falls into three categories, public resource equity, fair housing in the private market, and general housing policy and advocacy and encompasses the entire Chicago metropolitan region. “We are at the forefront in our field,” said Irizarry. “And since we are the only regional, Latino-specializing advocacy organization in the region, everyone turns to us for everything Latino, even beyond housing and not just for policy and advocacy work.”

    Growing recognition of her leadership is evidenced by Irizarry's 2004 gubernatorial appointment to the executive committee of Illinois ' first-ever Statewide Housing Task Force. This has given her a unique opportunity to represent the needs of Latinos across the state, which has the second largest concentration of Mexican immigrants in the US .

    While stabilizing the organization, Irizarry has also provided bold leadership for the future. In 2003, she managed successful negotiations to merge the efforts of Latinos United with those of another nascent group—both of whom were seeking to fill a void left by the 1999 closure of a Chicago Latino research and policy institute—bringing this group under the umbrella of Latinos United and promoting collaboration versus competition for scarce resources. At its 15 th anniversary celebration in December 2004, the “merged” organization announced an expanded research role and broader agenda of issues including education, economic development, immigration and civil rights.

    Irizarry's leadership was recently recognized by her selection as one of 22 national participants in the 2005 class of the National Hispana Leadership Institute which recognizes and provides additional leadership training for top Hispanic female leaders across the country.