Advisory Committees.

Susan S. Garfield, DrPH, SPH ’11

EY Chief Public Health Officer, Americas and Global Client Service Partner, Ernst & Young

Dr. Garfield brings together the latest thinking on public health, industry trends, incentive systems, technology innovations and opportunities, stakeholder engagement, and change to drive health system transformation. She leads EY’s Public Health practice and helps companies drive towards greater health equity, resilience, and overcoming the social determinants of health. She also leads one of EY’s largest Life Sciences accounts, helping on strategy, commercial operations, and leveraging data and analytics to drive growth.  She is leveraging her background in Public Health and Infectious disease to lead EY’s Covid-19 response with governments, employers, and public health/NGOs. Her recent work has focused on commercial transformations, behavior economics’ impact to driving change in healthcare, patient centric strategies, cross-sector collaborations, innovative pricing models, digital strategy, and patient service excellence. 

Dr. Garfield has published numerous articles, chapters and several books on public health, health disparities, commercial strategy, healthcare payment issues, and women’s health; and regularly speaks at conferences and symposiums. She has worked across all major markets, helping clients to navigate complex healthcare systems. Named one of the PharmaVoice 100 top influencers in 2019. 

Dr. Garfield holds a Doctorate of Public Health from Boston University, a Master of Science Health in  Policy and Management from Harvard University, a Master of Science in Population and Development from London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Garfield sits on the boards of Boston University, School of Public Health and Temple Shir Tikva.

Emily Bajcsi, SPH ’03
Partner, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Emily is a member of the firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice in the firm’s Boston and Washington, DC, offices. Her practice focuses on fraud and abuse, federal and state regulatory, and compliance issues affecting a broad range of health care stakeholders, including home health agencies, hospices, rehabilitation agencies, and other post-acute and long-term care providers, hospitals, and health systems, medical transportation providers; pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, physician organizations; and investors and other financial institutions that invest in or support the health care industry.She represents and defend health care entities in connection with government audits and investigations relating to health care fraud and abuse; assists clients in responding to government inquiries, including subpoenas and audit requests, and manages all phases of discovery from preservation and e-discovery to production; counsels clients and conducts internal investigations related to federal and state health care fraud, abuse, billing, and regulatory compliance issues; assists clients with preparing voluntary self-disclosures; and advises clients on legal and regulatory matters arising under Medicare, Medicaid, and other third-party reimbursement programs, including provider enrollment and participation.Emily received a BS from the University of Denver where she graduated magna cum laude. After graduating with her MPH from Boston University as a member of the Delta Omega Honor Society, she received her JD from Boston College and received the William J. O’Keefe Award for Outstanding Contribution to the law school. She is admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Emily is a member of the Boston Bar Association, Health Law Section and the Massachusetts LGBTO Bar Association.

Sassan Behjat, SPH ’94
Founder & Managing Director, UltraMedicals

Sassan Behjat is the Founder and Managing Director of UltraMedicals, which provides marketing strategies and regulatory solutions to pharmaceutical companies specialized in manufacturing medicines from natural sources. Currently UltraMedicals collaborates with several European natural pharmaceutical firms, for expanding their market in the Middle East. UltraMedicals’ main line of activity is supply and distribution of high quality GMP certified and EMA approved conventional, vitamins and supplements as well as medicines from natural sources.

Sassan began his career as a general homeopathic physician and became an officer in the National Health Department of UAE. He later served as Director for Alternative and Complementary Medicine at the UAE Ministry of Health and as a consultant to the Dubai government.

He received his MPH from Boston University in 1994 and his MPA in Public Administration from California State University, East Bay in 2010. He completed his bachelor of homeopathic medicine and surgery (BHMS) at State Homeopathic Medical College & Hospital in India.

Sassan and his wife Roaya reside in the Bay Area. He frequently travels between the Middle East and Germany, where the natural medicines are produced.

Beverly A. Brown, PhD
Former Director of Development, Industry, Boston University

Beverly A. Brown, PhD has spent over 40 years in health care, starting in research and development of diagnostics and therapeutics and then transitioned into business development. In recent years, her involvement in nonprofit work has increased. As a parent, she began her nonprofit career in small “hands on” organizations that revolved around the activities of her children. In the past 10 + years, her nonprofit work has been in healthcare, child services, and higher education at Boston University. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards largely in roles focused on governance and fundraising. She is particularly interested in governance issues as the effectiveness of nonprofit boards is correlated to the effectiveness and sustainability of the nonprofits themselves.

 Jean b. Charles, MD, MED ’85, CAS ’81
Ophthalmologist and Owner, Eye Service Consultants

Jean b. Charles, MD is an ophthalmologist (Eye Specialist) and owner at Eye Services Consultants in Roxbury Crossing, Massachusetts. He has been in practice for 32 years.

Dr. Charles earned a Doctor of Medicine from Boston University School of Medicine in 1985 and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University College of Arts and Sciences in 1981. He completed a residency at King Drew Medical Center.

Dr. Charles’ spouse is Maureen A. Alphonse-Charles. Ms. Alphonse-Charles is a managing director at Koya Leadership Partners, a Boston-based executive search and consulting firm that partners with mission-driven clients and higher education institutions. She has held this position since 2018.

Ms. Alphonse-Charles earned a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University College of Arts and Sciences in 1985 and a Master of Arts focused in law and diplomacy form Tufts University in 1987.

Dr. Charles and Ms. Alphonse-Charles reside in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.

Kevin B. Churchwell, MD, Par SPH ’18
President and Chief Executive Officer, Boston Children’s Hospital

Kevin B. Churchwell, MD, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Boston Children’s Hospital, providing leadership, vision, and oversight for a team that’s dedicated to improving and advancing child health through their life-changing work in clinical care, research and innovation, medical education, and community engagement.

Since joining Boston Children’s as its Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Chief Operating Officer in 2013, Dr. Churchwell has been instrumental in leading the hospital’s work to become a High Reliability Organization, one where zero avoidable harm impacts any patient, family member, or employee. He has brought to Boston the same passion for enhancing the patient family experience that defined his tenure as CEO of both Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, part of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN.

An advocate for equity, diversity and inclusivity, Dr. Churchwell is responsible for establishing three of the 11 Offices of Health Equity and Inclusion at hospitals across the U.S. and Canada, including the Office at Boston Children’s, which he founded in 2016. With the publication of Boston Children’s own Declaration for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity in 2020, Dr. Churchwell has committed to the work required to make Boston Children’s a community that’s made stronger by our differences, and a leader in equity for all.

A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Dr. Churchwell completed his pediatric residency and a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatric Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Dr. Churchwell is the Robert and Dana Smith Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the Harvard Medical School.

Mr. Churchwell and his spouse, Gloria Respress-Churchwell, reside in Newton Center, Massachusetts. They have four children: Katherine, a 2018 SPH graduate; Alexandria, Arthur, and John.

Rosemarie Day, MPP
Founder and CEO, Day Health Strategies

Rosemarie Day, MPP founded Day Health Strategies in 2010 to focus on implementing national health reform. Building on her initial success, she and her company are now serving organizations that want to transform their approach to offering or delivering healthcare. Since founding the company, she and her team have worked with numerous private and public sector organizations in developing and implementing their health reform and related strategies. She is the author of Marching Toward Coverage (Beacon Press, 2020), a book that lays out the path for America to achieve universal healthcare.

Rosemarie has over 25 years of experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including 16 years of leadership experience in state government. Most notably, Rosemarie served as the founding Deputy Director & Chief Operating Officer of the Health Connector in Massachusetts. At the Health Connector, Rosemarie played a significant role in launching the award-winning organization that established the first state-run health insurance exchange in the United States. The Health Connector served as a model for health insurance exchanges in national health reform.

Previously, Rosemarie served as Chief of Staff to the Dean of Harvard Kennedy School, where she helped to lead strategic planning and launch several new initiatives. She also served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Massachusetts Medicaid program, covering more than 1 million members. She has held several senior level fiscal positions, including Assistant Secretary for Administration & Finance, as well as Budget Director for the Department of Transitional Assistance, a $1 billion dollar state agency.

An accomplished speaker, Rosemarie has delivered keynote and panel presentations at conferences in the U.S. and abroad. In 2020, Rosemarie joined the Board of Directors at Lawrence General Hospital. She currently serves as the Chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Rosemarie has held a faculty appointment at Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business and has served as a Visiting Fellow at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She has also served as a Senior Advisor to other consulting firms, including McKinsey and Health Management Associates. Rosemarie holds an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School and an AB from Stanford University.

When she’s not working out on health policy, Rosemarie loves to spend time with her kids, as well as reading, dancing and traveling.

Sally Jan Deane, Wheelock’71, SPH ’88
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health

Sally Jan Deane has led the transformation and governance of several of the most widely recognized community health service, education, policy, and advocacy organizations in Massachusetts. She is perhaps best known for her strategy and leadership roles at Fenway Community Health Center and Outer Cape Health Services, where she served as CEO; as Board Chair of Boston Women’s Health Book Collective; and for her longstanding role as a consultant/advisor to health, government, and policy clients.

Ms. Deane previously served as vice president of government relations returning to Fenway Community Health Center, an LGBT health care, research  and advocacy organization founded by Northeastern University students. Fenway Health now serves over 30,000 patients annually with a budget exceeding $115 million. She is principally responsible for developing and managing strategies to build the health center’s presence in the city, state, and federal level on issues of interest to Fenway Health and LGBT and neighborhood communities they care for. Fenway Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center and includes AIDS Action Committee and The Fenway Institute.

Ms. Deane served as CEO to Outer Cape Health Services from 2009 to 2016, leading the rural health center’s turnaround, era of doubling of patients served, quadrupling of patient revenues and scope of services, and achieving top quality and cost scores on Medicare Pioneer ACO in the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization. An innovative Navigator program, begun under her tenure, partnering the health center’s mental health services with the town of Provincetown’s public safety program to triage and de-escalate what had been police interventions to people needing human service providers instead of incarceration has now been adopted and financially supported by eight of the 16 towns on Cape Cod.

Ms. Deane has been an adjunct assistant clinical professor in Health Law, Policy & Management at Boston University School of Public Health since 1993 where she earned Excellence in teaching award over a dozen times. She has served on the Advisory Board to the Health Law, Policy & Management Department since its formation in 2009.

Ms. Deane earned a Master of Public Health in health services administration from Boston University School of Public Health in 1988, a Master of Education in Counselor Education from Boston University School of Education in 1971, and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and education from Whittier College.

Ms. Deane resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Charles L. Donahue, Jr., Par SPH ’12
Former President and Co-Founder, HealthCare Value Management

Charles L. Donahue, Jr., is the former president and co-founder of HealthCare Value Management in Norwood, Massachusetts, which he helped build into New England’s largest network of health care providers used by self-funded preferred provider organization (PPO) plans. After a rich 40-year career in health care system planning and management, he joined Boston University School of Public Health’s Dean’s Advisory Board and will help the Dean and senior school leaders evaluate strategy, provide advice on financial matters, and aid in securing philanthropic support during the School’s development campaign.

Mr. Donahue began his career with an interest in international health as a Peace Corps Volunteer with a tuberculosis control program in Malaysia. He accumulated an encyclopedic list of contacts as his career ascended through the Massachusetts Health Research Institute, where he organized a framework for planning perinatal health services; through the BU Center for Health Planning, where he was the Director of Health Plan Development; and the Health Planning Unit of the Public Health Service of the HHS, where he oversaw the health planning agencies in three states.

While working at those agencies, Mr. Donahue became interested in ways that science-based policy changes—grounded primarily on solid epidemiological techniques—could improve maternal and child health. As a researcher, he co-authored multiple studies, published notably in the Journal of the American Medical Association, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and The New England Journal of Medicine.

Mr. Donahue eventually became the executive director of the Health Planning Council for Greater Boston, returning to the organization that gave him his professional start. It also brought him back to one of his key interests, tackling the myriad challenges inherent in health care planning for a diverse urban area.

“I have always had a great interest in the City of Boston and working in its neighborhoods, as well as learning about the health care in the neighborhoods and advising people who live there. And I am very interested to see the role the School of Public Health plays in that,” Mr. Donahue said.

Mr. Donahue earned a Master of Arts in sociology from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Arts in classics from Brown University.

Mr. Donahue and his spouse, Nancy T. Donahue, reside in Westwood, Massachusetts. They have one daughter, Caroline, a 2012 graduate of Boston University School of Public Health.

Bryan Murphy Eustis, SPH ’04
Founder and Executive Director, BME Strategies

Bryan Murphy-Eustis is the Founder and Executive Director BME Strategies, a consulting firm he founded in 2004 that works with non-profits, governments, and community organizations across the globe to help build and strengthen capacity, develop interventions, and prepare for and respond to public health emergencies.

Bryan also serves as the Vice President of Programs at the Max Foundation, a global nonprofit that improves access to cancer treatment in 75 countries. The organization collaborates with pharmaceutical partners, physicians, and patient advocacy groups to increase care in mainly low and middle-income countries.

He has spent two decades supporting both public and private health care organizations in an effort to strengthen their strategy, operational and programmatic systems, and emergency preparedness and planning capabilities in local, state, and international health organizations.

Bryan also has extensive experience building and leading high-impact mission-driven teams, most recently as Commercialization Lead for Medical Technologies at Global Good at Intellectual Ventures. Previously, he served as Executive Director of Partners in Health Liberia and Chief Operating Officer of Ebola Responses at Partners in Health, where he led clinical and operational teams that rapidly initiated and scaled services to 20 treatment facilities across two countries.

He received his master’s in public health from Boston University and his Master of Business Administration from Oxford University.

Bryan currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Jacqueline Fawcett, SON ’64
Professor, Department of Nursing, University of Massachusetts Boston, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Dr. Fawcett is recognized nationally and internationally for her meta-theoretical work in nursing. Dr. Fawcett received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, in 2012.

Dr. Fawcett and an international team of colleagues conducted a Roy Adaptation Model-based program of research focused on adaptation to life events for more than 30 years. She and her colleagues have published more than 200 journal articles and book chapters. She has authored or co-authored several texts focused on nursing knowledge and nursing research. Her most recent book (2017) focused on application of nursing conceptual models to nursing practice, nursing quality improvement projects, and nursing research.

Her research encompasses instrument development and descriptive, correlational, and experimental studies. She and her colleagues have received funding from the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health, and the Oncology Nursing Foundation, among others.

Throughout her career, Dr. Fawcett has received recognition for her teaching and scholarship from numerous organizations. Her awards include: the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for The Relationship of Theory and Research; the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Teaching Award; the First Annual Faculty Award, Doctoral Student Organization, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing; and the Distinguished Scholar in Nursing and the Distinguished Alumni awards from New York University.

Dr. Fawcett received her BS in Nursing from Boston University, and her MSN and PhD degrees from New York University. She is an internationally recognized authority on conceptual models of nursing and nursing theory development. Her ongoing programs of Roy Adaptation Model-based research focus on functional status in normal life transitions and serious illness, women’s responses to cesarean birth, and adaptation to motherhood.

Robert E. Flaherty, Jr.
Operating Partner, Behrman Capital

Robert (Bob) E. Flaherty, Jr., is an operating partner at Behrman Capital, a middle market private equity firm. He held this position since March 2009. Mr. Flaherty has more than 35 years of operating experience in the healthcare field, with expertise in the clinical laboratory environment.

Previously, Mr. Flaherty was President and CEO of Athena Diagnostics, a Behrman Capital portfolio company which was sold to Fisher Scientific after three years. Prior to joining Athena, he held a series of senior management positions at Becton Dickinson & Company, a multinational medical technology company, serving as President of Becton Dickinson Medical from 1984 through 1992.

Mr. Flaherty earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1971 and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Lehigh University in 1968.

Mr. Flaherty and his spouse, Laura Montgomery, reside in Brookline, Massachusetts.

John P. Howe, III, MD, MED ’69
Former President and CEO, Project HOPE

John P. Howe III, MD, is the former president and CEO of Project HOPE, an international health education and humanitarian assistance foundation which operates more than 70 programs in 35 countries on five continents. He held this position for 14 years, from 2001 to 2015.

Before Project HOPE, Dr. Howe held the Distinguished Chair in Health Policy at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and had served as the Center’s chief executive for fifteen years, providing leadership to the University’s Medical School, Dental School, Nursing School, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Doctor of Pharmacy programs. Dr. Howe is board certified in both internal medicine and cardiovascular disease and was a tenured professor in the University’s Department of Medicine.

Dr. Howe earned a Doctor of Medicine from Boston University School of Medicine in 1969 and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst. He served two years in the Army Medical Corps and later completed the Health Systems Management Program at Harvard Business School. Dr. Howe is the former chair of the Harvard College Board of Overseers Committee to Visit the Medical School and School of Dental Medicine.

Dr. Howe and his spouse, Tyrrell E. Flawn, reside in Austin, TX.

Christine S. Hunter, MD, MED ’80, CAS ’80
Chief Medical Office, US Office of Personnel Management

Dr. Christine Hunter brings decades of leadership experience to her current portfolio of board and advisory roles. She proudly serves as an independent board director for WPS Health Solutions, Navy Mutual Aid Association, and Falcons Landing Retirement Community delivering health insurance and life planning solutions for Military, Veterans, and seniors. She actively contributes to higher education as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Boards for the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and the BU Alumni Council Board.

Dr. Hunter has a long history of distinguished service in Federal health programs. On active duty in the Navy, she rose to the rank of Rear Admiral with responsibility for direct healthcare delivery, health system operations, and health plan management. Her key leadership roles included assignments as Deputy Director of the TRICARE Management Activity; Commanding Officer, Naval Medical Center San Diego; Commander, Navy Medicine West; US Pacific Fleet Surgeon; Chief of Staff for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; and Commanding Officer, Naval Hospital Bremerton WA.

Upon completing her military career, Dr. Hunter joined the US Office of Personnel Management as Chief Medical Officer for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. In 2016, her work to improve the delivery of quality health care was recognized with a meritorious Presidential Rank Award. After retiring from public service, she continued to support quality health outcomes for all Americans as Co-Chair of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Committee on Performance Measurement through June 2022.

Dr. Hunter is a Distinguished Alumna of Boston University, where she earned her undergraduate and medical degrees. She is a Governance Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors, a Master of the American College of Physicians, a 2011 ACP Laureate awardee, and the recipient of numerous military awards. In her local community of Arlington, VA, she is an active Rotarian and serves as Architectural Committee Chair for Forest Hills Townhomes.

Usman Iqbal, SPH ’03, Questrom ’07
Chief Medical Officer, Julz Pharma

Usman Iqbal is a medical executive with a portfolio career entailing 15 years of diverse experience spanning R&D, Medical 18

Affairs, and End-to-End evidence and value development, across both large and small cap biopharmaceuticals. His experience spans a number of therapeutic areas including Neuroscience, as the Senior Medical Affairs Leader at AstraZeneca Innovative Medicines Group, and in Oncology, as former Head of Sanofi Oncology, Global Evidence and Value Development. With positions of increasing responsibilities across both R&D and Medical Affairs in different organizations, Usman has successfully led several development programs with a strategic focus on innovation and end in mind approach driven by medical value and patient centricity.

As part of his work and delivery, Usman developed and published the first of its kind “pipeline engagement model” in R&D to link “proof of concepts to proof of medical value” and successfully operationalized across several therapeutic areas including oncology, neuroscience, and rare diseases. As a medical leader he has led numerous organizational transformations, built integrated and transversal platforms, and led the development and execution of integrated R&D-Medical affairs strategy for seven launched products.

His area of expertise also includes harnessing big data science, real world evidence, advanced analytics, and digital medicine to optimize R&D portfolios, Trial designs, Medical Affairs delivery, and patient outcomes.

Usman also served as a senior research fellow at the Boston University Health Outcomes Technology Group in the Center for Assessment of Pharmaceutical Practices and Veterans Affairs Pharmacy Benefit Management.

Usman is an advisor to several academic and health care think tanks as an industry thought leader on R&D innovation designs and value based medical affairs operating models. He received his MD from Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan and MPH and MBA degrees from Boston University.

Bob Knox Jr., SAR ’10, SPH ’12,
Product Manager, Glooko

Bob Knox is a Product Manager at Glooko, a software company that seeks to improve health outcomes of people with chronic conditions through its personalized, intelligent, connected care platforms. He previously worked with American Well, one of the top telemedicine and digital health companies in the world.

Prior to joining American Well, Bob was a product manager at DCT. With DCT, Bob managed design and development of new products that use digital signals to detect cognitive impairment. Prior to joining DCT, Bob was a Senior Analyst at Opera Solutions where he designed and deployed machine learning platforms focused on revenue capture and operational improvement in hospital systems across the country.

He also has experience as a health policy analyst with the New England Journal of Medicine and has worked closely with non-profit organizations like the American Diabetes Association in the U.S. and abroad.

Bob earned his B.S. in Health Science and M.P.H. in Health Management and Policy from Boston University.

Joel H. Lamstein
Co-Founder and President, John Snow, Inc. (JSI) and JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., President, World Education

Joel H. Lamstein is the co-founder and former president of John Snow Inc. (JSI) and JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., international public health research and consulting firms. Founded in 1978, JSI now has more than 2,100 employees worldwide working to enhance the lives of underserved and vulnerable populations. He was also president of World Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the impoverished through education, economic and social development programs.

Mr. Lamstein is a senior lecturer at both the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is a frequent lecturer on organizational strategy, nonprofit management, international development and strategic management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Kennedy School, and MIT Sloan School of Management.

In 2009, Joel received the CEO Social Leadership Award, a program funded by the Lewis Family Foundation and given by the Boston Business Journal. In 2011, he was featured in the New York Times’ The Boss profile.

Joel serves on the board of Physicians for Human Rights and the advisory council of the Children’s Health Fund in New York. He is also on the Dean’s Advisory Boards at Boston University School of Public Health, the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Joel served on the board of the Global Health Council from 2004 until 2012.

In 1973, he co-founded Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a global nonprofit advisory organization that provides governments, health organizations, and the private sector with the strategies, tools, and management support to deliver high-functioning health systems effectively and efficiently. He has served as an advisor to numerous public health programs throughout the world on issues of public health management.

Joel earned a Bachelor of Science in math and physics from the University of Michigan in 1965 and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School

Mr. Lamstein and his spouse, Sarah Lamstein, reside in Newton Center, Massachusetts. They have three children.

Elizabeth A. Olek, DO, SPH ’02
Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, Kronos

Liz serves as Kronos Bio’s senior vice president of Clinical Development, with responsibility for the planning, conduct and analysis of Kronos Bio’s clinical trials. She joined Kronos Bio in 2022 from Loxo Oncology at Lilly, where she served as Executive Director and led the clinical development program for one of Loxo Oncology’s hematology drug candidates. She was part of the team that was responsible for the development and approval of a thyroid and lung cancer medicine, selpercatinib.

Prior to Loxo Oncology at Lilly, Liz worked at Puma Biotechnology, leading a clinical program in breast cancer. Before that, she consulted for several early-stage biotechnology companies, including Lumena Pharmaceuticals, aTyr Pharma and Receptos, advancing key clinical programs.

Dr. Olek also served as the senior vice president of clinical development and chief medical officer of Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. where she joined from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation having served as global brand medical director and principal medical science expert in the Infectious Disease, Transplant, and Immunology Group. Prior to joining Novartis Pharmaceuticals in 2004, she was director of clinical research at InterMune Inc. from 2002-2004, and director of clinical research at Genetics Institute/Wyeth Research from 1998-2002. In her roles, Dr. Olek was responsible for clinical research and advancement of various infectious disease drug candidates.

Dr. Olek earned a Doctor of Osteopathy from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, a master’s in public health in epidemiology and biostatistics from Boston University School of Public Health in 2002, and a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of the Sciences Philadelphia. She trained in Infectious Diseases at the Boston Medical Center and Finland Laboratory, spending several years in HIV/ID practice before joining the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Olek resides in San Francisco, California.

Philip R. Reilly, Esq., MD
Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures

Philip R. Reilly, Esq., MD, joined Third Rock Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm that invests in biotechnology startups, in 2009. He supports the firm’s founding and advancement of new ventures, with a particular focus on seeking to nurture and grow transformational companies dedicated to breakthrough treatments for genetic disorders. Dr. Reilly is an accomplished entrepreneur, and has a long standing interest in genetic testing and in developing new therapies for genetic diseases.

Dr. Reilly is a trustee of Cornell University and an overseer of Weill Cornell Medical College. He has served twice, in 2000 and 2003, as president of the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics. He is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, the author of seven books, and frequently speaks about genetics, the future of medicine, and bioethics. Dr. Reilly has also held numerous teaching positions at Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Cornell University, and has served as adjunct professor of both legal studies and biology at Brandeis University.

Dr. Reilly earned a Doctor of Medicine from Yale University, a Juris Doctor from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and is board certified in internal medicine and clinical genetics.

Dr. Reilly and his spouse, Nancy L. Reilly, reside in Concord, Massachusetts.

John E. Rosenthal
President, Meredith Management

John E. Rosenthal is the president of Meredith Management Corp, a real estate management and development company. Mr. Rosenthal joined the company in 1983 and specializes in the development, management, and renovation of market and affordable housing, as well as commercial properties. His father, Sidney Rosenthal, founded Meredith in 1951. Meredith Management currently employs over 150 people and its portfolio includes 800 apartments and over 250,000 square feet of commercial space. In recognition of Meredith Management’s corporate responsibility, Meredith was awarded the Massachusetts 2001 Governor’s Employer of the Year Award, the Business Partnership Award for 2000 from the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, and the 1996 Employer of the Year from The Employers Association.

Meredith Management also received a major community service award from MassHousing for creating a housing and treatment program in Southbridge, Massachusetts, for formerly homeless women with children who are in recovery from substance abuse. Under Mr. Rosenthal’s leadership, Meredith Management continues to be an innovator both in providing comfortable living and working environments as well as being an active and socially responsible business.

Mr. Rosenthal is also the founder of two Boston-area nonprofits: Stop Handgun Violence (co-founded by the late Michael Kennedy) and Friends of Boston’s Homeless. Stop Handgun Violence works to prevent gun violence through public awareness, education, policy advocacy and law enforcement strategies. Mr. Rosenthal was awarded the 2015 Wainwright Social Justice Award for his commitment to violence prevention through his work with Stop Handgun Violence. Friends of Boston’s Homeless provides education, employment, housing, and life skills for homeless people.

Mr. Rosenthal and his spouse, Maureen Berkley, reside in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Cheryl L. Scott, MD, MPH, MED ’82
County Public Health Officer
San Benito County

Cheryl Scott, MD, is the county public health officer in the County of San Benito. Prior to this role, she served as a Medical Consultant at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, working in areas of women’s health and HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Scott’s wide-ranging interests led to early work examining reproductive outcomes of women affected by the Three Mile Island meltdown, managing complications among HIV-infected patients enrolled in early clinical trials in Roosevelt Island NYC, and providing care to homeless shelter residents in Harlem. Shortly after she began an assignment with the National Health Service Corps in St. Croix, USVI, Hurricane Hugo devastated the territory. After delivering primary healthcare and post-disaster recovery services, Dr. Scott joined CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service and the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) in 1993. During her twenty-years as a USPHS Medical Officer, Dr. Scott helped shape maternal and child health state and national policies, contributed to building a global prevention, treatment, and care infrastructure for HIV/AIDS, provided leadership to interrupt transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and responded to multiple global disasters.

Dr. Scott’s international work focused on strengthening health systems and supporting reform in Côte d’Ivoire, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Ecuador, Jamaica, Haiti, and Tanzania. She strategized on prevention for uterine rupture-associated infant and maternal mortality in rural Côte d’Ivoire, examined delayed puberty in malnourished schoolgirls in rural Kenya, and delivered in-home care services to villagers residing near the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Her relief work has supported communities impacted by conflict and disasters including post-earthquake technical assistance to restore Haiti’s tuberculosis program, responding to suspected anthrax contamination in Tanzania, and delivering clinical services to newly displaced Kosovar and African-Colombian refugees. In the early 80s, she joined Brigada Venceremos on a mission to Cuba where she visited Cuba’s polyclinics and an HIV sanitarium. These visits complemented Cuba’s medical diplomacy priority, whereby Cuban physicians served alongside Dr. Scott and other nation partners combatting Africa’s AIDS epidemic. From 1993-95 Dr. Scott served as a CDC member of the UN High Commission on Refugees.

Dr. Scott was seconded to the US Department of State in 2000-2005 as the inaugural CDC Director for the United Republic of Tanzania. With an HIV prevalence of nearly 10% in 2000 and no AIDS treatment in a country of 43 million residents, the Tanzanian government sought to develop a coordinated, sustainable approach to reduce disease and poverty. Dr. Scott established a CDC office and $34M HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment program, which laid a cornerstone for the rapid scale-up of national services on Tanzania’s mainland and islands of Zanzibar. She collaborated with multilateral and Tanzania’s European donor partners on founding sixteen national HIV treatment sites, organized technical assistance from several US university antiretroviral treatment partners, and played a critical role in negotiating for the use of FDA-approved second-line antiretroviral drugs for treatment sites in 2004. Her collaborations resulted in Tanzania initiating their first no-cost national antiretroviral therapy program, which provided AIDS treatment and monitoring to more than 10,000 Tanzanians by 2005. 25

From 2005-2010 Dr. Scott joined the California Department of Public Health Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Service (MDR TB), where she served as the physician lead for prevention, detection, treatment, and management of California’s MDR TB cases, the highest in the nation. Dr. Scott retired at the rank of CAPT from USPHS in 2010.

She graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz, Boston University School of Medicine, and Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. She completed residencies in internal and preventive medicine. Her work has been awarded throughout her career, and she continues to advise efforts that support her passions of education, history, health equity and civil/human rights.

She enjoys writing and spending time with her husband and twenty-something daughter, a medical student at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Reverend James Peter Sherblom, DMin
Transcendentalist Author

Reverend Dr. James (Jim) Sherblom has had many professional lives as an author, theologian, international strategy consultant, biotechnology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and ordained clergy. He began his career at Bain & Company in Boston, joined its growing London office, and helped found Bain’s first European office in Munich, Germany. In 1984 he joined Genzyme Corporation as senior vice president and chief financial officer and led their initial public offering. Subsequently, Reverend Jim served as chairman and chief executive officer of Transgenic Sciences in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was the founding managing partner of the small biotechnology venture capital firm Seaflower Ventures for 15 years before he was called to ordained ministry as senior minister of First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he served for 11 years. Since his retirement from the First Parish Unitarian Universalist in 2015, Reverend Jim devotes his time to writing.

Reverend Jim was a founder, board member, and president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. He also served for three years as a director of the Industrial Biotechnology Association, which is now the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Reverend Jim served over the last 15 years on the President’s Council of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including eight years on the Investment Committee of the UUA Common Endowment Fund, the last four of which he served as chair. Reverend Jim also has served on the Board of Andover Newton Theological School for the last 10 years, first as a special adviser to the President, then as investment committee chair, and most recently as chair of the Board of Trustees.

He was ordained in May 2004 and holds Doctor of Ministry and Master of  Divinity degrees, both with honors, from Andover Newton Theological School. Reverend Jim earned a Master of Business Administration with high distinction from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in history from Yale University.

Reverend Jim and his wife of 36 years, Loretta Ho Sherblom, reside in Concord, Massachusetts. They have two grown children, Sarah and Robert.

Zubeen Shroff, CAS ’86
Managing Partner, Galen Partners

Zubeen Shroff is a managing partner of Galen Partners, a leading health care growth equity investment firm founded in 1990. With over 25 years of experience in building health care companies, Mr. Shroff has acquired deep expertise, and demonstrated strong leadership in working with entrepreneurs to maximize shareholder value in the following areas: specialty pharmaceuticals, medical imaging, therapeutic devices, diagnostics, capital equipment, specialty supplies distribution, consumer driven healthcare, homecare-based solutions and technology enabled services.

Prior to joining Galen in 1997, Mr. Shroff was a principal at The Wilkerson Group, a leading medical products management consulting firm, with a client base including pharmaceutical, diagnostic, device, and biotech companies, as well as a few select venture capital firms. He played a major role in developing several of The Wilkerson Group’s practice areas, including outcomes research, strategy formulation, and disease management initiatives. He is the co-author of the book, Integrated Healthcare: Pharmaceutical Company Roles in a Seamless System of Patient Care.

Mr. Shroff started his career at Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, where he directed marketing, sales, and Phase IV clinical development for the company’s high growth biotech business in France and was responsible for the launch of alpha-Interferon in several new indications. Mr. Shroff serves as an advisor to several nonprofit institutions. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the $2 billion Westchester Medical Center Public Benefit Corporation (WMC Health), as well as Chairman of its Foundation. Since 2004, he has served on Advisory Committees to Boston University Medical School and The Center for Global Health & Development. He is a frequent speaker on health care market trends, winning medical product and service business models, and the private equity investment climate. Additionally, Mr. Shroff was a founding member of the Wharton Private Equity Network and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Mr. Shroff earned a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 and a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Boston University College of Arts and Sciences in 1986.

Mr. Shroff and his spouse, Anahaita N. Kotval, reside in Tarrytown, New York. They have two sons, Kaivan and Zal.

Elizabeth Sommers, SPH’ 89, SPH ’10,
Senior Acupuncturist and Researcher, Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities Program, Boston Medical Center

Senior Acupuncturist and Researcher in the Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities Program of Boston Medical Center. She holds degrees from Boston University School of Public Health (1989, 2010) and New England School of Acupuncture (1979). She also coordinates an acupuncture clinic at Tufts Medical Center that provides care for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Sommers has been on the research faculty of New England School of Acupuncture (1990 – 1994) and served as adjunct faculty in Health Policy and Management at Boston University School of Public Health (2015 – 2018). As an acupuncture researcher, she has published and lectured internationally in the areas of acupuncture detoxification, health economics, and treatment of individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Her book “Acupuncture as an Adjuvant in the Treatment of HIV/AIDS” was published in 2014. Dr. Sommers is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and serves as the public health editor of the journal Meridians: Journal of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She co-edited the special public health issue of the European Journal of Integrative Medicine (2013) and also co-edited a 2018 special issue of Medicines on acupuncture and cancer care. She is currently contributing a chapter on health disparities and social justice in the context of integrative and traditional approaches to an international reader Public Health and Health Services Research in Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Health Care: International Perspectives.

She is former chair of the American Public Health Association’s Section on Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Practices (2008 to 2013), and currently serves on APHA’s Governing Council and Intersectional Council Steering Committee. A public health advocate, Dr. Sommers is committed to ensuring that healthcare including wellness is a right not a privilege.

She tweets #PublicHealthHaiku with the handle @AcuOxPhD and loves to follow colleagues from all avenues of public and planetary health.

James Stark
Global Medical Development and Scientific Affairs – Vaccines, at Pfizer

In his tenth year at Pfizer, James, employs his creative mindset, industry experience, and epidemiology expertise to drive the medical and scientific affairs strategy for vaccine assets. Through his leadership, the medical and scientific affairs asset team applies disease knowledge and evidence generation strategies to drive regulatory, clinical development and commercial business decisions. In addition, James has led efforts at Pfizer to devise novel digital tools to change behaviors in how asset teams’ access and internalize epidemiology data and medical information to the betterment of knowledge acquisition and decision making.

James has also brought his energy to Putnam Associates, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and as an adjunct faculty member at NYU College of Global Public Health.

Throughout his career, James has contributed to the scientific discourse by publishing numerous articles in the peer-reviewed literature across a range of content areas including infectious diseases, physical activity, built environment, epi methods, and teaching epidemiology.

James is also a board member with VIDA, a non-profit organization in Guatemala improving the lives of children with disabilities.

He earned his PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and holds an Sc.M. in Epidemiology from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Sc.M in Molecular Microbiology and immunology from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

James resides in Brookline, MA with his wife Sunday, a BU SPH alum, and amazing daughter Bennett.

John L. Sullivan, MET ’82
Senior Managing Director, Director of Equity Research and Healthcare Investment Strategist, SVB Leerink

John L. Sullivan is the senior managing director of Equity Research and Healthcare Investment Strategist at SVB Leerink, an investment bank specializing in healthcare and life sciences. Mr. Sullivan joined SVB Leerink in 2004. As a sector analyst, he ranked third in The Wall Street Journal’s 2008 “Best on the Street” analysts’ survey. As a stock picker in 2007, Mr. Sullivan earned a #2 ranking among the life sciences tools and services analysts ranked by StarMine in Forbes.com and a #3 ranking among the same group for accuracy of his earnings estimates.

Prior to SVB Leerink, Mr. Sullivan was vice president, senior equity research analyst at Stephens Inc. where his primary focus was on companies possessing enabling technologies for health care-related products for research and drug discovery.

Mr. Sullivan earned a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies degree and a Government concentration from Harvard University in 2017, in 2017, a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1983, and a Bachelor of Science in finance from Boston University Metropolitan College in 1982. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst in 2000.

Mr. Sullivan and his spouse, Margaret T. Sullivan, reside in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Michael J. Taylor
Principal, MT Healthcare Consulting

Michael Taylor has 45 years of senior management and consulting experience in the health care industry. He recently retired as Senior Vice President, Aon plc where he led their Delivery System Transformation Initiative. Prior to joining Aon, Mr. Taylor was a Senior Vice President at OptumHealth where he evaluated OptumHealth growth strategies and advisory capabilities and aligned them with the current and future strategic needs of the major healthcare stakeholders.  Prior to OptumHealth, he was a Principal at Towers Perrin in Boston where he headed up the Global Healthcare Practice, the Health and Welfare Specialty Practice, and was a member of the Health and Welfare Leadership Group. He also served as Director of Managed Care at John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company and has more than 15 years of extensive HMO, hospital and medical group operational experience.

His non-executive board experience includes current membership of Boston University School of Public Health Advisory Board and Kings College London Business School Advisory Council. Previous experience includes board membership of Minuteman Health Insurance, Employers Health Network LLC, and Boston Ballet.

His teaching experience includes Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USC, Queens College, and St. John’s University in New York.  He currently teaches a variety of subjects at BUSPH Boston.

Mr. Taylor was educated in England and the United States. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology from Kings College London, a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Administration from the State University of New York.

Sonja Tong, SPH ’05
Executive Director and Chief of Staff for Regulatory Affairs, Patient Safety, Quality, and Medical Affairs, Gilead Sciences

Sonja Tong is the Executive Director and Chief of Staff for Regulatory Affairs, Patient Safety, Quality, and Medical Affairs at Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since joining Gilead in 2008, her responsibilities include influencing on strategic labeling considerations for global product approval and during label negotiations with FDA and leading cross-functional teams in the development and maintenance of prescription drug labeling for physicians and for patients across all of Gilead products, which includes products for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B; and unmet medical needs in the areas of oncology, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease.

Prior to joining Gilead, Sonja led the global labeling teams for osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis products at Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA Sonja has also previously held Regulatory Affairs positions at two pharmaceutical companies in Lexington, MA: lndevus Pharmaceuticals, where she supported the clinical development of products in the areas of overactive bladder, stuttering, and HIV (including a clinical trial of an antiviral vaginal gel conducted in Africa); and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, where she supported the regulatory maintenance and clinical development of products for MRSA. From a summer internship opportunity, Sonja started her career in the Regulatory Affairs department of Genzyme in Cambridge, MA supporting early clinical development of a monoclonal antibody for scleroderma and a xenotransplantation product for Parkinson’s disease and Huntington disease.

Sonja earned a BS from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MPH from Boston University School of Public Health with concentration in Epidemiology/Biostatistics.

She lives in San Francisco with her husband, and in her free time enjoys traveling.

Donato J. Tramuto
Chairman and Founder, Health eVillages; Chairman of the Board, Aptus Health

Donato J. Tramuto is an author, activist, and the CEO of Tivity Health®, Inc., a leading provider of nutrition, fitness, and social connection solutions. A transformational leader and a Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope laureate, Tramuto is widely recognized for his commitment to social change and healthcare innovation. A passionate champion of cutting-edge approaches to healthcare access, drug safety, as well as addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH), The New York Times deemed him a ‘global health activist.’

Tramuto is credited with the turnaround of the Tivity Health’s business performance and adding nearly $1 billion of valuation to the company. In March 2019, under Donato’s leadership, Tivity Health completed its acquisition of Nutrisystem®, Inc.. Tivity Health impacts the lives of millions through its integrated portfolio of pioneering, scalable programs, including SilverSneakers®, Nutrisystem®, South Beach Diet®, Prime® Fitness, Wisely Well™ and WholeHealth Living®. Learn more at TivityHealth.com

Tramuto serves on multiple boards, is the founder of Health eVillages, the founder and chair of The Tramuto Foundation. He is also the author of Life’s Bulldozer Moments: How Adversity Leads to Success in Life and Business. Tramuto’s second book, The Double Bottom Line, How Compassionate Leaders Captivate Hearts and Deliver Results.

In 2013, the Tramuto Foundation endowed a scholarship fund at SPH to provide support for outstanding international students close to completing the MPH degree. In 2018, in tandem with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, his Foundation committed to funding a three-year, $1 million grant to address workplace bullying, launching in 2019 a National Workplace Dignity Program.

Mr. Tramuto earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Wadham’s Hall Seminary College in New York in 1979. He also studied health care marketing for two years at the State University of New York at Buffalo but did not earn a degree.

Lawrence W. Vernaglia, Esq., SPH ’94, LAW ’94
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP

Lawrence (Larry) W. Vernaglia is a partner and health care lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP as well as department chair of the firm’s Industry Teams Department. Foley & Lardner is regularly named Health Law Firm of the Year by U.S. News.

Mr. Vernaglia is responsible for overall strategy and leadership across all industry teams. He has over 20 years’ experience representing hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, and a variety of other health care providers. His practice involves regulatory and transactional matters, including Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement compliance advice and appeals; mergers, acquisitions and financings; state regulatory issues including licensing, fraud & abuse/Stark law analyses, managed care contracting, and general corporate and business planning in health care. He runs strategic planning programs for senior management and governing boards and represents both nonprofit and for-profit/publicly traded companies.

He has served for over 10 years as chair of the New England Region for the Health Care Compliance Association’s Annual Meeting.  Mr. Vernaglia has published more than 70 articles and book chapters on various topics in law and medicine, including the chapter on the health care legal system in the United States for the treatise The Health Care Law Review (in press 2017). He is the editor of two in print health care law treatises: Massachusetts Health & Hospital Law Manual and The Clinical Research Compliance Manual. Mr. Vernaglia serves on editorial boards for several journals and treatises including Medical Economics, JONA’s Journal of Healthcare Law, Ethics, & Regulation and Medicine & Health/Rhode Island, the Journal of the Rhode Island Medical Society and Brown University School of Medicine.

Mr. Vernaglia earned a Juris Doctor in health law from Boston University School of Law in 1994, a Master of Public Health in health law from Boston University School of Public Health in 1994, and a Bachelor of Arts in history from New College of Florida in 1991. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire.

Mr. Vernaglia and his spouse, Dr. Elizabeth Rudow-Vernaglia, reside in Medford, Massachusetts.

Paul Weisman, GRS ’84

Co-Portfolio Manager, Ironwood Investment Management, LLC

Paul Weisman is co-portfolio manager for the Value Investment Partners (VIP) strategies at Boston-based Ironwood Investment Management, LLC. Prior to joining Ironwood in 2009, Mr. Weisman was a portfolio manager at Evergreen Investment Management, a division of Wachovia Bank, for seven years. He was also chief investment officer at J.L. Kaplan Associates which he joined in 1986. From 1983 to 1986 he was an investment analyst at Delphi Management.

Mr. Weisman earned a Master of Arts in industrial organization (applied microeconomics) from Boston University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1984 and a Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College.

He and his spouse, Susan, reside in Sherborn, Massachusetts. They have three children: Krista, Alexa, and Noah.

Arra Yerganian, Questrom ’85
Board Member and Strategic Advisor

Arra G. Yerganian is a board member and strategic advisor to various companies, including SageMedic Corp., GroundTruth, ZorroSign, Inc, FrontRunner Technologies, and Heart + Paw.

He most recently served as the President of The Laurel Springs School, the largest private online K-12 school in the US, with students from 50 states and 110 countries.

Prior to Laurel Springs, Arra was the Group Chief Experience and Brand Officer at Tivity Health, where he drove overall brand strategy for the company and created a member-driven, comprehensive, differentiated, and unified brand voice, while raising brand awareness and familiarity. He was also responsible for Tivity Cares, the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy.

Prior to Tivity Health, Yerganian served as Chief Marketing / Branding Officer at Sutter Health, One Medical and University of Phoenix. He began his marketing career in 1985 at Procter & Gamble, serving as International Market Manager for multiple international markets. He later worked as Managing Director – International, for the Dial Corporation. Providing innovative, market-driven, and value-added solutions has been his focus for the past 25+ years.

Yerganian graduated from Boston University’s Questrom Undergraduate School of Business and Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Strategic Marketing Management program. He is an active volunteer and Board Chair Emeritus of the Silicon Valley American Red Cross, and a Board Trustee of St. Andrew Armenian Church in Cupertino. Mr. Yerganian also mentors several entrepreneurs in various fields ranging from brand and performance marketing to expanding one’s personal capacity to effectively lead organizations.

Arra and his wife, Taline, live in San Jose and have three children, Alec, Talar, and Shant.