Diane Hayes

BA '83 (Sociology)

Co-Founder, InCrowd, Inc.

West Palm Beach, FL
 
Diane is a 1983 Stetson graduate who spent four years on a basketball scholarship, enjoying every minute on campus. She then attended graduate school and earned her PhD from the University of Illinois in 1988, followed by a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at Roswell Park/University of Buffalo in epidemiology. While working on her post-doc, Diane explored lifestyles and behaviors as they relate to health and well-being. This led to participation in a couple of clinical trials as either project director or co-investigator, including the Women’s Health Initiative and the Polyp Prevention Trial. 

Diane then moved into the business world and started working for a company that evaluated new and emerging medical technologies for payers and hospitals in order to best identify treatments most effective for patients. Following this, she completed her career conducting market research and insights in the life science space. First working for a company doing online qualitative research and then, smitten with the entrepreneurial bug, co-founded an organization that conducted quantitative research through innovative applications of technology. 

InCrowd, Inc., a Boston start-up founded in 2011, focused on collecting data in real time from medical professionals so life science companies could make quick decisions integrating current insights. Aggressive use of various technologies supported real time research that has found an important space in drug development and launch. InCrowd was sold to Apollo Intelligence several years ago, and Diane served on the board until its recent sale to Frazier Healthcare Partners. Now retired with this exit, Diane is excited to use some of her newfound free time to re-engage with Stetson and spend time supporting its mission and goals. She is currently the Chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board and serves on the Board of Trustees.

She lives in West Palm Beach with her wife and dogs and loves spending time traveling, visiting with family and friends, and playing with the grandbabies.