Board of Directors
(Click on name for bios)
| Chairman Gary Berger |
ISCO International | |
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| Vice Chairman Michael Rubenstein |
Alcan Packaging | |
| Treasurer John Starr |
EMMI Solutions | |
| Secretary Nancy Hess |
Computer Sciences Corporation | |
| Chairman Emeritus Tom Thurman |
Kraft Foods (retired) | |
Board Members |
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| William A. Adams | Maxcomm, Inc. | |
| Laurence D. Atlas | Atlas Global Consulting | |
| John Cruikshank | Northwestern Mutual (retired) | |
| Terry Faulk | Kraft Foods (retired) | |
| Melanie Goldish | SuperSibs! | |
| Danica Konetski | ConAgra | |
| Betsy Leatherman | RAZR Marketing | |
| Curt Lucas | Korn/Ferry International | |
| Linda Murphy-Knoll | Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations | |
| Nancy Ostrowski | Eli Lily and Company | |
| Steve Pazol | Qualcomm | |
| Kurt Thaus | Telephone and Data Systems | |
Advisory Board Members |
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| Melissa Alderfer, PhD | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | |
| Deborah Berk, MSW | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | |
| Betty Davies, RN, PhD | UCSF School of Nursing | |
| Melissa Hicks, MS, CCLS | Camp Sunshine | |
| Nancy A. Kernan, MD | Memorial Sloan-Kettering | |
| Rich Kessler | R.D. Kessler Consultants | |
| Donald Meyer, MEd | Sibling Support Project | |
| Istina Morariu, MD | ||
| Jill Perrone, RN, MSN, CPNP | ||
| Melissa Pontikes | Sage Strategic Solutions, LLC | |
| Karla Wilson, RN, MSN | City of Hope |
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Honorary Board |
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| Mia Hamm | Olympic & World Cup Soccer Champion | |
| Dan Jansen | Olympic & World Speed Skating Champion |
William A. Adams
Bill Adams is the founder of Maxcomm Inc. He brings thirty years of leadership development experience to his clients, the CEOs of major Fortune 500 corporations as well as venture-capital start–up businesses. As a leadership coach and mentor, he works with CEOs and other senior executives in the areas of strategy, alignment, communications, and relationships. Bill's expertise is working with clients to lead large–scale change and cultural transformation within their organizations. Paramount to his success is his ability to partner with CEOs to create a compelling message and engage senior executives in committing to change. His experience and work span many different industries including energy, utilities, telecommunications, travel, and finance. Author of The Whole Systems Approach: Involving Everyone in the Company to Change and Transform Your Business, he has defined and implemented Maxcomm’s change methodology for numerous organizations with long–term, measurable results. Bill has a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from USU and master’s degree in interpersonal and organizational communication from the University of Montana. While at Utah State, he was involved in ASUSU and Sigma Nu, and received the Personality of the Year award in 1978. Mr. Adams has given mostly through MaxComm. The majority of the money supports Athletics, but they have also given to Communications and the College of Business.
He and his wife, Cindy, reside in Sandy, Utah. They support the Maxcomm Scholarship in the College of Business.
Laurence D. Atlas
Larry Atlas is President of Atlas Global Consulting in Bethesda, MD. Formerly Vice President of Government Relations at Loral Space & Communications, Larry led Loral’s Washington, DC office and was responsible for all aspects of Loral’s interactions with both the United States and foreign governments. Previously, Larry was a lawyer in private practice and served in various senior positions at the Federal Communications Commission. He has served as Chairman and Executive Committee member of the Satellite Industry Association.
In 1989, after his sister was diagnosed with leukemia Larry founded Friends of Allison, which aims to recruit and screen potential bone marrow donors, to make marrow transplants more readily available to the general public and to promote basic and applied research in this field. To date, Friends of Allison has recruited over 80,000 potential bone marrow donors He has been an active leader of the National Marrow Donor Program, most recently as Chairman of the NMDP Board of Directors during 2003 and 2004. He received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University. Larry is the proud father of daughter, Jennifer.
Gary Berger - Chairman
Gary Berger serves as a finance leader with ISCO International in the Chicago area. Previously, Gary served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Orius Corporation in Barrington, IL. A Certified Public Accountant, he has more than 30 years experience in various financial and business leadership positions. Before Orius, Berger held a financial positions with SBC/Ameritech Corporation, including SBC Business Unit Vice President - Finance, Executive Director - Financial and Operational Reporting for the Ameritech Business Communications Services group and Controller for Ameritech Information Systems. Earlier in his career, Gary served as Manager - Internal Audit for Esmark, Inc. and Senior Staff Auditor at Deloitte & Touche. Gary served on the SuperSibs Board of Directors as the Treasurer since 2004.
Gary holds a MBA – Finance from De Paul University and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Illinois State University.
Gary and his wife Lora along with their son Jeff reside in Fox River Grove Illinois.
John Cruikshank
John W. Cruikshank, CLU represented Northwestern Mutual since he entered the life insurance business in l959. He graduated from Princeton University in l955. For the next three years, he served as a navigator on a combat crew in the USAF’s Strategic Air Command, stationed in Great Falls, Montana.
Cruikshank is one of the Northwestern’s best known representatives. He twice ranked within the Company’s exclusive Top 20 agents, served as President of Special Agents, Inc., and was also President of Northwestern’s Association of Agents.
Cruikshank has devoted much of his life to the Presbyterian Church, is an ordained elder, and served as President of the National Council of United Presbyterian Men. H served multiple terms on the Chicago Presbytery’s General Council, Cruikshank chaired the Presbytery’s mission program encompassing the 140 Presbyterian churches in the Chicago metropolitan area. As well, he served as a Trustee of Pikeville College in Pikeville, Kentucky, and on the Board of Directors of the Community Bank & Trust Company of Edgewater (Chicago).
Cruikshank qualified for MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) membership and ultimately was elected MDRT President. He is an Excalibur Knight of the MDRT Foundation, and served as its President. Cruikshank chaired the industry task force that created the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE), and was elected it’s Chair. He served on the Board of Directors of LUTC (Life Underwriter Training Council)/American College. Cruikshank has received numerous industry leadership awards for extraordinary service and national impact on the financial services industry.
The MDRT Foundation honored Cruikshank by selecting him to be the first recipient of its Circle of Life Award based on his generous nature, charitable spirit, strong community involvement, and industry leadership.
The North Shore Senior Center, which serves twenty-three north and northwest suburban communities, elected Cruikshank to its Board of Directors, and he now serves as an officer and member of its Executive Committee.
Cruikshank lives in Northbrook, IL with his wife, Myrna, a Past President of the Illinois PEO. They have two children: Nancy, a former Miss Northwestern University, who has retired from teaching learning disabled children to raise their three sons with her husband, Todd; and David, a four-time member of the United States Winter Olympic Team, and former 500 meter Junior World Speed Skating Champion. David is married to Olympic legend, Bonnie Blair. They have two children, Grant and Blair.
Terry Faulk
Terry M. Faulk retired in February, 2006 from Kraft Foods Inc. after almost 39 years. His last position was the Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources. In this role, he was responsible for the company’s Human Resources function worldwide.
After assignments as a Supervisor in both Quality Control and Manufacturing, he joined the Human Resources function in 1973, rising to Post Cereals Labor Relations Manager in 1976. Two years later he moved to White Plains, NY as the Human Resources Manager, Maxwell House Marketing and Sales. In 1980 he became the Human Resources Director for General Foods Latin America, and then transferred to Brussels, Belgium as the Human Resources Director for General Foods Europe in 1984. Then in 1989, when the company merged with Kraft, Inc., he joined the Kraft Foods International Division as Vice President of Human Resources, Latin America and World Trade in Rye Brook, NY. In February 1990, he was named Vice President, Human Resources for the Oscar Mayer Foods Corporation at its Madison, WI headquarters.
In February 1994, Faulk was named Senior Vice President of Human Resources of Kraft Foods North America and became a member of the company's Management Committee. He was responsible for overseeing all the company's human resource functions. In November 2002 he assumed the position of Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Kraft Foods Inc. and in January 2004 he was named to his final position as Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources.
Faulk serves on the Board of Directors of the Hadley School for the Blind and SuperSibs!, both non-profit organizations. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Capital H, a human resources consulting firm.
Faulk previously served on the Board of Directors of the Western Michigan University Foundation and the Chicago affiliate of INROADS. He was also a member of the National Board of Advisors for LaRaza and the Business Advisory Council of Miami University.
Faulk earned his B.S. in business economics from Miami University and his M.B.A. in marketing from Western Michigan University. He and his wife, Mary, have two grown children, Becky Faulk and Cindy Anderson.
Melanie Goldish - Executive Director
Melanie Goldish is the Founder and Executive Director of SuperSibs! (www.supersibs.org), a nonprofit organization to support brothers and sisters of children with cancer. Melanie brings over 18 years of experience working with Fortune 500 and Mid-Market organizations, serving as Vice President Client Relations for Carlson Marketing Group in Chicago as well as roles in national sales and consulting leadership with Aon Consulting/Pecos River Change Management Group, American Express and Carlson Learning Company. Melanie is also the Founder of Tracer Publishing, which successfully created and marketed "How Was Your Day, Baby? A Childcare Journal for Working Parents", which received national media recognition and a Parents' Choice Foundation award.
Melanie received her M.A. Degree in Communications (Organizational Development/ Training/Intercultural Communication specializations) from the University of Minnesota. Her graduate work involved research with two multinational corporations (IKEA and Brio AB) headquartered in Sweden. Additionally, for 7 years as a Figure Skating Professional, Melanie coached promising young competitive skaters in the U.S. and Sweden. She currently serves on the Board of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana and Advisory Board of The Marrow Foundation. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Marrow Donor Program in Minneapolis, MN and has provided consultative support to the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society of IL, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois and the Ronald McDonald House in Milwaukee, WI. Her guiding principle is "Act as if I make a difference." Melanie lives in Hoffman Estates, IL with her two sons, miracle cancer survivor, Travis Yon and SuperSib! Spencer Yon. Their family journey is chronicled at www.keeptrying.com.
Nancy Hess - Secretary
Nancy Hess serves as Healthcare Client Partner with Computer Sciences Corporation. Formerly National Sales Director for The TriZetto Group, Nancy serves as an industry and domain-expert consultant in cultivating and nurturing effective business relationship with corporate healthcare executives to anticipate and understand customer needs and providing value-added solutions throughout the sales cycle.
Prior to these roles, Nancy served as a Client Sales Executive and Industry Executive with EDS in its global healthcare practice, dedicated to the payer industry clients and relationships. Nancy has also served as a Principal in IBM’s Global Service’s Healthcare Strategy practice (payer, provider and pharmaceutical), and was responsible for selling and delivering business solutions to Healthcare clients primarily in the payer marketplace. Nancy is an executive with over 20 years of healthcare consulting, sales and management experience with specific focus on IT strategies and integration models for national and regional payer organizations. She is a frequent national speaker on cutting edge market trends and initiatives including CDHP, HSA model integration, and integrating Care Management programs with behavioral change models for reducing costs and improving quality of care and the health status of individuals.
Nancy received a BA in fine arts from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI with emphasis in Piano Performance and Theory and Composition, an MBA from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL with emphasis in Finance and Marketing, and is pursuing her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Adler School of Psychology in Chicago, IL. Nancy Hess currently resides in Michigan.
Danica Konetski
Danica is the Director of Consumer Insights in the Retail sector for ConAgra Foods, where she has served since 2004. She brings extensive consumer research, marketing and business expertise, generating consumer insight and translating into business results. Prior to this role, Danica served in numerous roles at Kraft Foods from 1995-2004, including as Senior Consumer Insight Manager in Consumer Relationship Marketing, National Channels Marketing, Training and Consulting, and Brand Research Management. Prior to her career at Kraft, Danica held research and management roles at M/A/R/C and TCBY. Her proven ability to identify opportunities and solve challenges has made her a recognized business team leader, effective trainer and facilitator.
Danica received her Masters Degree in Marketing Research from the University of Georgia, and her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Arkansas State University. Danica and her husband are the proud parents of two children, Emma and Scott.
Betsy Leatherman
Betsy Leatherman is the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development for RAZR Marketing. Her specific area of expertise is designing marketing, motivation, and incentive programs that drive business results. She has led marketing initiatives in many industries, including manufacturing, financial services, automotive, pharmaceutical, and personal care products. Her work has taken her around the globe, with assignments in Mexico, Canada, Trinidad, Guam, The United Kingdom, and The United States.
Betsy joined RAZR from Summit Marketing where she was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Prior to Summit, Betsy was the Global Employee & Executive Practice Leader at the Carlson Marketing Group, where she was called upon to leverage her understanding of organizational culture to solve complex business issues. After teaching and doing applied research in Psychology and Economics at the University of Minnesota, Betsy spent over five years with the Change Management Group at AON Consulting.
Her publications and interviews can be seen in Fortune Magazine, Potentials, Incentive, HR Executive, Event Solutions and other trade communication magazines.
Betsy has been granted lifetime membership and is a Corporate Sponsor of the Golden Key National Honor Society and the Hugh O’Brian Leadership Foundation. She earned a Summa Cum Laude degree in Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. Betsy also sits on the board of SuperSibs!; a not-for-profit organization created to recognize and celebrate the siblings of children with cancer.
When she isn’t passionately pursuing marketing excellence with her clients, Betsy enjoys being with her husband, playing with their son and singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Curt Lucas
Curt Lucas is a Senior Client Partner and Managing Director in Korn/Ferry International's Chicago office, specializing in healthcare. With more than 20 years of executive search experience, Curt has conducted over 300 senior-level assignments in healthcare, including engagements for integrated healthcare delivery systems, investor-owned healthcare companies, community hospitals, physician practice management companies and venture capital sponsored start-up healthcare operations. Specifically, he has conducted search assignments for chief executive officers, senior healthcare operations executives, physician executives, chief marketing officers, chief financial officers, managed care executives, chief information officers and other strategic leadership positions.
Prior to Korn/Ferry International, Curt owned and operated Lucas and Associates, an executive search firm in Oak Brook, Illinois, specializing in healthcare executive search.
Previous to his executive search experience, Curt's career was focused on healthcare administration; most recently serving as Assistant Administrator for Medical Staff Affairs for Christ Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. Curt is a member of Korn/Ferry’s Global Promotions Committee (Client Partners to Senior Client Partners) and a founding member of the firm’s Mentor Program for Client Partners.
He is a member of the Chicago Health Executives Forum and a member of the board of directors for the Chicago Metropolitan YMCA Lawson House. Curt holds a BS in public health administration from Western Illinois University and a Master’s in health administration from Governors State University.
Linda Murphy-Knoll
Linda Murphy-Knoll is vice president of Service Operations, Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations at the Joint Commission. Ms. Murphy-Knoll has responsibility for all internal accreditation and certification operations. She’s provided leadership over the past seven years throughout the implementation of the new accreditation process, Shared Visions – New Pathways. Additionally, she’s recently gained responsibility for the Office of Quality Monitoring, the unit that manages all complaints regarding patient quality and safety.
Prior to joining the Joint Commission, Ms. Murphy-Knoll accumulated nine years of executive management experience with an additional nine years of progressive responsibility in clinical and managerial roles in managed care, hospital and home care operations and network and business development.
Ms. Murphy-Knoll is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, Women in Healthcare Administration, the National Association for Female Executives, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society in Nursing. She is also a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of CLSI – the national standards setting organization for laboratories.
Ms. Murphy-Knoll received her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from California State University, Domingues Hills, and her master’s degree in Nursing Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Nancy L. Ostrowski, MS, PhD
Nancy Ostrowski serves as Clinical Coordinator of Global Product Safety and Global Regulatory Affairs with Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. She brings high level technical expertise based on leadership and over 20 years of hands-on bench research, from molecular biology through clinical psychology.
Nancy’s track record demonstrates creativity, versatility, and a long history of successes as a top performer in a wide range of professional positions including Academics, Government Laboratory Science, NIH National Directorate Level Administration, Business Development, Clinical Drug Development and Global Pharmaceutical Safety.
Nancy holds a Ph.D. from the Philosophy, Psychobiology, Psychology Department at University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Edinboro State University. Nancy currently resides in Carmel, Indiana.
Steve Pazol
Steve Pazol is vice president and general manager, Worldwide OEM Channel Business for nPhase, a QUALCOMM business. Prior to joining QUALCOMM, Steve founded nPhase which grew into one of the top M2M technology firms, garnering numerous awards, including the prestigious Chicago Innovation Award. nPhase was acquired by QUALCOMM in November 2006. Steve has been recognized by M2M Magazine as an M2M Pioneer and is the moderator of the first M2M Web log - M2Mblog (www.m2mblog.com).
Steve has written over 50 articles on a variety of topics in technology journals and speaks frequently at industry conferences. He is on the Advisory Board of M2M Magazine, was the technical editor of Unicenter Advisor Magazine for more than seven years and guest editor of Internet Security Advisor. He is also the technical editor and co-author of Unicenter TNG for Dummies.
Prior to founding nPhase, Steve spent 15 years providing consulting and systems implementation services in the information technology field as president of Professional Consulting Services, Inc. and co-founder of Mehta & Steve Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. in Pune, India. In 2005 and 2006 Steve was also acting CEO of Skychain, a joint venture between nPhase, LLC and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Steve also worked for Burroughs Corporation and Unisys Corporation in their consulting groups in Detroit and Chicago.
Over the years Steve has been active with a number of civic organizations, including Marillac House, first on the Jr. Board and then the Advisory Board; a founding member and on the board of the Big Buddy Program as well as serving as Chairman of fund raising committee; Technical advisor to the Joseph Holmes Dance Theater; Technical advisor to Chamber Music Chicago.
Steve has a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Michael Rubenstein - Vice Chairman
Michael Rubenstein serves as Chief Growth and Innovation Officer for Alcan Packaging, serving the organization’s worldwide sales and operations. Prior to this role, he served as President of Alcan’s Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Sector, leading 35 facilities located in 8 countries. Michael has held several senior management positions in the printing and packaging industries. His 26 years of experience are complemented with studies in Printing Technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY) and an immersion in World Class Partnerships at Duke University (Durham, NC).
Michael holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada). Michael is married, has three daughters and lives in Montreal, Canada.
John Starr - Treasurer
John W. Starr joined the SuperSibs! Board of Directors in 2006 bringing over 19 years of diverse experience in financial management, with companies ranging from large publicly traded enterprises to smaller private equity investments. Built on top of a big 4 public accounting background, John possesses a broad range of professional experience including financial analysis, strategic planning, restructuring and recapitalization, M&A, corporate governance, and the classic accounting functions of internal control, transaction processing, and reporting.
John began his career with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he served mainly Retail and Real Estate clients. In 1997, John left Deloitte to join AT&T (formerly Ameritech and SBC), where he served for four years in various financial positions ranging from Financial and Strategic Planning for the former 5-state Southwestern Bell footprint, Financial Analysis and Marketing support for the start-up SBC Telecom, and Reporting and Decision Support for various business units.
In 2001, John joined Orius Corp., a distressed telecom infrastructure services provider, as part of a turn-around team and was centrally involved in Orius' financial restructuring in late 2002. Following the restructuring, John assumed the role of Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller.
John left Orius in 2008 for Emmi Solutions, an emerging technology based creator of communication solutions that engage patients across the continuum of healthcare. John is currently serving as Emmi’s Vice President of Finance.
John holds a Bachelors degree from Indiana University and a Masters degree in Accountancy from DePaul University. John is also a member of the Illinois CPA Society. John, his wife Laurie and their two children, Jordan and Jack, reside in Cary, IL.
Kurt Thaus
Kurt Thaus is Senior Vice President and CIO of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500 company serving over 5.8 million customers in 36 states through its operating subsidiaries U.S. Cellular and TDS Telecom. Mr. Thaus joined TDS in January of 2004. He is responsible for TDS’s IT department by ensuring that the IT function delivers consistently excellent service levels and operation reliability in a cost-effective manner and ensure alignment with our customer-focused business strategies.
Kurt comes to TDS from T-Systems North America, Inc., the North American subsidiary of T-Systems International (Deutsche Telecom), where he was most recently Senior Vice President of Technology Services. His responsibilities included overseeing application and infrastructure operational services for both the IT and network areas, and the management of client information technology infrastructure.
Prior to his position at T-Systems N. A., Kurt worked in the corporate and regional offices of Waste Management in Oak Brook, IL, from 1988 through 1998, where he authored corporate policy, served as a primary negotiator with the U.S. government on regulations and developed processes and information systems that ensured full regulatory compliance. Before working at Waste Management, Kurt had been affiliated with Sargent and Lundy Engineers, in Chicago and with Procon, Inc., Des Plaines.
Kurt holds a Master of Science in engineering management from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Kurt is a native of the southwest side of Chicago, IL and currently lives in Hinsdale with his wife Gintare and their three boys, Alexander, Andrew and Peter. Kurt and Gintare spend their weekends chauffeuring the boys from one athletic event to the next and very much enjoy family related activities.
Thomas Thurman - Chairman Emeritus
Tom recently retired from his role as Senior Vice President, International Human Resources for Kraft Foods. He began his career in Human Resources in 1977 as a Labor Relations Representative with General Motors. In 1980, he joined Miller Brewing Company and spent the next 15 years in a variety of plant and corporate HR assignments. In September of 1995, Tom was transferred to Kraft Foods as Vice President Human Resources Development responsible for company-wide Succession Planning, Leadership Development, Corporate Staffing, and Diversity. In 1998, he became Vice President Human Resources for the USA-based business divisions along with Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico. In May of 2001, he was appointed Vice President Human Resources North American Operations, with HR responsibility for Kraft’s 93 manufacturing facilities in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, along with the Procurement, Research & Development, and Quality functions. In November of 2002, Tom’s role was expanded to include North American Diversity, Labor Relations, Safety and Security, along with the IS and Sales/Customer Service functions. In December 2003, Tom was appointed to the new position of Senior Vice President Human Resources Global Supply Chain. In this role Tom was responsible for overseeing HR for Kraft’s 199 manufacturing facilities around the world as well as the Global Procurement and Customer Service & Logistics functions
Tom attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He and his wife Barbara have been married for 29 years, and they have two children–a 25-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son.
Advisory Board
Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD
Dr. Melissa Alderfer is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a Licensed Psychologist in the Division of Oncology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She has a broad interest in the adjustment of families when a child is diagnosed with cancer and has a specific interest in the needs of siblings in this regard. She has received funding from both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society to investigate the adjustment of siblings facing cancer and the predictors of their adjustment. She has recently published on the rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms in siblings of childhood cancer survivors. She has specific expertise in research design and analysis, measurement development, and the evaluation of interventions through randomized clinical trials. She has been integrally involved in the development and evaluation of a family-based cognitive-behavioral treatment model to address posttraumatic stress symptoms in families of children with cancer, including siblings. She is currently involved in evaluating holistic interventions to improve the well being of children under going blood and bone marrow transplant and has plans to develop and evaluate an internet-based support group for adolescents with cancer currently on treatment. As results of her research on sibling adjustment begin to accumulate, she plans to use these findings to inform an intervention program specifically for siblings.
Deborah Berk, MSW, LICSW
As a highly experienced Senior Social Worker, Deborah Berk provides psychosocial support services to children and families within the in-patient and outpatient cancer treatment programs of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston. She also Coordinator of the successful annual "Celebrate Sibling Week" and the Outward Bound Program for Sibling Teens, to provide vital support to these siblings in need. Ms. Berk completed Graduate School at Simmons College School of Social Work and presented her thesis on "Evaluating Treatment Outcomes of a Psychiatric Day Hospital Population". She held an internship at Tufts New England Medical Center in Out-Patient Child Psychiatry
Betty Davies, RN, PhD, FAAN
As Professor and Chair at the Department of Family Health Care School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, Dr. Elizabeth (Betty) Davies is an international expert in the areas of dying, death, and bereavement who joined UCSF as Professor (with tenure) and Chair, Dept. of Family Health Care Nursing, in Fall, 1999. Her areas of expertise include the care of patients and families with life-threatening illness and child and family bereavement. She was a leader in the development of North America's first freestanding hospice for children, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The overall focus of her research is the care of families with life-threatening illness, including cancer, and bereavement in families, particularly siblings, following a child's death. Current work focuses on fatigue in children with cancer, conducting a three-part needs assessment (staff survey, chart audit, and family survey) for developing the pediatric palliative care program at UCSF Children's Hospital, and a study, recently funded by NIH, of the experiences of Latino and Chinese families in pediatric palliative care. Her interest in sibling bereavement continues. She currently teaches a course in qualitative research design in the doctoral program and an Advanced Nursing Seminar on Research in Grief and Bereavement.
Dr. Davies' research has been supported by an impressive record of extramural funding and is reported in numerous scientific and popular publications. In addition to the scientific articles, Dr. Davies has published two award winning texts providing guidance to clinicians and families on the experiences of families caring for an adult terminally ill member (Fading Away: The experience of transition in families facing terminal illness, Amityville, NY: Baywood, 1995) and the experiences of children who face the death of a brother or sister (Shadows in the Sun: Experiences of sibling bereavement in childhood. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel, 1999). She also has published a booklet that focuses on bereavement support for parents entitled, Finding Your Way: Grieving the Death of Your Child. She has served in leadership positions on several international work groups in the area of bereavement and on the editorial boards of several significant journals. Dr. Davies is a distinguished scholar, clinician, author, and leader with a distinguished record of sustained contributions. She teaches the first year doctoral course in qualitative research methods.
Melissa (Missi) Hicks, MS, CCLS, LPC, RPT
Missi serves as the current President of the Child Life Council, the North American association for Child Life Specialists. A dynamic leader, she also serves as Program Director at Camp Sunshine in Decatur, GA. Missi is a Child Life Specialist, Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist and is responsible for the social, emotional and educational support programs of Camp Sunshine House (www.mycampsunshine.com). She is also co-counder of Wonders & Worries, at (www.wondersandworries.org), a nonprofit organization to support families of children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. She serves on multiple boards of directors and lives in Atlanta, GA.
Nancy A. Kernan, MD
Dr. Nancy A. Kernan is the Assistant Chief of the Bone Marrow Transplant Service and Director of the Unrelated Donor Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Kernan is the immediate past Chairperson of the board of directors of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). She also serves as Associate Attending Pediatrician at New York Hospital, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University and Attending Pediatrician at Memorial Hospital. Kernan was responsible for the retrospective review of the first 462 patients to receive marrow from an unrelated donor facilitated through the NMDP. Kernan received her Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University Medical College in New York.
Richard D. Kessler
Rick Kessler, a long-time, successful entrepreneur, has served as President of R.D. Kessler Consultants, Inc., a financial consulting firm headquartered in California. His strong community involvement experience includes that of Co-Founder and Executive Director for The Jeffrey Katz Bone Marrow Transplant Fund for Children, a long-time Member as well as President of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, a Board Member of Southern California Children's Cancer Services and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California. Rick has also served as a Member of the Campaign Discovery Pediatric Oncology Committee for City of Hope Hospital and currently on the Community Grants Board for RMHC of Southern California. Rick received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from UCLA.
Donald Meyer, MEd
Don is the Director of the Sibling Support Project. As the project's director, he has conducted more than 200 workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, New Zealand and Japan, training over 8,000 parents and providers on sibling issues and the Sibshop model. Don was a founder of the SEFAM (Supporting Extended Family Members) program at the University of Washington, which pioneered services for fathers, siblings, and grandparents of children with special needs.
Don is the senior author and editor of four books: Sibshops: Workshops for brothers and sisters of children with special needs; Uncommon Fathers: Reflections on Raising a Child with Special Needs; and the children's books Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs: a Book for Sibs and Views from our Shoes Growing up with a brother or sister with special needs. Don was awarded his M.Ed. Degree from the University of Washington in Early Childhood/Special Education and is a frequent contributor to issue related professional publications. Don is married to a special education preschool teacher and is the father of four children: daughters, ages 13 and 18, and eight-year-old boy-girl twins.
Istina Morariu, MD
Jill Perrone, RN, MSN, CPNP
Most recently, Jill has served as a leader in pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant on the team at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In June 1976, Ms. Perrone graduated from Northern IL University with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She worked in NICU & adult ICU until and during graduate school in August 1980. Her Master's Degree focused on child development and the impact of illness on child development. While working on her Doctorate, she began working in the Hematology, Oncology and Transplant field. Jill's preliminary dissertation work was to study the long term psychological effects of cancer on children, which began her interest in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Returning to school to also complete her PNP, her first job position upon completion was in the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic at CHW, until her recent move to Maine, where she begins a new adventure and continues to practice her nursing expertise and care with a physician's practice in her new hometown.
Melissa Pontikes
Karla Wilson, RN, MSN, FNP, CPON
Karla Wilson is a Nurse Practitioner in the Division of Pediatrics at City of Hope in Duarte, California. With over 20 years of experience in Nursing, Karla is certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support, is a Certified Pediatric Oncology Nurse, and is a past President of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses as well as the Certification Corporation of Pediatric Oncology Nurses. Karla is a recognized leader in sibling support communication and programming.
Karla graduated with her R.N. degree from Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing, and B.S. in Nursing from University of the State of New York in Albany. She also received a M.S. in Childhealth Nursing from University of Missouri and a Postmaster FNP from University of Southern California.
Honorary Board of Directors
Mia Hamm
In 1997, Mia's brother, Garrett, passed away from complications related to Aplastic Anemia, a bone marrow disease. In his honor, she established the Mia Hamm Foundation, (www.miafoundation.org), which is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for bone marrow transplant patients and their families. Mia also serves on the Board of Directors for The Marrow Foundation. Mia was named "Most Marketable Female Athlete" by Street and Smith and placed second, behind only Michael Jordan, in a "favorite athlete" survey by Bolt Bus. She is the two-time winner of Teen Choice Award for Female Athlete of the Year, was Nickelodeon's 14th Annual Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Female Sports Star and was voted Favorite Female Athlete by Sports Illustrated for Kids. She was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People", was named one of "Soccer Business International's" Most Influential People in Soccer, and Nike named the largest building at their Corporate Headquarters after Mia. Mia Hamm is the author of an inspirational and instructional book titled "Go for the Goal: A Champions Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life."
Dan Jansen
Dan Jansen knew at a young age he loved to speed skate. At only 11 years old, the youngest and most talented skater in his family of nine children, Dan got his first big dose of disappointment at the National Pack Style Speed skating Championship in St. Paul, MN. “ I remember driving back home to West Allis, WI, with my dad, crying for the better part of the 300-mile trip,” When we arrived home, my dad took me aside and said,’ Dan, there’s more to life than skating around in circles.’
“I didn't understand at that time what he meant. But I later realized how important it is to keep things in perspective. It’s a lesson I'll never forget.”
Dan went on to be a strong speed skater and a world class contender. Dan’s first Olympic competition was in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, when he was 18 years old. He finished fourth in the 500 meters,.16 seconds away form a bronze medal.
Dan was the favored speed skater at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, but he needed all the courage he could gather when, on the day he was to race in the 500 meters, his sister Jane died from Leukemia. That evening Dan readied himself as best he could in hopes of winning the race for his sister. 100 meters into the race, Dan fell. He fell again, four days later, in the 1000 meter race while on a world record pace.
Dan’s third Winter Olympic occurred in 1992 in Albertville, France. He finished a disappointing fourth in the 500 meters and 26th in the 1000 meter. Again, the chance to win a Olympic medal eluded him.
Dan’s last shot at an elusive Olympic Medal came at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway Again the favorite in the 500, Dan was on another world record pace when the unfathomable happened again. A slip in the final turn cost him a medal.
Four days later Dan skated his last Olympic race, the 1000 meter. Skating in the fourth pair, Dan put to rest the Olympic Jinx. He raced to a world record and the gold medal.
“I knew I skated a solid race,” said Dan. “But it wasn't until a second or two after I finished, when the crowd cheered and I looked at the clock – WORLD RECORD 1:12.43 – that I realized I had finally skated to my potential. I was pretty sure it was good enough to receive a medal and good change for a gold.”
As the national anthem played and the American flag rose in front of him, Dan Jansen stood proudly with his gold medal around his neck. He looked skyward to the heavens and saluted,” This is for you, Jane. I love you.”
In 1994, Dan established the Dan Jansen Foundation (www.djfoundation.org) which contributes to youth sports, educational programs, and victims and families afflicted with leukemia and it’s related cancers, as well as SuperSibs!
Dan is a recipient of the James E. Sullivan award, presented annually to the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He is an accomplished motivational speaker having delivered over 500 inspirational presentations and Dan is an experienced television broadcaster whose credits include: NBC 2002 Winter Olympics, CBS 1998 Winter Olympics, and Turner’s Summer and Winter Goodwill Games. He is married to Karen Palacios-Jansen, who is a top golf teaching professional. Dan is the proud father of two daughters.