Dr. Leen Kawas is co-founder and Managing General Partner of Propel Bio Partners, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm dedicated to supporting early-stage biotechnology companies developing breakthrough health innovations. She brings to her board role a background spanning drug discovery, clinical development, and company building across more than a decade in the life sciences.

Originally from Jordan, Dr. Kawas earned her pharmacy degree from the University of Jordan before immigrating to the United States in 2008 to pursue advanced research. She completed her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology and built her career at the intersection of science and entrepreneurship, co-founding and leading a biopharmaceutical company focused on neurodegenerative diseases as its Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership, the company advanced multiple late-stage clinical programs and completed an initial public offering in September 2020, raising over $400 million, making her the first woman in twenty years to take a company public in Washington State.

In 2022, she co-founded Propel Bio Partners alongside investor Richard Kayne, channeling her scientific expertise and operational experience into venture capital. The firm provides portfolio companies with not only funding but hands-on strategic and technical guidance, with an emphasis on technologies that address unmet medical needs and support diverse leadership teams.

Dr. Kawas serves on the boards of Inherent Biosciences and Persephone Biosciences. She is a member of the Springboard Network and an active mentor to emerging entrepreneurs, particularly women in life sciences. Her industry recognition includes the Life Science Entrepreneurial Achievement Award (2020), French-American Foundation Leader (2019), and GeekWire Startup CEO of the Year (2019).