Erika Bajars  

Principal, Matchstick LLC

Creative thinking,
team facilitation

Erika’s engaging style enables her to bring diverse perspectives together in unanticipated ways. Able to relate to people across functions and cultures, Erika engages teams in ways that bring out their best work.

Erika is always asking “So what?” to understand why something is important. This helps focus teams on solving the right problem. She facilitates groups using creative thinking techniques to explore solutions from every angle and generate new ideas.

At BD, Erika conceptualized, developed, and launched market-shaping anti-needlestick devices to improve healthcare worker and patient safety during vaccination. She also worked to secure passage of ground-breaking federal healthcare worker safety legislation through advocacy and market development. She currently works with the Safe Injection Practices Coalition to prevent the spread of infection due to injection product reuse. She left her corporate career to form Matchstick, a consultancy focused on the life sciences industry.

Erika has a BA in Communications from Montclair State University and an MBA from Rutgers University. She is a named inventor on a US patent.

Rich Caizza  

Principal, Fulcrum PDC

Creativity, manufacturability,
developing world perspective

Rich is a prolific, award-winning inventor of both medical and consumer products. He is named on over 50+ patents and patents pending. His design contributions form the cornerstone for the modern portfolio of BD safety injection devices. He was inducted into the New Jersey State Inventors Hall of Fame for his efforts to protect healthcare workers from needlestick injuries that can spread HIV and hepatitis.

Rich brought his creativity and knowledge of low-cost device development to the issue of syringe reuse in the developing world. His extensive research and fieldwork led to the development of the BD SoloShot VX™ and Emerald™ Pro, which allow variable vaccine dosing and reconstituting vaccines while preventing reuse.

Rich left his corporate career to found Fulcrum, a medical device development firm focused on improving healthcare delivery. His foundation in manufacturing brings a unique pragmatism to his designs. His distinctive perspective enables him to thoroughly integrate manufacturing expertise with customer interface and design, resulting in more practical, actionable, and market-relevant solutions.

Rich is a graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Marty Coyne  

Principal, Matchstick LLC

Application of technology,
innovation

Marty is a passionate inventor and advocate for improved patient and healthcare worker safety. He combines his engineering and marketing experience to develop practical solutions for safe medication delivery. He has 10 patents and numerous applications related to medication safety and improved vaccine records.

During the decade he spent at Becton Dickinson (BD), Marty managed all aspects of injectable vaccine delivery, from disposable needles and syringes to pharmaceutical packaging for prefilled vaccine doses. He left his corporate career to form Matchstick, a consultancy focused on the life sciences industry.

Because of his extensive work in safe injection and parenteral drug delivery, Marty is frequently engaged by thought leaders regarding efforts to prevent cross contamination due to reuse of patient injection supplies. He has participated in numerous Centers for Disease Control (CDC) expert panels on the subject and continues to work with a variety of nonprofit groups engaged in advocacy and product innovation.

Marty has a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA from Columbia University.

Jennifer Vana   

Graphic Designer

Information architecture,
graphic design

Jen is a creative graphic designer with a talent for making information visually engaging and accessible. Her passion for fostering innovation and improving lives through health care led her to find and engage this team around the Records for Life contest.

Jen has been solving communication issues in healthcare and bringing them to life for the past 12 years through her work at BD and her clients at Wedgewood Communications. She has applied her talents to creating materials to support relief efforts for Haiti and to raise awareness around HIV/AIDS. She has contributed to designing vaccine records to improve the clarity and ease of pediatric vaccination delivery in the US.

Because of her desire to make a bigger impact, she has served as program advisor and coordinator for TEDx in Cape May, New Jersey.

Jen has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State).

Contact Erika

Contact Rich

Contact Marty

Contact Jennifer