In 1994, my daughter Katelin was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at age five. CF is a genetic disease affecting the lungs and digestive system. Progressive. Life-threatening. No cure.
At the time, I was thriving as a General Manager at Management Recruiters International (MRI Network), leading a team of 15 recruiters in the manufacturing industry. I'd won awards. Broken records. Built a successful practice.
But after Katelin's diagnosis, none of that mattered.
I made an immediate decision that many people thought was crazy: I pivoted away from my successful manufacturing recruitment practice and began specializing in pharmaceutical and medical device recruiting. My team continued in their areas. I started over in a completely different industry.
Why? Because I needed my work to connect to something bigger than business success. I needed it to mean something.
Five years later, in 1999, I took an even bigger leap. I left MRI to found JBK Search - a company that would specialize exclusively in biopharma and medical device recruiting. No manufacturing. No other industries. Just the companies developing treatments that could help patients like my daughter.
Then in 2006, my son Jake called me from home one morning saying he didn't feel well. I told him to stay home, rest. This happened again the next day. And the next. By the fourth day, something felt wrong. The constant thirst. The frequent bathroom trips. I got him to his pediatrician immediately.
When we arrived, Jake's blood sugar was so high it didn't register on their equipment. They rushed us to the ER. We spent five days in the ICU. His blood sugar was 1389 - a record at Riley Children's Hospital. Type 1 Diabetes.
Two children. Two life-threatening chronic conditions. No cure for either.
Those moments didn't break me. They redirected me and ultimately validated the decision I'd made twelve years earlier to pivot my entire career.
I had already chosen meaningful work over comfortable success. Jake's diagnosis only deepened that commitment.
I was good at what I did. Really good. Awards. Record-breaking placements. A General Manager role leading a successful team.
But when Katelin was diagnosed in 1994, I realized something fundamental: success without meaning is empty.
I walked away from a thriving manufacturing recruitment practice to start over in pharmaceutical and medical device recruiting. People thought I was making a mistake. Why leave something you've built? Why pivot to an industry you don't know?
Because I couldn't keep doing work that didn't matter to me anymore.
I'm not a scientist. I can't work in a lab developing therapies. I don't have the training to conduct clinical trials or navigate FDA submissions.
But what I can do - and what I'm exceptionally good at - is find the people who can.
I can identify the regulatory affairs professionals who shepherd breakthrough therapies through approval. I can connect companies with quality assurance leaders who ensure every dose is safe. I can place pharmacovigilance experts who detect safety signals that could save the next patient from harm.
I can find the people working to help my children - and millions of others like them.
And that's exactly what I've been doing. For 26 years with JBK Search, and 31 years total in life sciences recruiting.
By 1999, I'd spent five years recruiting in pharmaceutical and medical device industries while still at MRI. I was building expertise. Understanding the regulatory landscape. Learning what companies needed in their RA, QA, and clinical teams.
But I kept hitting a wall: my company's focus was broader than mine. I wanted to specialize exclusively in the areas that mattered most for patients like Katelin - the regulatory, quality, and safety professionals who turn scientific breakthroughs into approved therapies.
So I made another leap. I left to found JBK Search.
This wasn't about starting just another recruiting firm. It was about building a company with a singular mission: connecting the right talent with companies developing breakthrough treatments.
Every regulatory affairs leader I place could be the person who navigates a cystic fibrosis therapy through FDA approval.
Every quality assurance director I connect with a company could be the person who ensures a diabetes treatment is manufactured safely and consistently.
Every pharmacovigilance expert I help find their next role could be the person who detects a safety signal that protects someone's child.
This isn't just recruiting. It's personal. It's urgent. It's my contribution to the fight my children wake up to every single day.
You'll see No Rest throughout my website, in my LinkedIn posts, in my conversations with clients and candidates.
People ask what it means.
It means I work long hours, make personal sacrifices, and push through moments of doubt - because I know what's at stake.
It means I approach every search with the urgency of someone who understands that delays in filling critical roles mean delays in getting therapies to patients.
No Rest isn't just a slogan. It's my commitment to families who are waiting.
Families like mine. Families who refresh their email hoping for news of a clinical trial. Families who watch their children struggle and pray for breakthroughs.
When you hire me to fill a regulatory affairs, quality assurance, or pharmacovigilance role, you're not just getting a recruiter. You're getting someone who understands deeply and personally why your work matters.
Here's what keeps me going when the work gets hard: Hope.
Cystic fibrosis is relentless. In 2002, Katelin's lungs became infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that's notoriously difficult to treat and resistant to most antibiotics. It's still there, a constant reminder of the challenges CF patients face daily.
But then, in 2019, everything changed.
The FDA approved Trikafta for cystic fibrosis patients. It's a triple-combination therapy developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals that has transformed Katelin's life and the lives of thousands of others.
Katelin's lung function improved dramatically. She can breathe easier. She has hope for a longer, healthier future.
When Jake was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2006, managing his condition meant pricking his finger multiple times a day to test his blood sugar and injecting insulin with syringes he had to carry everywhere. Every meal required calculations, needle sticks, and constant vigilance.
Today, thanks to breakthrough medical device innovations, Jake uses the Omnipod insulin pump and Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitor. No more multiple daily finger pricks. No more carrying syringes. The technology monitors his blood sugar continuously and delivers insulin automatically.
These aren't just conveniences. They're life-changing improvements that give him freedom, better glucose control, and a dramatically improved quality of life.
Neither Vertex's Trikafta nor the teams behind Omnipod and Dexcom created these breakthroughs alone.
They had regulatory affairs professionals navigating complex FDA approval pathways. They had quality assurance leaders ensuring every dose, every device, every component met the highest standards. They had clinical teams running rigorous trials. They had pharmacovigilance experts monitoring safety data.
Some of those people might have been placed by recruiters like me. And that matters.
It matters because when the right people are in the right roles at companies like Vertex, Insulet (Omnipod), and Dexcom, breakthroughs happen faster. Approvals come sooner. Patients get access to life-changing therapies and technologies.
That's not just theory. That's my daughter's life. That's my son's life.
I could have stayed a generalist recruiter. I could have placed people across every function in life sciences.
But I chose to specialize in RA/QA/PV for a reason: These are the people who bring therapies to patients.
Navigate the complex FDA pathways that turn scientific discoveries into approved treatments. Without them, breakthrough therapies sit in labs instead of reaching patients.
Ensure every manufacturing process, every batch, every dose meets the highest standards. Without them, patient safety is at risk.
Monitor post-market safety, detect signals, and protect patients from adverse events. Without them, harmful side effects could go undetected.
These aren't just "jobs." These are callings.
And the people who excel in RA/QA/PV roles? They're not just looking for a paycheck. They're driven by the same thing I am: the knowledge that their work saves lives.
That's who I recruit for. That's who I represent. That's my niche.
When I place a Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, I'm not just completing a search. I'm potentially connecting a company with the leader who will accelerate their FDA strategy and bring their therapy to patients months or years sooner.
When I help a Quality Assurance Director find their next role, I'm ensuring they land at a company where their expertise will protect patient safety and maintain the highest standards.
When I place a Pharmacovigilance leader, I'm putting someone in position to detect safety signals that could save lives.
Because somewhere, a parent like me is waiting. A patient like my children is hoping. A family is praying for the next breakthrough. And the people I place? They're the ones working to make those breakthroughs possible.
I think people choose to work with me because they sense this isn't just business.
They know I'm not going to send them random resumes from job boards. I'm going to find mission-driven regulatory, quality, and safety leaders who understand the urgency of their work and are committed to patient impact.
They know I understand what drives them. They're not just looking for their next job - they're looking for their next opportunity to make a difference. And I help them find companies where their RA/QA/PV expertise will truly matter.
It's different when recruiting is personal.
When you know that the VP of Regulatory Affairs you're placing could be working on a therapy that helps your own child, you don't settle. You don't compromise. You don't stop until you find exactly the right person.
That's what 26 years of doing this work has taught me.
I will work with #NoRest intensity to find you regulatory, quality, and pharmacovigilance leaders who share your mission. I will approach your search with the urgency it deserves. I will not stop until we find the right person.
I will treat your career with the respect it deserves. I will help you find roles where your expertise matters and your impact is valued. I will be honest, transparent, and committed to your success.
Because this work matters. Not just to me. But to every patient waiting for the next breakthrough. To every family hoping for better treatments. To every child like Katelin and Jake who deserves a future with fewer limitations and more hope.
Sometimes people ask if I ever think about retiring or slowing down.
Not yet.
That's why I do this work.
That's why JBK Search exists.
That's why #NoRest isn't just a hashtag - it's how I live.
Whether you're a company looking to hire exceptional RA/QA/PV talent, or a regulatory, quality, or pharmacovigilance professional exploring your next career move, I'd love to connect.
This work is personal for me. And I bring that passion to every search, every conversation, every placement.
Because somewhere, a parent is waiting for the therapy your team is developing. And I want to help you find the people who will get it there.
📞 317-513-4188
📧 brenda@jbksearch.com
🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn
Right talent. Right company. Real breakthroughs.
No Rest - Because breakthrough therapies can't wait.