Award-Winning Boston Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute -- NIRI -- Advances Nationally Recognized Programs.

BOSTON -- Names 2004 - 2005 Officers and Directors to Continue Tradition of Outstanding Service to Members

The Boston Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) today announced that it has elected seven officers, created a new position of president-elect, and elected two new members to its board of directors for the 2004-2005 term. The Boston Chapter is one of the oldest, largest and most innovative chapters in NIRI, a nationwide professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, the financial community and the investing public.

The Chapter has been a finalist for the Best Overall NIRI Chapter for the past three years and won the award in 2002. In June 2004 at the NIRI National Annual Conference, the Boston Chapter received multiple awards, including "Best Special Event," a Membership Award for its enrollment efforts, and a "Chairman's Award for Innovation". The "Chairman's Award for Innovation" was awarded for the Chapter's dinner with Jonathan Kraft, the Vice Chairman of the New England Patriots.

The Boston Chapter's seven officers for the 2004-2005 term are:

President - Rich Yerganian

Rich Yerganian is the vice president of investor relations for LTX Corporation, a leading provider of semiconductor test solutions. He joined LTX in 1984 as an applications engineer. Upon receipt of his Masters in Business Administration in 1988 from Bentley College, he moved into several marketing positions, the most recent as director of corporate marketing. In this role, he was responsible for corporate branding and marketing communications including the company's website and public relations efforts. He was appointed director of investor relations in the fall of 1999. Yerganian also holds a BSEE from Northeastern University.

Communications Chair - Joshua Young

Joshua Young has served as director of investor relations and corporate communications for Aspen Technology (NASDAQ: AZPN), a $326 million software company, since 1998. Young established the company's first internal investor relations and corporate communications program and has worked with its management team to significantly expand the company's institutional ownership and Wall Street research coverage. Before joining Aspen Technology, Young worked in investor relations and corporate communications at Genome Therapeutics, a small-cap biotechnology company. He also performed investor relations, public relations and marketing communications services at KCSA Worldwide, a strategic communications firm and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Young holds a BS from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, an MBA in finance from Boston College and a graduate certificate in Investor Relations from Bentley College's Graduate School of Finance.

Membership Chair - David Calusdian

David is executive vice president at Sharon Merrill Associates, the largest investor relations agency in the Boston area. David combines broad experience in investor relations, public affairs and media relations with a passion for quality service in providing Sharon Merrill Associates clients with strategic counsel and direct support on projects such as investor perception studies and corporate presentations and events such as investor roadshows and analyst days. He also helps manage executive-level functions within the agency. Prior to joining Sharon Merrill Associates in 1995, David implemented communications programs as an account executive for Jack Walsh & Associates, a public affairs consulting firm, and he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs to discuss political communications strategy. For nearly 10 years, David served as an adjunct instructor of investor relations, public relations and public speaking at Emerson College, where for part of that time he also directed the school's media relations efforts. David holds bachelor of arts and master's degrees in communications from Emerson College.

Program Co-Chair - Thomas E. Newberry

Tom Newberry is vice president of corporate communications at Framingham, Massachusetts based GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc., the leader in the development, production, and commercialization of therapeutic proteins through transgenic animal technology. Newberry is responsible for all of GTC's corporate communication programs - including investor and public relations, media relations, presentations and publications. Prior to joining GTC, Newberry was director, investor relations for North American Vaccine in Maryland. In 1996, he was appointed director, investor relations at Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation. He has had over 20 years of business experience including: nuclear engineering design, analysis and construction, developing engineering training programs, resolving regulatory issues, and developing work flow processes. Newberry earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Program Co-Chair - Jen LaVin

Jennifer LaVin was most recently Executive Director, Corporate Communications at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she coordinated the company's investor and media relations efforts since 2000. Prior to joining Cubist, Ms. LaVin served as Vice President at SmallCaps Online Group, LLC (now SCO Financial Group), where she led the company's healthcare communications consulting group. Prior to that, she was Director, Corporate Communications at Cadus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and, previous to that, was an Assistant Vice President in the Equity Research Department at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., where she followed the mid-cap and specialty pharmaceutical sector. Ms. LaVin has also served in a variety of consulting and scientific research positions at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and at academic institutions. She has a BA in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in International Business, Management and Marketing from Columbia Business School. Ms. LaVin also serves on the Investor Relations Committee of BIO (the Biotechnology Industry Organization) and is a co-chair of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council's Communications Committee.

Secretary - Jill Baker

Jill L. Baker is senior director of investor relations at Waltham, Massachusetts-based PAREXEL International, Inc. PAREXEL provides a broad range of knowledge-based contract research, medical marketing, consulting, and information technology services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. She joined PAREXEL in 1999 and is responsible for managing all aspects of the Company's Investor Relations program and employee stock option programs. Prior to joining PAREXEL, Baker served in various management positions over a 10-year period at Mariner Health Group in New London, Connecticut (now known as Mariner Post-Acute Network), serving as vice president of investor relations during her last two years at the company. Baker holds a BA degree from Connecticut College and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Treasurer - Kristen Galfetti

Kristen Galfetti is director of investor relations at Genzyme Corporation. After managing investor relations for the biosurgery division in the corporation for the past two years, she has recently taken on a new role as a co-primary spokesperson for the company. An 18-year veteran of accounting/finance positions and investor relations, Galfetti has held senior financial posts managing IR programs for corporations in numerous industries, including broadband technology, public transportation, publishing, medical devices and data communications. Prior to Genzyme, she served as Director of Investor Relations at Artel Video Systems. She also held senior positions with Houghton Mifflin Company and UroMed Corporation. Galfetti earned an MBA degree from the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley College, and a BA in political science from the University of Vermont.

Additionally, for the first time in the chapter's history, it elected a president elect to serve in the 2005-2006 season.

President Elect - Andrew Kramer

Andrew Kramer is director of investor relations at Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE: IDC), bringing a decade of investor relations and corporate communications experience in both corporate and agency settings. Kramer joined Interactive Data in March 2004 after spending over three years as director of investor relations at Sycamore Networks, where he oversaw the optical networking company's communication initiatives with the investment community, including sell-side analysts, institutional investors, stockbrokers and individual investors. Prior to joining Sycamore, Kramer was director of investor relations for ArrowPoint Communications, a fast-growing networking company that was acquired by Cisco Systems several months after its initial public offering. Before that, he spent more than eight years at Sharon Merrill Associates, New England's largest investor relations consulting firm, where he held a variety of account and senior management positions. He received a BA degree in communication as well as an MBA degree from Boston College.

Board of Directors

The Boston Chapter's Board of Directors for the 2004-2005 term also includes two new members: Beth Lewis, director of investor relations for Pegasystems, and Brian Norris, director of investor relations for MatrixOne. Returning board members include Sally Curley, vice president of investor relations for Genzyme and NIRI Boston's president during the 2003-2004 term; John J. Ingoldsby, director of investor relations for Oasis Semiconductor; and Diane Basile, director of investor relations for Mercury Computer, Inc. In addition, Honorary Directors Jane W. McCahon, investor relations counsel at Conway Communications, and Karen A. Warren, senior vice president of investor relations at Hasbro, Inc. remain active members of the board this year.

About NIRI Boston

The Boston Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) is the third largest and one of the oldest chapters of NIRI, a professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, the investing public and the financial community. With more than 5,200 members in 33 chapters around the country, NIRI sets the highest standards in education designed to advance the practice of investor relations and meet the professional development needs of those engaged in the field. NIRI Boston is consistently recognized as one of the most innovative chapters by providing value-added, educational programming and delivering leading-edge member services. For more information about NIRI Boston, visit www.niriboston.org.