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Dr. Jan A. Van Prooyen is a co-founder and independent chairman of the board of directors of Verndari, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in Napa, California, that aims to transform global healthcare through next-generation vaccine science.

Dr. Van Prooyen retired as a U.S. Army Major General. His expertise includes project management, chemical, and biological defense, and nuclear technology. His military career included field duty in Viet Nam and Germany and leadership assignments focused on the acquisition of Army weapons systems, major missile defense programs, and chemical and biological research programs. He led two major research and development centers and two national test ranges. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1996 for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service to the Government of the United States.

After his 30-year career in the U.S. Army, Dr. Van Prooyen joined the Bechtel Corporation and became senior vice president and partner. From 2003 to 2006 he led Bechtel’s 5,000-person Defense and Space business as president. From 2006 to 2009 he served as deputy laboratory director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was responsible for oversight and integration of the daily operations of the laboratory with a focus on safety, security, business services, environmental management, and infrastructure.

Dr. Van Prooyen has served as a board member of multiple companies including Bechtel National, Inc., Bechtel Bettis, Inc., and the Armed Services YMCA. He served as board chairman of the Universities Space Research Association and Kwajalein Range Services, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Bechtel.

Dr. Van Prooyen graduated with a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1966 and received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Virginia. He later completed a one-year fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.