Board of directors

Judith Gasson, PhD has spent more than 30 years at UCLA in various teaching, research and senior leadership roles. She currently serves as senior advisor at the David Geffen School of Medicine Research and Innovation, a role she has held since November 2015 and as a director of the UCLA Technology Development Corporation. In this capacity, she works with faculty inventors, business students and faculty, and the Office Technology Development to facilitate the translation of innovative discoveries to address unmet medical needs. She also serves on the boards of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Biocom-LA and the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation.

She served as the director of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) and president of the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation from September 1995 until September 2015. JCCC is one of only 47 institutions designated as comprehensive cancer centers by the National Cancer Institute, and is consistently rated among the nation's top ten institutions, according to U.S. News & World Report. Under her leadership, JCCC became an international pioneer in "translating" laboratory discoveries into more effective new therapies for cancer patients everywhere.

Dr. Gasson also served as senior associate dean for research at the David Geffen School of Medicine from September 2012 until she retired three years later. She began her career at UCLA in 1983 as a professor of medicine (hematology-oncology) and biological chemistry. Her work was instrumental in purifying for the first time a hormone-like substance that increases the speed of bone marrow cell reproduction. That substance, called GM-CSF, also had impacts on the granulocytes and monocytes of the immune system.

Her academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Colorado State University and a Doctorate in Physiology from the University of Colorado. She did her post-doctorate work at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, studying glucocorticoid hormones.

Brian Reithel, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Management Information Systems at The University of Mississippi (UM). He has been a faculty member and consultant in the information technology field since 1984. In addition to serving as Dean of the School of Business Administration, he has served in a variety of other leadership roles at UM including: associate vice chancellor for University Relations, co-director of the $525 million Commitment to Excellence Campaign, interim director of the Trent Lott Leadership Institute, co-chair of the Sesquicentennial Celebration and chair of the MIS/POM Department. A prolific scholar, he has authored more than 90 research articles and papers for leading journals and scientific conferences. He’s also a trusted source for the popular press on questions related to emerging information technologies with appearances in PC World magazine, Inc Magazine, The New York Times, ComputerWorld, National Public Radio and more. In 2005, he served as the national president of the Association of IT Professionals (AITP), at the time AITP was the world's oldest association for the information technology industry. He has also served as president of the national Foundation for Information Technology Education. He provided strategic guidance for the development of one of today's leading FDA-regulated blood establishment computer systems, bexWISE, through his involvement with IT Synergistics, LLC from 2002–2020.

Stephanie Lee, MD holds the David and Patricia Giuliani/Oliver Press Endowed Chair for cancer research and is a professor at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle. Dr. Lee is an NIH-funded clinical investigator whose research interests include health services/outcomes research, quality of life/patient reported outcomes and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation with a special interest in chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). She is the principal investigator of the Chronic GVHD Consortium, a group of U.S. institutions that collaborate to conduct observational and therapeutic trials of chronic GVHD. She has published over 400 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Lee also holds a number of leadership positions including associate director of the Clinical Research Division and research director of the Transplant Long-Term Follow-Up Program at Fred Hutchinson and co-scientific director of the Immunobiology and GVHD Working Committees of CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®). She was also the 2020 President of the American Society of Hematology.

Elizabeth J. Shpall, MD is the Howard and Lee Smith Professor of Cancer Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). Dr. Shpall is the director of the GMP and Core Cell Therapy Laboratories, director of the Cord Blood Bank and chair ad interim of the Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Department. She’s an internationally recognized expert and leader in the field of stem cell biology, hematology and clinical hematopoietic transplantation for the treatment of cancer. Dr. Shpall pioneered development of strategies for ex-vivo expansion of stem cells and novel strategies addressing obstacles of successful cord blood transplantation, improving outcomes for patients. As the founding president of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cell Therapy (FACT), her visionary translational research has advanced the field and set international standards for stem cell and cord blood transplantation and more recently immune effector cell therapy. She founded and grew to prominence the MD Anderson Cord Blood Bank. This vital resource provides cord blood stem cells for transplantation and cell therapy for cancer and neurologic diseases, collecting over 130,000 units and providing stem cells for transplantation and cell therapy for other diseases to more than 2,500 patients in need worldwide.

Dr. Shpall has authored more than 500 papers/chapters and is the principal investigator on numerous grants and trials. She serves as the leader of the Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant. She was elected by her MD Anderson peers to receive the Irwin H. Krakoff Award for Excellence in Clinical Research and the Otis W. and Pearl L. Walters Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research. She has received the MD Anderson President's Recognition for Faculty Excellence Award and the R. Lee Clark Prize for Excellence-Clinical Faculty. She was awarded the 2017 ASCO Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Drake Medal, which is the highest recognition bestowed upon its former graduates for their contributions to academic medicine. Dr. Shpall was inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in 2018 and from 2018-2021 served on the board of scientific advisors for the National Heart Lung and Blood Intramural Program. She has held more than ten investigator-initiated INDs for stem cell expansion and engineering studies. She and her team have developed several different strategies to enhance cord blood engraftment (ex vivo expansion and improved homing). She is the principal investigator on the Texas Medical Center Regenerative Medicine grant evaluating mesenchymal stem cell therapy for cancer patients with lung, cardiac and brain injuries. She also co-leads the burgeoning institutional CARTOX program providing critical oversight in the diagnosis management of patients at MD Anderson receiving chimeric antigen receptor-based therapies. Dr. Shpall is a current board member of FACT, and a past president of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT).

Garheng Kong, MD, PhD, MBA founded HealthQuest Capital in 2012 to improve people’s lives through improving health care on a significant scale. His vision was to build a best-in-class team of the highest talent and integrity to work with outstanding entrepreneurs to transform healthcare through high growth companies while generating outsized risk adjusted returns for investors.

A physician and engineer by training, Dr. Garheng has 20 years of experience investing in innovative health care companies with a long list of successes. He has served on the boards of HealthQuest portfolio companies Ajax, Alcresta, Avedro, Avizia, BardyDx, Castle Biosciences, CleanSlate, Etairos, Health Channels, Magnolia Medical, Spirox, Trice Medical, Venus and VirMedica. Some of his notable past successes include IPOs with Avedro (AVDR), Cempra (CEMP), Alimera (ALIM), Applied Genetic Technology Corp. (AGTC), Proteon (PRTO), Histogenics (HSGX) and TransEnterix (TRXC).

Dr. Garheng’s interests and industry footprint are broad as he also serves on the board of LabCorp (LH), Alimera Sciences (ALIM), Melinta (MLNT), StrongBridge (SBBP), the Duke University Medical Center, SEBIO, Corporate Chaplains of America and advises numerous industry groups such as IDEO and Lam Research. He’s a fellow of the Aspen Institute's Health Innovators Fellowship.

Dr. Garheng received two undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biological Sciences from Stanford, while on an athletic scholarship. He then earned an MD, PhD and MBA from Duke University, graduating first in his class in each instance. His early career included stints at GlaxoSmithKline, McKinsey and a medical device start-up, TherOx, before joining Intersouth Partners and then Sofinnova Ventures.

Trey Loughran is chief executive officer of Purchasing Power, LLC, the leading employee purchase program offering consumer products and services as a voluntary benefit through the convenience of payroll deduction. He joined the company in September 2019, having held multiple senior executive roles spanning financial services and technology, digital marketing and data analytics across both business-to-business and business-to-consumer platforms.

Trey spent much of his career in senior executive roles, most recently with over 12 years at Equifax, serving as president of two of the company’s four business units, chief marketing officer, and head of corporate development and emerging markets. Trey’s experience at Equifax included working with large business customers across a range of segments including financial services and employer services, as well as providing financial wellness, credit, and identity protection services directly to consumers through digital channels. In addition to Equifax, Trey held various roles at Red Ventures, BellSouth Corporation, McKinsey & Company, King & Spalding and Lazard Frères & Co.

Trey graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar (now Morehead-Cain). He serves on the advisory board of the Georgia chapter of the Trust for Public Land (incoming chair 2025) and is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Atlanta. He is the proud father of three children, including Jordan, a recipient of two bone marrow transplants made possible by NMDP.

Anne McGeorge has 35 years of experience working with health care clients. She recently retired as the global managing partner, Health Care Industry Practice, Grant Thornton LLP, where she worked extensively with large health systems, managed care organizations, insurance companies, and life sciences companies. She has assisted clients in all aspects of financial and strategic consulting, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, physician contracting, executive compensation, tax planning, risk assessment, regulatory issues, and IRS matters. Anne was formerly a partner with Deloitte and Touche LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP.

Anne sits on a number of public and private corporate boards and is the chair of the Audit Committee for Magenta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MGTA), a clinical stage biotech company based in Cambridge, Mass.; The Oncology Institute (NASDAQ:TOI), a value-based care oncology services company based in Cerritos, Calif.; CitiusTech, a health care technology company based in Mumbai, India and Princeton, N.J.; and Nimbus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company based in Boston, Mass. She’s also an adjunct faculty member of the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an advisory board member of HCA Health Innovations, a health care venture capital firm based in Nashville, Tenn. and Winston-Salem, N.C.

Anne was formerly a board member of the NMDP Foundation (2013-2022) and chaired the board for the last three years of her tenure. She is a volunteer courier for NMDP, as well.

Anne received a BBA, Business, Accounting, from The College of William and Mary, and an MS, Accounting/Taxation from the University of Virginia. She is member of Women Business Leaders in Health Care, Women on Boards 2020 and the 1918 Society for the College of William and Mary.

Ravyn Miller is a health care professional with a passion for people, impact, and equity.

As the vice president for Medtronic’s Defibrillation Solutions Portfolio Strategy and Business Development Growth team, Ravyn is responsible for creating and executing strategies that accelerate technology and patient access. In previous roles at Medtronic, she led global product launches, helped shaped reimbursement policies and increased health equity for women and people of color. Ravyn is also an active member of the African Descent Network which recruits, engages and develops Black talent. Prior to Medtronic, Ravyn was a sales representative with JNJ in Houston, Texas and Nashville, Tenn.

Ravyn has earned company recognitions, such as the Marketing Excellence Award and is a two-time Star of Excellence recipient. In 2107, she was recognized by Diversity Inc. as one of the Top 100 Emerging Leaders Under 50 and in 2019, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal named her as a Women in Business Honoree, which recognizes 50 of the region’s most influential women in business and community.

Beyond work, Ravyn sits on the Advisory Board for Marani Health, National Minority Quality Forum and the University of Minnesota’s Venture Center Business Advisory Group.

Ravyn earned a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and a dual Master of Business Administration and Divinity from Vanderbilt University. She is an ordained minister and a self-proclaimed “brunch enthusiast.”

Lori Muffly, MD, is an associate professor in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at Stanford University. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency training at Dartmouth followed by Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training at the University of Chicago where she also received a Master of Science in Health Studies.

Her clinical practice focuses on adults with acute leukemia undergoing bone marrow transplant and other cell therapies. She is an active clinical investigator and directs interventional clinical trials of novel cell therapies for acute leukemia and health outcomes/epidemiologic studies aimed at improving access to care and outcomes for these patient populations.

Dr. Muffly holds many leadership positions, including as an elected member of the board of directors for the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, the chair of the Nominating Committee for CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), former chair of the Publications Committee of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (for which she is the principal investigator of Stanford University’s Core Clinical Center grant), and co-director of the Stanford California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Alpha Clinic. She is the recipient of several grants and awards, including two Access to Care Awards from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She serves on the editorial board of Blood Advances, is a contributing editor for the Hematologist, and has published over 100 papers in the field of hematology and blood and marrow transplantation.

Vicki Rasmusen, CPA (Inactive) has over 40 years of business experience, with a deep background in finance/audit, global operations functional leadership, business integration, and enterprise risk management. Vicki spent over 14 years with Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device company, in global leadership roles in Finance, Risk Management and Operations. She also spent 8 years with Carlson Companies as a leader in global risk management, and 16 years with Big 4 public accounting firms Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, which included assignments in both the United States and Europe.

Vicki is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the College of St. Benedict where she studied in both the United States and Germany for Accounting, Business Administration and German. She also has Six Sigma certification from the University of Minnesota as well as other process improvement training and experience.

Vicki has been involved NMDP as a Finance or Audit Committee member and past chair since 2009. Since 2016, she has served as vice chair of the combined Finance and Audit Committee. She joined the board of directors in October 2021. Vicki also serves on the board of directors of Allina Health System and is the current chair of their Audit & Compliance Committee and a member of the Board Integrated Planning and Oversight Committee. She is also a past member of the board of directors of the St. Paul, Minn. YMCA, which had a focus on assisting homeless women and children through a progressive program that assisted with a return to self-sufficiency.

Rayne Rouce, MD, is a Houston native and pediatric oncologist at Texas Children’s Hospital with clinical interests in leukemia, lymphoma and cell therapy. Specifically, Dr. Rouce is focused on designing and validating new methods to harness the immune system to recognize and attack tumors, and decreasing complications after bone marrow transplant. As a physician scientist, she’s also passionate about increasing diversity in clinical trials, improving access to novel therapies and ensuring all patients needing blood stem cell transplant are equally able to find a suitable donor.

As a clinical and translational investigator conducting immunotherapy trials, she has significant experience in every aspect of translation and clinical trial development. Her role is unique within Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, as she serves as the liaison between the hematologic malignancies and cell and gene therapy groups, designing and implementing first-in-human clinical trials. In addition, she works tirelessly to ensure access to commercialized cell therapies and create enduring materials to manage the toxicities of gene-modified T-cells (a model that has since been duplicated for other novel cell therapies). This role has inspired the creation of an Immunotherapy fellowship within the hospital, which she conceived and co-leads in an effort to train the next generation of translational immunotherapists in cell therapy. Stemming from this unique position, her goals are to lead the translation of investigational immunotherapies to multisite studies within cooperative groups and improve access to these boutique therapies in the United States and around the world. Her research is funded by several peer-reviewed research grants, and she is widely published. Her work funded by the NMDP Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program focuses on tackling toxicities with hopes of improving quality of life for patients undergoing blood stem cell transplant. She also holds an NCI Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award (CCITLA) with a focus on improving access to clinical trials.

In addition to her leadership positions within the American Society of Hematology, American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy and American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, she serves as a translational and clinical mentor for a number of graduate and post-doctoral students and teaches and facilitates a number of courses on immunotherapy for hematologic malignancies and the importance of diversity in clinical trials for medical and graduate students, residents, fellows and allied health professionals.

She is an avid community advocate, serving as the associate director of Community Outreach for BCM and leading the Diversity in Clinical Trials Task Force for the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. In these roles she forges bonds with the community, providing medical and scientific programming for school-aged children, churches and community centers. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, an HBCU. She has achieved numerous academic accolades during her career, including academic honors societies, achievements for humanism and service to children, and awards for clinical care, research and teaching.

Michael Stewart is a regional vice president with The Hartford Financial Services Group based in Denver. With an undergraduate degree in Government from the City University of New York—John Jay College and a law degree from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Michael brings a diverse background to his role overseeing all aspects of the company's legal operations in the northeast, including management, talent development, business process improvement and litigation strategy.

 Aside from his 25 years as a litigator handling trial and appellate matters in state and federal court in Louisiana, he also spent time working for a Washington, D.C. firm specializing in government contracts. While in New Orleans, Michael was a volunteer attorney representing children in family court through the Children in Need of Care program.

 A bone marrow recipient in 2016, Michael has become an active volunteer with NMDP, joining the NMDP Foundation Board of Directors in 2018 and working as a volunteer courier since 2017. 

Laurie Strongin is founder and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Hope for Henry Foundation which is reinventing the pediatric patient experience in hospitals around the country. Laurie's work with Hope for Henry and the memoir she published, "Saving Henry," have placed her at the forefront of supporting the rights of patients and their families and the responsible use of new medical technologies. Laurie's advocacy has led her to service on the nation's preeminent science policy and bioethics panels. Her activism has produced op-eds in national newspapers; appearances on television and radio; collaborations with Congressional leadership; and recognition from the White House. An in-demand inspirational speaker, Laurie has been featured as a People magazine "Heroes Among Us" and was the subject of profiles in the USA Today and the Washington Post and on “Good Morning America.” Laurie serves on the Advisory Committee of the Association of Child Life Professionals.

Melissa Kong, MD is grateful to NMDP for helping to save her husband's life when he needed a bone marrow transplant. She praises God for a healthy husband, a son and identical twin daughters, and feels blessed for the opportunity to serve others going through the bone marrow transplant process. Her personal experience as the primary caregiver and health care advocate for her husband motivates her desire to help other caregivers and family members of patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

Melissa is the medical director of Ablacon, a company developing electrographic flow mapping, a novel and transformative technology for guiding the treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias. As a cardiac electrophysiologist, she was a partner at Silicon Valley Cardiology, a high-volume private practice with an extensive clinical research program and has expertise in the management and ablation of complex arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation, supraventricular, and ventricular tachycardias as well as comprehensive cardiac device management including pacemaker, cardioverter-defibrillator, cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation and both laser and mechanical lead extraction. She has also served as the EP liaison on the Heart Failure Council of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and was a Sequoia Hospital Foundation board member for six years. As an author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, Melissa remains actively involved in clinical research. She also serves as an advisory board member and/or consultant to several public and private health care companies.

She received her Doctor of Medicine from Duke University, where she also completed her internship/residency in internal medicine, fellowship in cardiovascular disease and subspecialty fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology. She is board-certified in cardiology and in cardiac electrophysiology. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, where she graduated summa cum laude from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She also enjoys flying, piano and wildlife photography.

Dianna Cervantes is a senior financial executive with over 20 years of accounting, finance and leadership experience working with both public and privately held companies. Dianna’s career reflects a demonstrated track record of leading successful initiatives to maximize enterprise value and foster collaboration. Dianna excels at building highly productive and respected teams.

Dianna received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii, where she was an NCAA Division I athlete competing in cross country. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.

Dianna’s commitment to NMDP and its mission began in 2018 when she provided a life-saving bone marrow donation to a 13-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She and her recipient met one year after the successful transplant and continue to grow their relationship. Dianna’s commitment to NMDP has only grown in the years since her donation and she has been a member of the Investment Committee since October 2021 and joined the Foundation Board of Directors in October 2022.

Michael Stewart is a regional vice president with The Hartford Financial Services Group based in Denver. With an undergraduate degree in Government from the City University of New York—John Jay College and a law degree from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Michael brings a diverse background to his role overseeing all aspects of the company's legal operations in the northeast, including management, talent development, business process improvement and litigation strategy.

Aside from his 25 years as a litigator handling trial and appellate matters in state and federal court in Louisiana, he also spent time working for a Washington, D.C. firm specializing in government contracts. While in New Orleans, Michael was a volunteer attorney representing children in family court through the Children in Need of Care program.

A bone marrow recipient in 2016, Michael has become an active volunteer with NMDP, joining the NMDP Foundation Board of Directors in 2018 and working as a volunteer courier since 2017. 

Ramesh Subrahmanian is a global business leader with over 30 years of experience in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. He founded Alchemy Advisors in 2016, advising clients on growth and investment strategies. He also serves on the boards of Healthium MedTech and Everlife Holdings.

From July 2017 to October 2019, Ramesh served as president, International of Acelity, a global leader in wound care. Acelity was acquired by 3M in October 2019 for $6.7 billion.

From 2011 to 2016, as group president, International at Stryker, a $15 billion diversified medtech company, he led Stryker’s business outside the U.S. and Western Europe (having also led the European business from 2011–2013).

Prior to Stryker, Ramesh served as senior vice president and president, APAC for Merck where he led a $3 billion pharma and vaccines business from 2006. Before joining Merck, Ramesh held commercial and functional roles over 19 years with Sanofi and predecessor companies in Germany, India and the United States.

An active leader on health care industry issues, Ramesh served as chair of PhRMA’s Asia Committee and was a founding board member of APACMed. He was a member of the Singapore PM’s Economic Strategy subcommittee in 2009. He has served on several boards including chairing key board committees.

Ramesh is a UK trained chartered accountant with a degree in Commerce & Economics from Bombay University.

Ramesh is deeply grateful to the entire team at NMDP for their work in getting him an unrelated donor stem cell transplant and is committed to helping others experience the miracle of a second chance at life.

Bill Furlong is chief executive officer of Vale Health, a digital business helping people live healthier lives by providing a marketplace of trusted, effective solutions for common health and wellness needs. Bill has spent most of his career in technology and online businesses. Prior to joining Vale Health, Bill was CEO of JuniperCommerce, a digital business to business marketplace for brands seeking to expand their distribution through retail stores. Bill spent most of his career in online travel, having served as vice president to the North American retail business for Expedia Group and its travel brands. Before that, Bill was vice president of the Americas business for VRBO/HomeAway, which was acquired by Expedia Group. Bill joined VRBO/HomeAway after serving as CEO of an internet software startup that he sold to VRBO/HomeAway. Earlier in his career, Bill held management roles at Microsoft and Time Warner and began his career at Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York and Hong Kong.

Bill is a graduate of Dartmouth College and received his MBA from Harvard University. In additional to his work with NMDP, Bill serves on the board of the Parents’ Association for his daughter’s school, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Bill’s commitment to NMDP is grounded in the life-saving stem cell transplant for his then nine-year-old daughter, Riley. NMDP found Riley’s best possible donor living in a small town outside Cardiff, Wales. Today Riley is a thriving high school student thanks to an incredibly generous donor and an organization committed to finding a stem cell donor for all.

Bill lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Alex and two daughters Annabel and Riley.

Amy Ronneberg became CEO in March 2020. She is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction and leading an organization of professionals and volunteers dedicated to creating a world where every patient can receive their life-saving cell therapy.

Amy joined NMDP in July 2013 as the chief financial officer. She was responsible for planning, implementing, and directing NMDP finances, facilities and real estate management, and reporting. As CFO, Amy partnered with and advised NMDP executives and the board of directors in developing and implementing an operating and financial business plan to meet the changing health care environment.

Along with her finance duties, Amy was president of NMDP BioTherapies^SM. She led new business development while overseeing the development and delivery of a strategic plan to grow and expand our portfolio of product offerings.

Prior to joining NMDP, Amy spent 12 years at Capella Education Company where she served in several leadership roles including chief accounting office, vice president of Finance and vice president of Operations She also worked for Ernst & Young for several years as an audit manager.

Amy has served on several boards and is currently on the board of Allina Health and Medical Alley Association and on the Finance Committee for the World Marrow Donor Association.

Amy earned a Master of Business Administration from Capella University, Minneapolis, Minn., and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Gustavo Alcocer joined OLIVARES Y COMPAÑÍA, S.C., as a partner in 1999. He manages the Corporate and Commercial Law Group and is co-chair of the Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals Group. Prior to joining OLIVARES, he acted as in-house counsel for Banamex for 11 years in various positions, including vice president of International Legal Affairs in New York and executive vice president and assistant general counsel for Grupo Financiero Banamex in Mexico City.

Gustavo possesses a wealth of transactional experience in M&A, finance and business law and advises our clients on complex M&A, finance, asset sale & acquisition, licensing, franchising, real estate transactional work and regulatory work. Clients routinely turn to him for sophisticated strategic advice regarding structuring maintaining and expanding operations in Mexico and intellectual property valuation and monetization. Additionally, Gustavo has worked with international companies in FCPA and anti-bribery compliance, as well as privacy and personal data protection.

Sarah Asma is an attorney with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, a government agency in Florida where she works in criminal defense for indigent clients across Central Florida. She has practiced public defense work for 10 years and is a Board-Certified Criminal Trial Expert. Her caseload and experience include defending all types of cases and she has qualified with the Florida Bar and actively defends Capital cases. She is a graduate of both the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida, holding a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a master’s degree in Non-Profit Management, and a Juris Doctorate.

In 2011, Sarah’s niece, Lauren was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia of the T-cells. She was two years old at the time. NMDP facilitated Lauren’s life-saving marrow transplant in April 2012. Since that time, Sarah and Lauren’s family have been dedicated volunteers and advocates for the organization. Sarah currently serves as the Campaign Committee’s volunteer board chair. Their entire family is eternally grateful to NMDP for giving Lauren a second chance at life.

In addition to her work as an attorney and with NMDP, Sarah is married to her husband, Neil, and is a mother to their daughters, Camille and Lillian. They live in Orlando and love being involved in their community. Sarah serves as a director of The Moore Family Charitable Foundation. She also serves as treasurer of Salmo Investments, Inc. and as vice chair of the board of directors for The Faine House Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing housing and life skills to young adults who age out of foster care.

Brian Berg serves as chief talent officer for Publicis Media in the U.S., overseeing talent and people engagement for agencies within Publicis Groupe’s media pillar including Zenith Media, Starcom, Spark Foundry, Publicis Health Media and Publicis Collective.

Brian launched his career in Human Resources nearly 30 years ago initially working for a for-profit division of St. Barnabas Medical Center. In 1997, he transitioned to the hospitality industry working for a boutique hotel. Discovering his passion for customer service, he moved into retail, joining Saks Fifth Avenue in 1999. His role quickly transformed to overseeing HR leads and employee relations across multiple U.S. locations.

In 2009, Brian was recruited to work for Macy’s Incorporated and was soon promoted to vice president of Human Resources, managing employees in Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Cause Marketing and the Parade & Entertainment groups. His interests in Marketing and Advertising, led him to his role at Publicis Groupe.

Over the last seven years, Brian has been actively involved with NMDP after his son, Collin, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Brian realized the importance of NMDP's mission and the NMDP Registry^SM when he learned his other two children were not a donor match for Collin if he needed a blood stem cell transplant. Ultimately, Collin did not need a transplant and is doing well today, but Brian is now committed to helping ensure that no family would be in a similar situation and not find a match.

Prior to joining the board, Brian had been serving on the NMDP Board of Ambassadors for years. Brian has helped run donor registration events at Publicis, helping more than 800 Publicis Groupe employees join the donor registry and has helped raise over $250,000 in donations.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree from Monmouth University and a master’s degree in HR from Cornell University.  He currently resides in New Jersey with his wife and three children.

Andrew Block is a highly strategic, values-driven executive with extensive experience in high growth public sector businesses. As a proven enterprise leader, he has a track record of developing strategy, achieving business objectives and providing strong shareholder return. He has experience across multiple sectors including hospitality, finance, distribution and logistics, and high-tech manufacturing.

Andrew joined ABM in 2018 as executive vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO). A veteran CHRO with 25 years of experience, Andrew is responsible for setting enterprise HR strategy. He is focused on attracting, developing and retaining talent at all levels of the organization through talent planning, organizational effectiveness and an enhanced HR operating model.

Before joining ABM, Andrew served as senior vice president, talent and organizational performance for Buffalo Wild Wings. He also led Human Resources and Talent capabilities for C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., Wells Fargo, Ecolab and Sony DADC.

Andrew holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Relations from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Suleika Jaouad is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling memoir, Between Two Kingdoms. She wrote the Emmy Award-winning New York Times column “Life, Interrupted,” and her reporting and essays have been featured in the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Vogue, and NPR, among others. A highly sought-after speaker, her mainstage TED Talk was one of the ten most popular of 2019 and has nearly five million views. She is also the creator of The Isolation Journals, a community creativity project founded during the COVID-19 pandemic to help others convert isolation into artistic solitude; over 100,000 people from around the world have joined.

Bruce Manasevit began his career as a wealth management advisor in 1998 and previously served as president and CEO of his family’s third-generation business. Today, his team at Merrill Lynch works closely with a select group of high net-worth families, individuals and business owners who value a tailored, comprehensive strategy to help them achieve their personal and financial objectives. Bruce is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor.

Bruce is an Ally member of the Finance Committee of the Triangle Community Center, a nonprofit organization supporting the LGBT community with social services for over 25 years. He is also a trustee of the Fairfield Museum and History Center and former board member of The Fairfield Theater Company.

Bruce received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and his Masters of Business Administration in finance from Columbia Business School in New York City.

In 1998, Bruce and his father-in-law, Martin Strelzer, partnered with NMDP to establish The NMDP Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program for the Study of Post-Transplant Complications (Amy Research Program). It was established to honor the memory of his wife, Amy, who died from complications following a bone marrow transplant. The Amy Research Program bestows one of the largest and most coveted research grants in the field of cellular transplantation to develop the next generation of physician-scientists by supporting and encouraging the discovery of new ways to treat and prevent post-transplant complications.

Anne McGeorge has 35 years of experience working with health care clients. She recently retired as the global managing partner, Health Care Industry Practice, Grant Thornton LLP, where she worked extensively with large health systems, managed care organizations, insurance companies, and life sciences companies. She has assisted clients in all aspects of financial and strategic consulting, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, physician contracting, executive compensation, tax planning, risk assessment, regulatory issues, and IRS matters. Anne was formerly a partner with Deloitte and Touche LLP and Arthur Andersen LLP.

Anne sits on a number of public and private corporate boards and is the chair of the Audit Committee for Magenta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MGTA), a clinical stage biotech company based in Cambridge, Mass.; The Oncology Institute (NASDAQ:TOI), a value-based care oncology services company based in Cerritos, Calif.; CitiusTech, a health care technology company based in Mumbai, India and Princeton, N.J.; and Nimbus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company based in Boston, Mass. She’s also an adjunct faculty member of the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an advisory board member of HCA Health Innovations, a health care venture capital firm based in Nashville, Tenn. and Winston-Salem, N.C.

Anne was formerly a board member of the NMDP Foundation (2013-2022) and chaired the board for the last three years of her tenure. She is a volunteer courier for NMDP, as well.

Anne received a BBA, Business, Accounting, from The College of William and Mary, and an MS, Accounting/Taxation from the University of Virginia. She is member of Women Business Leaders in Health Care, Women on Boards 2020 and the 1918 Society for the College of William and Mary.

Laura F. Michael, PhD is the associate vice president of Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases in the Diabetes, Obesity, and Complications Therapeutic Area at Eli Lilly and Company. Laura’s research focuses on the field of cardio-metabolic diseases, and she has U.S. regulatory affairs experience in endocrinology and metabolism. She has led the development of new therapeutic siRNAs for the durable treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, developed a model program for small molecule protein-protein interaction disrupters, and established external genetic partnerships for human target identification and validation and gene editing therapeutics, all of which are in clinical development.

Laura earned a doctorate in cell and molecular biology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School before joining Eli Lilly and Company. Laura was a blood stem cell donor for a patient in need and became a volunteer courier for NMDP^SM in 2011. She has also served on the NMDP Campaign Committee.

Roger Paschke was named chief investment officer for the Hearst Corporation and Hearst Foundations on January 1, 2008. In this role, he manages the Hearst Corporation's pension assets, those of The Hearst Foundations and related entities, with a combined total of approximately $6 billion. Previously, he was named to Chief Investment Officer's Power 100 list of the most influential people at pensions, endowments, foundations, insurance funds and sovereign wealth funds worldwide.

Previously, Roger served as chief financial officer and senior vice president of OIL Group of Companies in Hamilton, Bermuda, world leaders in the provision of insurance products specific to the needs of the energy industry. From 1997 to 2006, he was responsible for the company's approximately $5 billion in assets under management, including its corporate and pension investments, capital initiatives, credit ratings for the company's insurance entities and related debt issuances.

From 1978 to 1996, Roger held a variety of positions at the University of Minnesota. Beginning in 1992, he was treasurer and associate vice president for finance, responsible for nearly $3 billion in assets under management, involving approximately 20 major investment management relationships and numerous other private equity partnerships and mutual funds.

Roger holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Criminal Justice Studies from the University of Minnesota.

Deryn Pomeroy serves as trustee and director of strategic Initiatives at the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, based in Syracuse, N.Y. The foundation was created to advance two specific objectives: (1) to raise awareness, support research and improve quality of care for patients and their families who are facing a blood cancer diagnosis; and (2) to help communities celebrate their local history and folklore, and to document these descriptive moments with commemorative roadside markers.

In 2004, Deryn’s father, Bill Pomeroy, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Then, while Bill Pomeroy’s life hung in the balance, it was NMDP that came to the rescue. NMDP found a perfectly matched donor and Bill received his stem cell transplant. This life-saving experience would serve as a catalyst for Bill Pomeroy to create the foundation.

Prior to joining the Pomeroy Foundation, Deryn’s credentials have been highlighted by her accomplishments in the field of education and working with young people. Her career began as a case manager for pregnant and parenting teens at The Salvation Army. She served six years as the Assistant Director of Admissions at Syracuse University as well as a primary application reviewer for the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Whitman School of Management. Subsequently, Deryn accepted the offer of a two-year stint where she trained new members at The Common Application’s corporate headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area.

Deryn holds a master’s degree in Secondary Education with honors from Niagara University and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language & Literature from The George Washington University.

Bill Pomeroy established the William G. Pomeroy Foundation following his diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He was matched with a donor and received a life-saving stem cell transplant in 2005. The foundation raises awareness, supports research and helps improve the outcomes for patients and their families who are facing a blood cancer diagnosis. They work closely with NMDP and other organizations to support bone marrow drives in diverse communities to enable more transplants for people who cannot find a matching donor. As of 2020, the foundation has registered almost 30,000 people, resulting in more than 107 donor/patient matches. Bill also has a passion for history and genealogy. The foundation’s other initiative is expanding nationwide: helping people celebrate their community’s history by providing grants for historic markers and plaques.

Bill is the founder and former owner of CXtec & TERACAI, two technology companies in Syracuse, N.Y.  Now retired, he maintains a minority stockholder interest and is a member of the board of directors. He was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University and Ernst & Young.

Bill also serves on the board of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. He is a First Connection Volunteer for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and a Caring Connection Volunteer for BMT InfoNet. Bill is a former member of the board and executive committee for NMDP, the Onondaga Historical Association and Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. He also served as a member of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School Advisory Council. He is Trustee Emeritus for the Erie Canal Museum and The Salvation Army of Syracuse.

Bill earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Having most recently served as executive chair of Sevier County Bank, John currently serves as an independent consultant in the banking industry. A graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. With a BA in Economics and Business Administration, and a certified public accountant, he started his career with Ernst & Whinney as an auditor. He soon was recruited to one of his clients, National Commerce Financial where he served in various capacities for over 20 years, including starting a denovo bank in Richmond, Va. and growing it organically to $ 1 billion in assets in five years. He subsequently served as CFO for National Commerce, then $24 billion, and lead the transaction for their $7 billion sale to SunTrust. Other positions held include CFO of the then $50 billion Marshall & Ilsley Bank, head of strategic initiatives/M&A for the then $100 billion Fifth Third Bank, and over nine years as lead director for Lumber Liquidators ($3 billion market cap), and eventually chair, president and CEO of the business.

John was diagnosed in February of 2016 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and had a difficult 9-month journey to achieve remission in order to make a bone marrow transplant possible. He was the recipient of stem cells from an unrelated donor in November 2016. He is passionate about NMDP and joined the NMDP Foundation board of directors in October of 2022.

Michael Rose is Principal, McMillan Rose, LLC in Charlotte, N.C. Established in August 2014, McMillan Rose, LLC is a small boutique firm assisting client/partners in exploring philanthropy as a solution, and to achieve excellence in its application. The company assists in learning how to identify, explore and pursue viable opportunities in a rapidly changing philanthropic world. Additional McMillan Rose leadership solutions include personal and team coaching, mentoring relationships, board and executive development, crisis management and interim leadership services.

From 1987 through July 2014, Michael led Carolinas HealthCare Foundation (CHF) as executive officer. In 2007, CHF completed a $65 million capital initiative in support of the new Levine Children’s Hospital raising more than $73 million. Continuing to build on its momentum, in February 2010, CHF formed the Carolinas KIDS Cancer Research Coalition, a group of eight organizations collectively committed to raising $5.7 million in support of introducing Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. During his 27-year tenure at CHF, Michael led the foundation in generating more than $250 million in philanthropic contributions and led/participated in securing more than $200 million in additional grant and contract support.

In addition to managing the overall philanthropic process for Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), Michael chaired the CHS Partnerships program and served in a variety of roles benefiting developing CHS programs and services. Reporting directly to the System CEO, he was frequently called on to provide advice and direction to other foundations within the CHS family and to other organizations throughout the nation. Upon his retirement, community donors and friends of Michael created a $200,000 endowment for excellence in his honor.

A graduate of Mississippi College, Michael also holds advanced credentials in counseling and gerontology.

Michael is a member of the board of directors of the Council for Children’s Rights, Charlotte, N.C. He is also an advisory member of the board of directors, Leon Levine Foundation, and a member of the board of directors of the Heineman Foundation. He was a founding director of the Leadership Gifts School and served as initial chair. Michael’s previous service to the community includes Chair, Child Care Resources, Inc., and Chair, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Council on Aging.

Melody Smith, MD, MS received her bachelor’s from Vanderbilt University, and she received her Doctor of Medicine with Distinction in Research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She also completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern. She subsequently moved to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to complete her fellowship in Hematology & Medical Oncology. She joined the faculty at MSK in 2015 as an instructor of medicine on the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service, and she was promoted to assistant member Level 1 in 2017. During her time as junior faculty at MSK, she also obtained a Master of Science in Clinical & Translational Investigation from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Upon completion of her clinical fellowship at MSK, Dr. Smith conducted post-doctoral research in the lab of Dr. Marcel van den Brink in close collaboration with the lab of Dr. Michel Sadelain. As of September 2021, she joined the faculty at Stanford University as an assistant professor in the Blood and Marrow Transplantation & Cell Therapy Division in the Department of Medicine where she established her independent lab. As a physician-scientist, her research focuses on strategies to develop cellular immunotherapies from allogeneic as opposed to autologous sources. She also investigates the regulatory mechanisms for the impact of the intestinal microbiome on CAR T cell outcomes. Dr. Smith is also involved in translational research, and she is the IND holder for a single-center clinical trial that is incorporating allogeneic CAR T cells in the post-allo-HCT setting as a strategy to decrease relapse in patients with high-risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (NCT05507827).

Among other roles, Dr. Smith serves as the co-chair of the ASTCT Women and URM Special Interest Group and the chair of the American Society of Hematology Research Training Award for Fellows. Her other positions in service to professional organizations include co-chairing committees and task forces dedicated to promoting diversity among hematology and cell therapy specialists. Dr. Smith looks forward to mentoring early career physician-scientists, particularly individuals from groups that are underrepresented in medicine and basic science.

Rebecca Wenngatz learned about NMDP after her nephew, Alex, received a stem cell transplant for a rare form of secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Alex is now more than 4 years post-transplant and cancer free, and his family is incredibly grateful for the extraordinary care Alex received from his doctors and for the transplant that NMDP facilitated. After learning about all the life-saving efforts that NMDP provides, Rebecca’s family felt compelled to help other patients and their families by investing in programs such as the Patient Assistance Fund and Donor for All Research, through their family foundation, The Harper Family Foundation. Rebecca is on the board of directors of the Harper Family Foundation and currently is the acting chair of the board. Rebecca is also a member of the Campaign Committee that is dedicated to building awareness and raising funds for NMDP.

Professionally, Rebecca is the senior manager of merchandising strategy at Evereve, Inc. Her work includes driving strategic initiatives and developing new processes and procedures to help a rapidly growing retail business. Prior to Evereve, Rebecca held roles at Target Corporation and Estee Lauder, Inc. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas.

Rebecca resides in Edina, Minn. and enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews, reading, being active, downhill skiing, and travelling.