Volunteer Board
- Officers and Staff
- Volunteer Board
- Committees
- Spokespeople
- Amy Award Winners
Board of Directors Meeting Schedule
The Board of Directors meet quarterly*. The meetings scheduled for 2011 are:
| Meeting Date (exact day TBD) |
Research Grant Application Deadline | |
|
March, 2012 June, 2012 September, 2012 December, 2012 |
Applications not considered at this meeting May 4, 2012 Applications not considered at this meeting October 19, 2012 |
*Meeting dates are subject to change, and we try to update the site accordingly.
Volunteer Board of Directors
- Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP , Chair
- Carl Alviti, CPA
- Karen N. Ballack, Esq.
- Sandra Bresnick, Esq.
- Rabbi Harold Kushner
- Suzette Kushner, MS
- John Marozzi
- Kim Paratore
- John J. Seng
Volunteer Board of Advisors
About Our Board Members
We are very proud of the members of the Board for The Progeria Research Foundation. They include people with years of experience in the medical and business fields, and each of them brings a unique perspective to the table. Brief biographical sketches appear below.
Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP; Chair, Board of Directors
Dr. Berns is Co-founder of the
Progeria Research Foundation and he is currently Chairman of its Board of
Directors. Dr. Berns is Senior Vice President
of Chapter Programs for the March of Dimes.
He provides direction in education and community services to all March
of Dimes state-based chapters, including DC and Puerto Rico. He directs NICU Initiatives, Mobile Health
Care as well as the Planning & Community Services Division at the March of
Dimes national office. Additionally,
he serves on the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Section on Perinatal Pediatrics.
Dr. Berns is a board certified pediatrician and pediatric emergency physician and he was Medical Director of Pediatric Trauma at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island for seven years. In addition, he earned an MPH with a concentration in Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University School of Medicine.
In 2001, Dr. Berns completed a one-year White House Fellowship where he served as a Special Assistant to the US Secretary of Transportation. He received the Willis Wingert Award for excellence in research in pediatric emergency medicine. He has also received a national award from the National Perinatal Association and a public health service award from the US Department of Transportation
Carl Alviti, CPA
Mr. Alviti is a partner at Matrix Financial LLC in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Matrix Financial is a full service accounting and tax firm. One of Mr. Alviti's specialties is the financial and tax reporting for non-profit organizations. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. Mr. Alviti received his B.S. degree summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Science degree in Taxation from Bentley College.
Karen N. Ballack, Esq.
Ms. Ballack is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. She has extensive experience as an intellectual property transactional attorney, with emphasis on representing technology companies, particularly in the computer, internet, semiconductor, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Karen represents clients in connection with technology and intellectual property alliances and transactions, including research and development collaborations, licensing matters, corporate partnering transactions, and commercialization arrangements regarding products and services. Karen is often engaged as a guest speaker on these topics. She also serves on the firm's Pro Bono Committee, Diversity Committee and Women@Weil Leadership Committee and is a member of the Silicon Valley office's Hiring Committee.
Sandra Bresnick, Esq.
Ms. Bresnick is Co-Chair of the Global Life Sciences Practice for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and is resident in the New York Office. She specializes in patent litigation, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biotechnology. Ms. Bresnick also counsels clients on intellectual property management. She teaches Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation at Rutgers University School of Law, and is a frequent invited speaker on topics pertinent to the life sciences industries. She is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark office.
Monica Kleinman, MD
Dr. Kleinman is a specialist in pediatric critical care and neonatology. She is presently the Clinical Director of the Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Medical Director of the Transport Program, and Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston. She is an Assistant Professor in Anesthesia (Pediatrics) at Harvard Medical School. She serves on the Board of Directors of Boston MedFlight and is chair of the Pediatric Subcommittee of the American Heart Association's National Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. She lectures extensively on a variety of pediatric care issues.
Rabbi Harold Kushner
Harold Kushner is Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York and a graduate of Columbia University. He is the author of several best-selling books, including "When Bad Things Happen to Good People", published in 1981 and translated into 12 languages. Rabbi Kushner is internationally recognized for his writings and the comfort and guidance which they provide. He holds six honorary degrees and has received numerous distinguishing awards, including the Christopher Medal and The Yitzhak Rabin Award. In 1995, he was honored as one of 50 people who have made the world a better place in the past 50 years. He also serves on the Board of Directors for The Giving Back Fund, a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging and facilitating philanthropic efforts of professional athletes and entertainers.
Suzette Kushner, MS
Suzette Kushner was born in Omaha, Nebraska and received her Masters in Health Education from Columbia University. She and Harold raised two children, including Aaron, who died of Progeria in 1977 at the age of fourteen. Among other things, she brings to the Board her knowledge of and experience with progeria-related issues.
John Marozzi
John is the President/CEO of Bell-Mark Sales Company, which designs, manufactures and services high-performance coding, marking and printing equipment for the food, medical device and industrial marketplace worldwide. Founded in 1959 by his father, Alfred, Bell-Mark is now a third generation family business headquartered in Pine Brook, New Jersey, with manufacturing facilities in Dover, PA, and sales offices around the globe.
John is a member of the Board of Preakness Hills Country Club and chairs the Tournament Committee there. But most importantly, he is the grandfather of Zoey Penny, diagnosed with Progeria in March 2010 at age 5 months. He and his family have formed Team Zoey, and the New Jersey chapter of PRF, raising funds and awareness in their community and beyond.
George M. Martin, MD
Dr. Martin is a Professor Emeritus (Active) in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington and Director Emeritus of the University of Washington's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. His research has involved genetic approaches to elucidate the pathobiology of aging and age-related diseases. This has included basic research leading to the discovery of the genetic defect causing the Werner syndrome ("Progeria of the Adult") and certain familial forms of Alzheimer's disease. His laboratory was also the first to demonstrate the rising frequencies, with age, of somatic mutations in human epithelial cells. At a more clinical level, Dr. Martin has systematized our knowledge of human genetic disorders from the point of view of their rich potential to elucidate specific.shtmlects of the senescent phenotype and used this analysis to make inferences concerning the polygenic basis of aging.
More recent research has utilized genetic engineering in mice to elucidate mechanisms of aging and Alzheimer's disease. His honors have included election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a Lifetime Achievement Award of the World Alzheimer Congress. He currently serves as the Scientific Director of the American Federation of Aging Research, President of the Gerontological Society of America and Editor-in-Chief of the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE) web site of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Robert K. Morrison
Bob Morrison graduated from Williams College in 1953. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Harvey Industries, Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of specialty building products in the northeast. He is also Director and Member of the Executive Committee of Lumber Mutual Insurance Companies. He is formerly Director and Executive Committee Member of Bank Boston and Venture Economics Publishing Company, and a former Trustee of Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Noble & Greenough School.
Kim Paratore
Kim has been involved as a PRF volunteer since its inception, having chaired the first three Night of Wonder galas, as well as numerous other PRF fundraising events. Kim has also been involved in dozens of fundraising efforts for other charities and her two sons’ schools, organizing races, auctions and dinners. She currently serves on The Wenham Village Improvement Society, a women's organization dedicated to improving and maintaining the streets, parks and public grounds of the town of Wenham.
In 2005, Kim was honored with PRF's Amy Award for her tireless efforts and long-standing commitment to children with Progeria.
John J. Seng
John J. Seng is the founder and President of SPECTRUM Science Communications, based in Washington, DC (www.spectrumscience.com), a company that serves clients with communications needs in human health sciences. SPECTRUM was instrumental in the widespread coverage of the April 2003 Progeria gene announcement. John is a public relations veteran of 27 years, and his firm ranks among the top three health care-only independent public relations firms in the USA.
In 2002, he co-founded GLOBALHealthPR, the first worldwide network of independent agencies dedicated exclusively to health care public relations. John received a B.S. degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.
He currently chairs the Washington, DC area Leadership Council of the American Diabetes Association. He serves on the Board of Directors of former Washington Redskin Darrell Green's Youth Life Foundation. He is a recipient of two Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) National Capital Chapter Thoth Awards and a Certificate of Excellence and a U.S. Industrial Film Festival Certificate of Excellence.
Robert Schwartzberg, CFRE
Bob Schwartzberg retired in June, 2009 from The University of Washington where he had served as Director of Development for the UW's Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island, in Washington State. He continues his involvement in fund raising as Principal of SbergDev, a fundraising consulting firm that specializes in working with small and grass roots non-profit organizations and serves as an adjunct instructor at Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy where he is a Senior Associate.
Bob has more than 30 years of leadership and professional experience in fundraising and has been directly involved in raising more than $50 million dollars for non-profit organizations. Bob is also an accomplished trainer and motivational speaker with demonstrated strengths in membership, marketing, sales development, program implementation and involvement of corporate and community leaders. He has conducted popular sales training and fund raising seminars for numerous groups including Fortune 500 corporations, national and international businesses, business schools, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and major marketing and professional organizations.
Bob has a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations from American University and a Bachelors Degree from the City University of New York at Queens College. In 1992 he received his CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) accreditation from the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP).