Adrienne Crown is the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Sanford Burnham Prebys, where she leads strategic legal oversight and governance across the Institute’s operations. Her expertise spans nonprofit governance, employment law, contract management, institutional operations, and research administration.
Since joining the Institute in 2010, Ms. Crown has held key leadership roles—including Deputy General Counsel and Chief of Compliance—where she spearheaded enterprise-wide initiatives that enhanced transparency, strengthened compliance infrastructure, and reduced institutional risk. Her work has contributed to measurable improvements in operational efficiency and accountability.
Ms. Crown works closely with the board to align legal and operational priorities with the Institute’s strategic goals, ensuring that governance and compliance frameworks support long-term institutional success.
Earlier in her career, she served as Managing Editor of Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry and Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, contributing to the dissemination of cutting-edge scientific research—an experience that deepened her understanding of the research enterprise she now supports legally.
She earned her B.A. in American History from the University of California, San Diego, and her J.D., cum laude, from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, where she focused on regulatory law.