On September 11, Government Relations attorney Maureen McGee moderated a panel at the Oregon Bioscience Incubator’s “Startup Spotlight Expo 2025: Showcasing Innovation in Biotech & Life Sciences.”
Maureen was joined in the panel by Mark Brady (Innovation & Entrepreneurship Manager at Business Oregon), Caitlin Vargas (Co-Founder and Vice President of Community Impact and Partnerships at the Collaborative Economic Development Organization), and Tim Layton (Director of State Government Affairs, NW Region at Genentech). The discussion was focused on recent lobbying efforts that successfully and significantly amplified support for Oregon’s innovation industry.
Tonkon Torp’s Government Relations group represents the Oregon Bioscience Incubator/OTRADI (OBI) as well as the Oregon Bioscience Association (Oregon Bio). During the 2025 Oregon Legislative Session, Maureen led Tonkon’s Government Relations team in working with OBI, Oregon Bio, legislative champions, and innovation advocates to secure $3.2 million in additional dollars for Business Oregon to fund Centers for Innovative Excellence (CIE) throughout the state. CIEs are public-private partnerships, like OBI, that connect entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and industry leaders to the resources they need to bring new technologies to market and grow competitive sectors. Additional funding secured through Tonkon’s lobbying efforts represented a 33% increase over the Governor’s recommended budget for the CIE program for 2025-27 and was a tremendous success in a difficult state budget cycle.
Tonkon Torp is heavily involved in the bioscience industry. Beyond lobbying services through the Government Relations Group, Tonkon’s Startups, Emerging Companies & Venture Capital attorneys represent numerous startups housed at OTRADI and elsewhere, providing comprehensive legal counsel that covers every stage of development from entity formation through liquidity events.
Maureen McGee is an attorney in Tonkon Torp’s Government Relations & Public Policy Practice Group and Co-Chair of the firm’s Government Law & Disputes group. She has an extensive background in Oregon legislative-level matters. In her nine years serving Oregon lawmakers, most recently as a Senior Deputy Legislative Counsel, McGee provided nonpartisan, policy-neutral legal advice and legislative drafting services to the 90 members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
With decades of experience and a deep knowledge of public policy, the political process, campaigns, and communications, Tonkon Torp’s Government Relations attorneys work with clients to achieve positive results and provide technical and strategic guidance in a tumultuous political and regulatory environment.
