Jill Fuss, champion for science and tech entrepreneurship, awarded the 2026 QB3-Bakar Labs Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

We are delighted to announce that Jill Fuss, managing director of Activate Berkeley, was awarded the QB3-Bakar Labs Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at our annual Biotech Innovation at Berkeley event on Monday, January 12. The award, sponsored by our affiliate Wilson Sonsini, celebrates innovation and enterprise across the life science sector by spotlighting thinkers and leaders who have not only excelled in their own careers but also work to strengthen the broader community of bio-entrepreneurs.

As managing director of Activate Berkeley for the past three years, Fuss said she has mentored 61 founders across 46 startups. “I help them during the early stages of their transformation into a startup founder and leader,” she said. “Every day, I see this community in action and how it allows people to not just dream big things, but do big things.”

In her role at Activate Berkeley, a nonprofit helping scientists and engineers translate their ideas into companies, Fuss supports the growth and success of early-stage entrepreneurs through Activate’s fellowship program. She brings a unique perspective to this role, having been an Activate Fellow herself. In 2018, Fuss and co-founder Steve Yannone joined the Activate Fellowship to develop their company, CinderBio.

From early on in her career, Fuss has been a valuable mentor and champion for fellow scientists and entrepreneurs. While at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, both as a postdoctoral researcher and scientist, she was named a U.S. Department of Energy Outstanding Mentor and awarded the Berkeley Lab’s Director’s Award for Exceptional Diversity Achievement. After leaving CinderBio in 2021, she consulted for Activate, as part of a working group to grow the organization’s education program. Fuss has also supported efforts to make the City of Berkeley a friendly home for small startups, advocating for a tax waiver for research grants to small businesses and supporting zoning rules that reduce barriers for young companies.

Fuss has also played an important role here at Bakar Labs. Before opening our doors in 2021, she provided expert feedback to our leadership, helping to shape how Bakar Labs serves our tenants. She also sits on our selection committee, which reviews applications from prospective tenants, evaluating them on not just the feasibility of their ideas, but the positive impact they can have on the world.

The QB3-Bakar Labs Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation recognizes the importance that vision and “thinking big” have in the entrepreneurial journey. These two qualities are exemplified by Regis “Reg” Kelly, the first director of QB3 and the award’s inaugural recipient in 2025. The award spotlights and supports exceptional innovators and entrepreneurs across life sciences by amplifying their voices, showcasing their work, and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

“Jill’s not only an extraordinary scientist and entrepreneur, she’s also a dedicated mentor and community-builder,” said our director, Dave Schaffer. “At QB3 and Bakar Labs, we strive to grow ideas that have a positive impact on society, and her career exemplifies that value. We want to celebrate those people who make the Bay Area an inviting ecosystem for life science innovation.”

Fuss received the award at our annual Biotech Innovation at Berkeley event, this year co-hosted by Bakar Labs, WSGR, and Silicon Valley Bank. The event is an opportunity for bio-entrepreneurs, investors, and partners from our ecosystem to meet and make new connections. We think this event, celebrating the Bay Area’s dynamic biotech industry, is the perfect opportunity to honor a single individual who has devoted a significant portion of their career to strengthening the wider life science entrepreneurship community.

“Like Reg, I tell people what I’m interested in doing or, more often, what I’m interested in changing,” Fuss said. “And that makes things happen, sometimes by my own efforts but mostly by the efforts of a lot of other people. So to receive an award inspired by Reg’s legacy of vision and service to the community is the highest compliment I could hope for.”