Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. also becomes a Director Emeritus
Marie-Claire Peakman, Principal on the Pfizer Ventures Team and Executive Director in Emerging Science & Innovation of Pfizer, was elected as Board Chair of United Way of Southeastern Connecticut at the organization’s Annual Meeting on February 11, 2022. She takes over for William Louis, President of the MDA-UAW 571, who will remain on the Board as Immediate Past Chair.
Marie-Claire served on United Way’s Board of Directors previously, from 2013-19, and then again from 2020 to the present. She is Co-chair of The Tocqueville Society and the chair of the Governance Committee.
“I feel that we’re poised for the beginning of a whole new era,” Peakman stated upon being elected. “COVID has changed the way we do things…it also highlighted for us very starkly of where the gaps and disparities are.
“The vision that we have been defining has become bright and clear…. We will be leveraging things like the ALICE Report to identify community needs, and we will take the leadership role in bringing pa
rtners together for collective community impact.”
Marie-Claire holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy with Honours degree and a Ph.D. in Physiology & Pharmacology from the University of Nottingham U.K. She conducted postdoctoral work at Yale University in the department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and the department of Molecular Psychiatry.
Marie-Claire has been at Pfizer for 24 years holding various leadership positions. Prior to her current role, she led the Primary Pharmacology Group for 13 years during which time they were responsible for the identification of Paxlovid, Cibinqo and ten additional small molecule therapeutics that are currently in the clinic. She was recognized as a PhRMA ‘We Work For Health’ Champion in 2018 and was a 2019 finalist for the CT Women of Innovation Award. She is a registered member of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, a member of the Board of Trustees for Lawrence and Memorial Hospital and a member of the Board of Directors for the Thames River Innovation Place. She is currently the Executive Sponsor for the Pfizer Women’s Resource Group in CT and she is also a competitive ballroom and Latin American dancer.
Additionally, Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, was appointed as Director Emeritus with the Board of Directors. He has served on the Board for more than 12 years including two years as Chair. “We very much want you to continue to be part of the Board,” Marie-Claire said of Butler. “We consider you both a role model and a mentor.”
Marie-Claire highlighted Butler's other engagement activities including helping with fundraising efforts, sponsoring United Way Agency bus tours, providing event space and in-kind support, and events such as Stuff the Bus to collect food and toys around the holidays each year.
