Outstanding Achievement Award Winner
The Outstanding Achievement Award is presented for exceptional professional achievement and success.
Jamie (Malikowski) Margolis ’01 – Outstanding Achievement
Since graduating from Clarke in 2001, Jamie Margolis has built a career focused on science, leadership, and life-saving innovation. Today, she serves as Senior Vice President of Operations at NMDP, formerly known as Be The Match, where she leads a team of more than 900 people dedicated to delivering blood stem cell therapies for patients battling blood cancers and disorders such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Jamie credits Clarke with giving her both the confidence and foundation to pursue ambitious goals in science and healthcare.
“The education, both in and outside of the classroom, that I received at Clarke was the exact right launching pad for me to discover myself and my strengths,” she shares. “The professors at Clarke cared about me and my success. In particular, I am forever grateful for the Biology team at Clarke who fueled me and supported me as I managed my very first official research studies.”
Following graduation, Jamie continued directly into graduate school at the University of Minnesota, where she earned a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Her research focused on adult-onset muscular dystrophy and later expanded through postdoctoral fellowship work studying neuromuscular diseases and therapeutic interventions.
Wanting to apply her scientific background in a way that could more directly impact patients’ lives, Jamie joined NMDP more than 17 years ago. Over the course of her career there, she has served in nine different roles, beginning with work supporting transplant centers searching for unrelated graft source matches for patients in need of blood stem cell transplants.
She later helped expand operational and scientific strategies supporting the broader cell and gene therapy marketplace, working to improve how life-saving therapies move from research into patient care. Today, as Senior Vice President of Operations, she oversees the organization’s operational teams, including donor search, graft sourcing, product fulfillment, and therapy delivery.
“This team is accountable for delivering life-saving therapies to patients in need,” she says. “That mission pushes us every day to do whatever it takes for patients and their families.”
Jamie’s work has earned national recognition throughout her career. In 2024, she was named a Women in Business Honoree and was previously recognized as a finalist for the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST Innovation Award. She also received a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship award from the University of Minnesota.
Despite her professional accomplishments, Jamie says her most meaningful experiences remain rooted in the people around her.
“Without question my most rewarding life experiences to date have happened alongside my family and friends,” she shares. “I am incredibly blessed and grateful to have the most amazing people as part of my village.”
The BVM Core Values continue to shape both her leadership and personal life. Jamie describes lifelong learning as one of her greatest strengths and says curiosity continues to guide her work and decision-making.
“One of my strengths is Learner,” she says. “I am forever curious to understand the why and use that to fuel the what now.”
She and her family are also guided by the Hebrew phrase tikkun olam, meaning “repairing the world,” which reflects a shared commitment to justice, service, and improving the lives of others through both volunteerism and philanthropy.
In addition to her professional leadership, Jamie currently serves on the board of the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST.
Receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award holds special meaning because of the role Clarke played in shaping her path.
“I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” she says. “I hope that I can inspire others to find their passion and talents, and use it as a catalyst to do something that creates a positive impact.”