Governor Appoints New Members of MassVentures Board of Directors

03:24PM / Sunday, November 30, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WALTHAM, Mass. — Governor Healey appointed new members of the MassVentures Board of Directors.

The appointments to the Board, chaired by Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley, come as Massachusetts continues to strengthen its position as a leader in academic research, innovation and emerging technology. New members include William "Mo" Cowan, Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer, Devoted Health; Russ Wilcox, Chief Executive Officer, Trellis Air; Larry Wittenberg, Retired, formerly Partner at Goodwin Procter LLP; and Elizabeth Kennedy, Director of Government Relations, Activate.

"Massachusetts' strength has always been in the people who power our innovative economy," said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley, who chairs the MassVentures board. "These new members of the MassVentures board bring deep experience in law, life sciences, climatetech, government, and entrepreneurship that will help guide our strategy and ensure we are backing the next generation of transformative companies. Their leadership will be critical as we continue to grow early-stage startups, create jobs, and keep Massachusetts at the forefront of global innovation."

Justin Griffin, Michael Valanzola, Cynthia Bouthot, and Bill Asher recently stepped down from the MassVentures Board after several years of service.

New Board Member Bios

William "Mo" Cowan, Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer, Devoted Health?

Senator Cowan (retired) is Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer for Devoted Health. A member of Devoted Health's executive leadership team, Cowan is responsible for all legal, corporate governance, regulatory, and public affairs functions for this next generation, tech-enabled, all-in-one healthcare company. Immediately prior, Cowan led global government affairs and global litigation for General Electric. Earlier in his career, Cowan was a partner at a major law firm and was President and CEO of a national government affairs consulting group. In 2013, he served as the interim U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts, serving on the Agriculture, Commerce and Small Business Committees. From 2009-2013, Cowan held senior leadership roles (Chief Legal Counsel, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor) in the administration of Governor Deval Patrick. He currently serves on governance and advisory Committees for the Massachusetts General Hospital, Ratio Therapeutics, MassChallenge, Stackwell Capital, and Mass General Brigham. Cowan is also a founding member of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund. Cowan is a graduate of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law. He holds honorary degrees from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, Bridgewater State College, and Newbury College.

Russ Wilcox, Chief Executive Officer, Trellis Air

Russ Wilcox was a founder and CEO of E Ink which commercialized an electronic paper display?technology invented at MIT. Under his leadership the company conducted breakthrough research, built a factory in Western Massachusetts, and reached $200 million in revenue. E Ink was acquired for half a billion dollars in 2009. He next started and led university spinouts related to energy and drug discovery. Wilcox then gained eight years of investment committee experience as a General Partner at Pillar VC, a Boston-based venture capital fund. At Pillar he led seed investments related to AI architecture, biotechnology, 3D printing, robotics, hardware, and deep technology. Currently he serves as CEO of Trellis Air, a cleantech startup seeking to increase the efficiency of HVAC equipment. Wilcox also co-teaches the LaunchLab entrepreneurship course at Harvard University for MS/MBA joint degree students who have launched seventeen venture-backed?startups to date. Wilcox studied Applied Math at Harvard College and earned an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School. He is an EY New England Entrepreneur of the Year, Mass High-Tech All-Star, and co-inventor of thirty issued US patents.

Larry Wittenberg, Retired?(formerly Goodwin Procter LLP)

Larry Wittenberg spent more than 40 years counseling and advising startup technology companies and their investors in connection with financing, intellectual property collaborations and general corporate legal issues. He focused primarily on Life Sciences companies and founded and led the Life Sciences Practice at Goodwin Procter LLP, an international law firm. For 20 years he also served as a director and legal counsel to MassBio, the Massachusetts biotechnology industry organization. Wittenberg is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School.

Elizabeth Kennedy, Director of Government Relations, Activate?

Elizabeth Kennedy is the Director of Government Relations at Activate, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that developed the model of entrepreneurial fellowships for scientists commercializing their research. Prior to Activate, Kennedy served as Head of Corporate Development at Portal Biotechnologies and as Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) developing partnerships and initiatives with a wide variety of stakeholders from large corporations to small biotechnology companies as well as academic institutions, hospitals, government, and venture capital. Earlier in her career, Kennedy served as Chief of Staff at Landmark Bio and as a Special Projects Manager at Harvard. She was also a fellow in the Harvard Kennedy School's Emerging Technology Policy program.

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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