Tiffany Sepp is a passionate executive with a unique background in clinical research, holding degrees in both Biology and English Literature from the University of California, San Diego.

Before founding Vanguard in 2012, Tiffany gained valuable experience in clinical research through  roles such as Research Coordinator, Clinical Research Associate, Clinical Trial Manager, and Director of Clinical Operations at various CROs and pharmaceutical/biotech companies.

Her passion for bringing life-changing treatments to patients in need drives her ambition to cultivate the “white glove” caliber service at the core of Vanguard’s offerings.

In her personal life, Tiffany is a devoted wife and mother of four who finds joy traveling the world, racing cars, and collecting vintage wines and first edition literature.

Andrea Montgomery, Director of Clinical Monitoring, is a seasoned clinical research professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and remains as passionate about clinical research today as she was at the start of her career.

Andrea has held various positions throughout her career, including Study Coordinator, Clinical Research Associate, and Clinical Operations Manager, before joining Vanguard Clinical after a 20-year tenure at a large CRO. Her extensive expertise spans monitoring, quality improvement, audit preparation, oversight, training, mentoring, and building strong CRO/Sponsor relationships.

Driven by a passion for bringing life-changing treatments to patients, Andrea is committed to making meaningful contributions to healthcare through her work.

In her personal life, Andrea is a devoted wife who loves exploring new destinations with her husband. She treasures quality time with family and friends and has a deeply personal connection to organ donation. As a living kidney donor to her husband, Andrea advocates for organ donation, using her experience to raise awareness and inspire others to consider this life-changing gift.

Director, Clinical Operations Mary Liscar is a dedicated clinical research professional with a diverse skillset which formed during her time serving in the U.S. Air Force. Mary graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2007 with a B.S. degree in Social Science and earned her MBA from Colorado State University in 2011. Her adaptability, adept leadership and dynamic critical thinking translated seamlessly from the Air Force into the clinical trials industry, where she started as a Clinical Research Specialist in 2016. Prior to that, Mary worked for a leading medical device company on the commercial side.

Her career followed a traditional clinical operations path where she held positions such as Clinical Research Associate and Clinical Trial/Study Manager at various medical device/biotech companies. Mary joined the Vanguard family in 2020 and assumed the title of Director, Clinical Operations in January 2023.

Her reason “why” is what drives her each day: to facilitate the advancement of the clinical development process to bring curative/impactful treatment options to patients and their families, with the ultimate goal of providing meaningful contributions to healthcare.

In her personal life, Mary is a devoted wife and mother of two toddlers who values quality family time and work/life balance. She enjoys CrossFit (occasionally competing at local events!) and spending time with her family in the Texas hill country.

Director of Clinical Data Management & Biometics Jamie Parker began her career in the laboratory first working as an Environmental Chemist and then as a Microbiologist focused on pre-clinical and post-market research and testing. Three years into her career, she began searching for opportunities to learn more about the clinical trial side of her work. This led to an opportunity to work under an amazing Head of Clinical Data Management and from that point she hasn’t looked back.

Now with 20 years of Clinical Data Management experience, she is just as passionate about her work as she was on her first day. Jamie mentors others interested in Clinical Data Management as well as those wanting to understand how Clinical, Data Management & Biometrics must align to accomplish successful studies. She is also continuously working to ensure Clinical Data Management and Biometric service offerings are top of the line white glove for each client. She believes fast and efficient are important; however, data efficacy, quality, and subject safety must never be sacrificed.

As a new empty nester, Jamie enjoys date nights with her husband. However, she is still figuring out what to do with the rest of this new free time.

Talia Tobias, Associate Director, Clinical Operations, is a clinical operations enthusiast with over 20 years’ experience in clinical research. She holds a B.A in Psychology and Biology from Clark University, an MPH from the University of Texas, and an MBA from George Washington University.

Talia began her career as a research interviewer, spending 14 years at M.D Anderson in various roles before transitioning to the private sector, where she supported multiple biotech startups, helping them grow and succeed. Her specialized experience in oncology and immunotherapy has enabled her to successfully lead multiple global trials and bring new therapies to market. Throughout her career, Talia’s dedication to quality and service has remained unwavering.

At Vanguard Clinical, Talia plays a vital role in providing exceptional support to her clients while also shaping the operations department through training and mentorship. Her passion for helping those in need—whether patients, clients, or her team—drives her daily work.

Outside of work, Talia is a wife and mother of two who enjoys bringing her family together in the kitchen, garden, or while traveling. In a previous life, she was semi-professional dance instructor, specializing in Latin and West Coast Swing, and enjoyed teaching and performing around the globe!

Nick Kalogeras, Associate Director of Quality Assurance, is a dedicated quality professional with over 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical development, laboratory quality, and clinical research. He began his career as a laboratory scientist for a pharmaceutical manufacturer where he was responsible for reviewing and testing all drug products to ensure quality and safety. From there, Nick transitioned into quality oversight and assurance, ensuring all departments and processes adhered to applicable regulations and requirements.

As he moved into laboratory quality and clinical research, Nick took on the responsibility  of overseeing facilities across the globe, including Switzerland, United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, and Singapore, to ensure compliance with governmental regulations and both GCP and GLP standards.

In recent years, Nick has focused his quality experience on clinical research at the Sponsor level. At Vanguard Clinical, he is committed to putting quality at the forefront of all clinical trials by supporting clients through vendor audits, site audits, SOP development, and more. Nick is passionate about the impact high-quality clinical trials can have on participants and the affected disease populations being studied.

In his spare time Nick is an avid traveler, having visited 45 out of 50 states and over 35 countries. When home, he enjoys quiet nights with friends and spoiling his two Boston Terriers, Buster and Lola.

Associate Director of Study Start-Up, Diane Younker has had a long career in the biological sciences, which began with an undergraduate research project on blue-green algae. After completing a PhD studying coronaviruses followed by a postdoctoral fellowship where she researched rotaviruses, Diane’s career took a pivotal turn after a chance encounter with an acquaintance at an Astros game, which resulted in a bench research position at a gene therapy company followed by related positions at other biotech/pharma companies.

Diane’s clinical research career truly took off when she joined NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a technical manager of the Pharmacotherapeutics team, overseeing clinical trials with astronauts. After her tenure at NASA, she transitioned into more traditional clinical trial environments at an academic site and later two CROs, where she gained extensive experience in , client and vendor contracts, investigator grants, site budgets and contracts, study and site feasibility, among others.

Today, with a broad skill set spanning pre- and post-award functions, Diane offers a unique perspective on optimizing processes and reducing inefficiencies. Over the past year and a half, she has built a new Study Start-Up department, refining her ability to create efficient, harmonized, and scalable processes. Her innovative approach has resulted in the development of proprietary apps and tools that streamline study startup workflows and enhance operational efficiencies.

In her personal life, Diane enjoys spending time with her daughter who is pursuing a degree in Public Health. An avid walker, she also finds joy in attending lectures on various topics, discovering new restaurants, and has recently rekindled her passion for working out at the YMCA.

Laura Tenbrink, Associate Director of Trial Master File (TMF), began her professional journey in healthcare as a Respiratory Therapist, working night shifts at the University of Kansas Hospital. Drawn to the research side of healthcare, she made the transition to a role at a major CRO, unknowingly embarking on a career in TMF that has spanned more than a decade.

Over the years, Laura has accumulated a wealth of knowledge, working with a diverse range of organizations from small biotech startups to large CROs. Her diverse background has given her the expertise to manage and deliver inspection-ready TMFs with precision and care.

Laura is known for her ability to establish and refine clinical systems and processes related to TMF. She has successfully led numerous complex TMF migrations and remediations, consistently upholding her commitment to quality. For Laura, efficiency and high standards are not mutually exclusive but rather complementary goals.

Outside of work, Laura resides in Kansas City with her husband and two young daughters. She balances her professional achievements with a rich personal life. In her free time, she loves discovering new local spots or losing herself in a good book.