Officers and Staff
- Officers and Staff
- Volunteer Board
- Committees
- Spokespeople
- Amy Award Winners
CORPORATE OFFICERS AND STAFF
President and Executive Director
Audrey Gordon, ESQ.
Working closely with the Board of Directors, officers, staff and volunteers, Ms. Gordon is responsible for ensuring The Progeria Research Foundation's financial growth, program development, and day-to-day management.
Ms. Gordon is a graduate of Tufts University and Northeastern University School of Law, and is an attorney licensed to practice in Massachusetts since 1988 and Florida since 1990. She has extensive civil litigation experience in both states. She is a past Trustee of Temple Beth Shalom in Peabody, Massachusetts, a member of the Peabody Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the Peabody Board of Registrars since 2006. She is the 2004 winner of the North of Boston Business and Professional Women of the Year award for non-profit organizations, and the 2005 recipient of the Mary Upton Ferrin Award for leadership in her community. She was honored as a Community Hero by Jewish Family Services in April 2009.
Medical Director
Leslie B. Gordon, MD, PhD
Leslie B. Gordon, MD, PhD is the co-founder and Medical Director of The Progeria Research Foundation. She is also the mother of a child with Progeria. Dr. Gordon is Principal Investigator overseeing the PRF Diagnostics Testing Program, Cell & Tissue Bank and Medical & Research Database. Dr. Gordon is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, RI, and co-Chair for the Progeria Clinical Drug Trial at Children’s Hospital Boston. Dr. Gordon assembled the PRF Genetics Consortium and was among those members who discovered the gene defect in Progeria. She has been recognized for her extraordinary efforts in Progeria research by such prestigious institutions as the Gerontological Society of America, Harvard University, and The Genetic Alliance.
Clerk
Barbara F. Gordon, ESQ.
Barbara F. Gordon earned an Associate's Degree from Boston University School of Business in 1955. She married Burt in 1958 and they have four daughters and seven grandchildren. In 1979 she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston University and in 1981 a Master's Degree in Education from Salem State College. In 1995 she earned a Juris Doctor degree from Massachusetts School of Law, and currently has her own practice. She and her husband are long-standing members of Temple Beth Shalom in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Treasurer
Carl Alviti, CPA
Mr. Alviti is a partner at Matrix Financial LLP in Wellesley, Massachusetts. For ten years prior, from 1989 to October of 1999, he provided a variety of tax and accounting services at Kassler & Feuer, PC, a prestigious Boston law firm. From 1984 to 1989 he was the tax/audit supervisor at Lavanthol & Horwath in Boston. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Director of Volunteer Activities
Michelle Fino
Ms. Fino is responsible for all volunteer recruitment, training and supervision, as well as oversight of all volunteer-driven activities including Miracle Makers, Coins to Cure Progeria, workplace events and in-house special events (gala held every 2 years, and annual road race and poker tournament). Working with volunteers to match their skills and interests to activities that will raise awareness and funds for PRF is a top priority for Michelle.
Michelle is a graduate of Bridgewater State College and Simmons Graduate School of Management. As founder of the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, a volunteer driven organization, along with her past experience as an Event and Communications Specialist at a local non-profit, Michelle has extensive knowledge and lots of enthusiasm for working with volunteers.
If you're interested in learning more about volunteering with PRF, please contact Michelle.
Administrative Assistant and Clinical Trial
Coordinator
Donna Bertko
Ms. Bertko coordinates travel and lodging for families participating in the clinical trials and provides administrative support for the Executive Director, Medical Director, and Executive Assistant.
Donna double majored in Psychology and Legal Studies at Case Western Reserve University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in 1986. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve Law School in 1989. Donna has a background as a civil litigation attorney as well as several years of experience in the non-profit sector. She has worked previously at the Howard Benevolent Society, the National Consumer Law Center and the Peabody Essex Museum.
Donor and Communications Specialist
Lynne MacKenzie
Lynne handles all donor information (data entry, thank you letters, change of address, etc.), as well as Facebook monitoring, Handbook distribution, and web store orders. As a lifelong Peabody resident, she loves working at The Progeria Research Foundation's headquarters in her home town.
Lynne is a 1988 graduate of Salem State College, where she majored in English/Art. After working many years as a Marketing Representative for A&M and Virgin Records, she shifted to administration as a Sales Assistant at Epic Records and Office Assistant at Universal Distribution. Raising two children introduced Lynne to all aspects of volunteering and fundraising!
Office Administrator
Carol L. White
For the 14 years before joining PRF in January 2012,
Carol worked as a transcriptionist for several North Shore law offices, as well
as the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. In addition to being a coach for their sports interests, she also served as a regular volunteer
for her two daughters' school activities, as well as for the Centre
Congregational Church in Lynnfield.
Carol handles a variety of administrative duties at the busy PRF office, as well as assisting with the volunteer program. Our newest addition to the staff, she is excited to have the opportunity to work for such a worthy cause and is looking forward to contributing to PRF's mission to find a treatment and cure for Progeria.
Web Site Coordinator
Karen Gordon Betournay, CPDT-KA, PDT
Working closely with the Executive Director, Karen is responsible for maintaining and updating all aspects of PRF's website. Karen has been the volunteer web site specialist since PRF was founded in 1999. She also has the honor of being Sam's Aunt, and sister to Executive Director Audrey Gordon and Medical Director Leslie Gordon.
Karen is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and is certified in Grooming/Kennel Management from Essex Agricultural and Technical College. Karen is the owner of Animal Manners, providing training and behavior counseling for canines. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband David, twin girls Paige and Skyler, dogs Maya and Adina, and cats Marcus and Freddie.