Sue Mecham

Sue J. Mecham, Ph.D., is Co-Founder and CEO of NALA Membranes, a new generation membrane company based in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. NALA is developing new chlorine tolerant reverse osmosis membranes from new, chlorine-stable, polymers. Sue has over 25 years of experience building and leading technical and business teams in both industry and academia. Sue’s background is in polymer chemistry and organizational management with a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and manufacturing, sales, and leadership at Acadia Polymers, Polymer Solutions Incorporated, Virginia Tech, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

Sue founded NALA Membranes in 2018 together with her mother, Professor Emerita Judy Riffle. Under Sue’s leadership, NALA has been selected for internationally recognized accelerators including MassChallenge and Imagine H2O-Asia, and in November 2021 was presented with a Cleantech award from the NC Tech Association. NALA was awarded National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I and II grants, and receives financial backing by venture and angel investors.