BLINDNESS - Key Persons


Aaron Y. Lee

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington

Abigail T. Fahim

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan

Adam Lawrence

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Adriann Keve

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Adrienne Graves

Job Titles:
  • Director / Former President & CEO

Alessandro Iannaccone

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, Duke Eye Center, Duke University Medical Center

Alex Cohen

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Alfred Lewin

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Dept. of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida

Allie Sarwark

Job Titles:
  • Manager
  • Member of the Chicago Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the Fort Wayne Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team
  • Manager, Chapter Engagement
We are actively recruiting leadership in the Fort Wayne chapter! For more information, please reach out to Allie Sarwark at ASarwark@FightingBlindness.

Amy Donahue

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Amy Laster

Job Titles:
  • Senior Vice President, Science Strategy and Awards

Amy Nguyen

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Chicago Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Andrea Harper

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Engagement Manager - Midwest
We are actively recruiting leadership in the Kansas City chapter! For more information, please reach out to Andrea Harper at AHarper@FightingBlindness.org.

Andy Hume

Job Titles:
  • Education Chairs

Angie Kirchoff

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Angie Sutton

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team
  • Co Resource Chair

Anna Wagner

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Finance

Anne Palmer - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Fort Wayne Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Anthony Donn

Job Titles:
  • Anthony Donn Professor of Ophthalmic Science, Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology, Columbia University

Antoinette Morrison

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Anum Zehra - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Artemis Shamamian

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Bailey Bostelman

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Boston Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the New York Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Engagement Manager
  • Director, Chapter Engagement, East
We are actively recruiting leadership in the Long Island Chapter! For more information, please reach out to Bailey Bostelman at BBostelman@FightingBlindness.org.

Becky Egan

Job Titles:
  • Member of the New York Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Bela Anand-Apte

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Department of Ophthalmic Research, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Ben Shaberman

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Science Communications

Bill Willcock

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Seattle Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Bobbie Simmerman Ramsey - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Bradford Manning

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Vice Chair, Marketing, Communications and Social Media / Co - Founder, Two Blind Brothers / New York, New York

Brett Schmidt

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Bryan Plourde

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Bärbel M. Rohrer

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, SmartState Endowed Chair in Gene and Pharmaceutical Treatment of Retinal Degenerative Diseases, Medical University of South Carolina

Carolyn F. Jones

Job Titles:
  • Carolyn F. Jones Professor of Ophthalmology, Director, Center for Preventive Ophthalmology & Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania

Cassandra Fridovich

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Jacksonville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the Nashville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Engagement Manager, South
We are actively recruiting leadership in the Naples chapter! For more information, please reach out to Cassandra Fridovich at Cfridovich@FightingBlindness.org.

Cassie Lotas

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Catherine Bowes Rickman

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, Depts
Professor of Ophthalmology, Depts of Ophthalmology & Cell Biology, George and Geneva Boguslavsky Distinguished Professor of Eye Research, Professor in Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine

Cee Cee Collins

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Austin Chapter Leadership Team
  • Diversity & Inclusion Chair

Chad Jackson

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Preclinical Translational Research Program

Charity Kohlberg - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Charles Mason

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Charlie Kramer

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Chelsea Warr

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Engagement Manager, South
We are actively recruiting leadership in the Charlotte chapter! For more information, please reach out to Chelsea Warr at CWarr@FightingBlindness.org.

Chris Adams

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Marketing & Communications

Chris Willette

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Claire M. Gelfman

Job Titles:
  • Chief Scientific Officer
  • Foundation Fighting Blindness As Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Gelfman joined the Foundation Fighting Blindness as Chief Scientific Officer in April 2021. She is responsible for leading the overarching scientific strategy for the organization with a focus on research initiatives designed to accelerate new treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases. Additionally, she oversees the Foundation's non-clinical research portfolio, including early translational and pre-clinical research programs, and serves as the primary scientific contact with the Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board, the Research Oversight Committee, academic institutions, and government science agencies. She was previously Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, at Adverum Biotechnologies, an ocular gene therapy company developing AAV-based treatments for wet age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal diseases. Prior to that, she was the Senior Director, Scientific Services/Preclinical and Translational Science at Ora, Inc., an ophthalmic contract research organization (CRO) providing pre-clinical, regulatory, and clinical trial services for companies worldwide. She designed preclinical and translational strategies and integrated them into the clinical development process for the advancement of therapeutics to treat major unmet medical needs. Prior to Ora, Dr. Gelfman spent 12 years at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in the area of molecular genetics where she was involved in early drug target discovery using molecular, cellular, and biochemical approaches, and directed in vivo pharmacology efforts in the areas of ocular inflammation and retinal degeneration. She received a postdoctoral fellowship grant from the National Eye Institute to study changes in gene expression in the retinal pigmented epithelium at the University of California Davis, where she also taught and mentored both undergraduate and graduate students. Her experience covers more than 20 years in drug discovery and development in ophthalmology, spanning academia, the CRO industry, and the biotechnology sector. Dr. Gelfman holds a BA in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin.

Colette Kramer

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Membership Chair

Colin Danna - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Darcy Meadows

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Legacy Giving

Darren DeVoue

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Executive Advisor

David Brint - Chairman, Founder

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Co - Founder
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Principal

David G. Birch

Job Titles:
  • Scientific Director, Director, Rose - Silverthorne Retinal Degenerations Laboratory, Retina Foundation of the Southwest

David Nixon - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Executive Chairman

David S. Williams

Job Titles:
  • Lab Director, Professor of Ophthalmology and Nuerobiology, Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles

Debbie DeSilva

Job Titles:
  • Membership Chair

Debra Thompson

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Professor, Biological Chemistry, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan

Dena Beck

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nashville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Deniz Dalkara

Job Titles:
  • Group Leader, Biotherapeutics Department, Institut De La Vision, Paris, France

Donald J. Zack

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, Co - Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Stem Cells and Ocular Regenerative Medicine ( STORM ), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Doug Hemminger

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Chicago Chapter Leadership Team
  • Accessibility, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Chair

Douglas Vollrath

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Genetics, Ophthalmology, Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Sandeep Grover

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Jacksonville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Dr. Shyamanga Borooah

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Institute
Dr. Shyamanga Borooah, an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Institute in San Diego, presents frequent questions when coming to see a retinal specialist on the first or subsequent visit.

Edward Russnow

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team

Ekaterina Lobanova

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology Research, University of Florida College of Medicine

Elfride De Baere

Job Titles:
  • Senior Full Professor, Center for Medical Genetics Ghent, Ghent University, Senior Clinical Investigator, Research Foundation Flanders

Elise Héon

Job Titles:
  • Staff Director, Ocular Genetics Program, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, SickKids, University of Toronto

Ellen Harper

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team

Emily Townsend-Cobb - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Jacksonville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Emma Huckins

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Eric A. Pierce

Job Titles:
  • William F. Chatlos Professor, Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Eric Bennardo

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Erik Wray

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Erin Kimbrel

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Boston Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chairs

Eugene de Juan, Jr., MD

Job Titles:
  • Vice - Chairman / Professor of Ophthalmology, Retina and Vitreous Clinic, University of California, San Francisco

Evan Mittman

Job Titles:
  • Director / Armonk, New York

Fai Mo

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team
  • Arizona Chapter President
  • Chapter President

Fiona Gibbons

Job Titles:
  • Member of the New York Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Frans Cremers

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Centre, Principal Investigator, Donders Center of Medical Neurosciences

Frederick Ferris, III

Job Titles:
  • Ophthalmic Research Consultants, LLC

G. Jane Farrar

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Genetics, Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin

Gagan Kalra

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Accessibility, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Chair

Gary D. Novack

Job Titles:
  • President, PharmaLogic Development, Inc

Gordon Gund

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Co - Founder, Director, Chairman Emeritus / Chairman and CEO

Grace Mishler

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Fort Wayne Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Gustavo Aguirre

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Medical Genetics and Ophthalmology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Halley Korff

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Haynes Lea

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Partner
  • Secretary

Heather Edwards - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Hendrik Scholl

Job Titles:
  • Director, Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Professor and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel

Isaac Jean Paul

Job Titles:
  • San Diego Chapter Member

Isabelle Audo

Job Titles:
  • Full Professor, Département De Génétique, Institut De La Vision

Jacob Lynn - President

Job Titles:
  • President

Jacque Duncan

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, Beckman Vision Center, University of California, San Francisco

Jake Ellis

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Chicago Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Vice President

James Handa

Job Titles:
  • Chief, Retina Division, Professor of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

James Immekus - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Jami Gurley

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Jane Eberle - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Janet Sparrow

Job Titles:
  • Anthony Donn Professor of Ophthalmic Science, Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology, Columbia University

Janet Sunness

Job Titles:
  • Medical Director, Hoover Low Vision Rehabilitation Services, Greater Baltimore Medical Center

Janine Marks Nixon

Job Titles:
  • Director / Co - Founder, Chief Giving Officer

Janni Lehrer-Stein

Job Titles:
  • Director / San Francisco, California

Jared Hallman - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Jason Ferreira

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Owner

Jason Frazier

Job Titles:
  • President and CEO, MindsEye Radio

Jason I. Comander

Job Titles:
  • Director, Inherited Retinal Disorders Service, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School

Jason Menzo - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Chief Executive Officer at the Foundation Fighting
Jason Menzo is the chief executive officer at the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world's largest private funder of research for finding treatments and cures of a variety of blinding retinal degenerative diseases. The Foundation has raised over $891 million since its inception, and is currently funding 81 research projects, and more than 35 clinical trials globally. Prior to joining the Foundation, Jason was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and subsequently the Business Unit Head for Sun Ophthalmics. He was one of four founding members of Sun Ophthalmics, and helped to build it from the ground up and into the well-known entity it is today. He was also a founding member of Nicox, Inc. where he led the commercial launches of three ophthalmic brands. He has previously held positions of increasing responsibility with Bausch + Lomb and Inspire Pharmaceuticals.

Jason Morris

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Vice Chair, Board Communications & Development and Treasurer / Chief Operating Officer

Jeanne Martin

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Chicago Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Jeff Collins

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Database Systems & Technology

Jeff Lukacsena

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team

Jeffrey Freed

Job Titles:
  • Director / Co - Founder, Former Managing Partner

Jeffrey H. Boatright

Job Titles:
  • Dept. of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine

Jenna Olson - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Jennifer Chao

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington

Jenny An

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Jenny Wood

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Austin Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Jeremy Nathans

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Johns Hopkins University

Jessie Wolinsky

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Joanie Shell

Job Titles:
  • Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Joanna Reasoner

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nashville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Co - Education Chair

Johanna M. Seddon

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of Retina, Director of Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School

John D. Ash

Job Titles:
  • Department of Ophthalmology College of Medicine, University of Florida

John Flannery

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Neurobiology, Dept. Molecular & Cell Biology, Assoc. Director, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley

John Sharko

Job Titles:
  • Member of the New York Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Jonathan Steinberg

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chair, Research / Professor of Medicine

Joshua Steinberg

Job Titles:
  • Director / Duane Morris LLP / South Orange, New Jersey

Judy Taylor - SVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Development Officer
  • Senior Vice President

Julia Christenson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Seattle Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Juliana Gaona

Job Titles:
  • Chapter Engagement Manager, Southwest

Julie Gaona

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the Austin Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Engagement Manager

Julie Sherber

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Karen Petrou

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Executive Vice Chair / Co - Founder

Kari Branham

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Genetic Counselor, Inherited Retinal Dystrophy Clinic, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan

Katherine Schoeffler

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Kennedy Saggars

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Fort Wayne Chapter Leadership Team

Kerri Ringel

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Kevin Walker

Job Titles:
  • Co - Chapter Presidents

Kielan Williams

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Kristie DeMarco

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Kyle Kohlberg

Job Titles:
  • Resource & Revenue Chair

Kyle Ray

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Kylie Dalager

Job Titles:
  • Accessibility, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Chair

Larry Young

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Laura Manfre

Job Titles:
  • Director / Chair, Co - Founder, HOPE in FOCUS

Lauren J. Lieberman

Job Titles:
  • Director of Camp Abilities

Lenora Osborne

Job Titles:
  • Diversity & Inclusion Chair

Leslie G. Hyman

Job Titles:
  • Vice - Chair for Research, Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center at Wil
Vice-Chair for Research, Vickie and Jack Farber Vision Research Center at Wills Eye, Wills Eye Hospital, Professor and Vice Chair of Research, Ophthalmology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Lexie Estes - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Lindsay Schrock - President

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Austin Chapter Leadership Team
  • President

Lindsey Blankenship

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Lisa Pleasants

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Jacksonville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Lucian V. Del Priore

Job Titles:
  • Robert R. Young Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, Chief of Ophthalmology, Yale New Haven Hospital

Lynn Tyler

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Marco Zarbin

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Chair, Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual
Professor and Chair, Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Professor of Neurosciences, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Chief, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey

Marie Farhat

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Chicago Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Mark Pennesi

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, School
Professor of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Kenneth C. Swan Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology, Chief, Paul H. Casey Ophthalmic Genetics Division, Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Molecular and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University

Marlena Moody

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nashville Chapter Leadership Team

Marsha D. Link

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Principal

Martha Steele

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Boston Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President
  • Director / Arlington, Massachusetts

Mary Morgan-Corbitt

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Maryrose Sylvester

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chair, at Large / Raleigh, North Carolina

Matthew Edwards

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team

Maureen Maguire

Job Titles:
  • Carolyn F. Jones Professor of Ophthalmology, Director, Center for Preventive Ophthalmology & Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania
Member Goldis Malek, PhD Associate Professor in Ophthalmology, Vice-Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine

Meghan Grom

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Meghan Withrow - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Melissa Navarro


Meredyth Sauter

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Jacksonville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter Accessibility, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Chair

Merrill Barter

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Michael Kalberer

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Michele DiVincenzo

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Events

Michelle Alabek

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Mike Garlow

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Mike Garrigan

Job Titles:
  • Resource Chair

Mike Young

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Co
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Co-Director, Ocular Regenerative Medicine Institute, Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for Retinal Regeneration, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School

Monica Pruitt

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Nathan Clookie

Job Titles:
  • Manager
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Member of the Seattle Chapter Leadership Team
  • Director, Chapter Engagement, West

Pam Harris

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Nashville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Patricia McCormick

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Boston Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Paul R. Lichter

Job Titles:
  • Paul R. Lichter Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Associate Chair, Strategic Implementation, Michigan Medicine, Ophthalmology Retina Clinic

Paul Yang

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University

Paula Dubecky

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Peter Ginsberg - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Board Member for First Flight Venture Center
  • Chief Operating Officer for Foundation Fighting
Peter Ginsberg is chief operating officer for Foundation Fighting Blindness. In that role, Mr. Ginsberg oversees the development of financial plans and processes while providing leadership on business transactions, strategic planning, and new activities aimed at creating novel revenue streams across the Foundation Fighting Blindness and RD Fund. He led record-setting transactions during his tenure with large and small biopharmaceutical companies and has worked extensively within ophthalmology, inspired by his long-time mentor who has retinitis pigmentosa. Most recently, Mr. Ginsberg served as vice president of business development at Savara Pharmaceuticals (SVRA), an orphan lung disease company. Previously, he headed business development for BioDelivery Sciences (BDSI), United Therapeutics (UTHR) and SurModics (SRDX). Ginsberg also served as VP of business & technology development for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, where his group financed and advised emerging life science companies. He further spent 15 years in the healthcare investment industry, during which time he was named a Wall Street Journal All-Star as Piper Jaffray's lead biotechnology analyst. Ginsberg serves as a board member for First Flight Venture Center and is a Chartered Financial Analyst and member of the CFA Institute. He earned an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Radha Ayyagari

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Ophthalmology and Pathology, Chief
Professor of Ophthalmology and Pathology, Chief of Ophthalmic Molecular Genetics Laboratory (CLIA certified), Director of Shiley Eye Institute BioBank, Viterbi Family Chair III, Shiley Eye Center, University of California, San Diego

Randy Wechter

Job Titles:
  • Chapter President

Raquel Alim - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Rebecca Ashworth

Job Titles:
  • Revenue Chair

Regina Budet

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Austin Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Rhonda Carroll

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team

Richard Faubion

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Development

Rick Dahlstrom

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Fort Wayne Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Rick Poplin

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Indianapolis Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Rishi Donat - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Human Resources Officer
Ms. Donat leads human resource functions, including employee relations and employment law compliance, recruiting, compensation, staff development, training, and diversity. Importantly, Ms. Donat nurtures and continues to build a culture of inclusion, operational excellence, integrity, compassion, innovation, teamwork, and a desire to achieve the mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Ms. Donat received her undergraduate degree in psychology at Humboldt State University and her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification. Ms. Donat brings over 20 years of broad and extensive human resources experience, including business strategy, performance management, talent acquisition, diversity, inequity, access and inclusion, mergers and acquisitions, compensation, benefits, and HRIS. Most recently, Ms. Donat served as the human services director at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Rob Collin

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Molecular Therapy for Inherited Retinal Diseases, Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Centre

Robert B. Hufnagel

Job Titles:
  • Senior Investigator, Center for Integrated Health Care Research, Hawaii Permanente Medical Group

Robert Heidenberg - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Director
  • President

Robert R. Young

Job Titles:
  • Robert R. Young Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, Chief of Ophthalmology, Yale New Haven Hospital

Robin McCoy

Job Titles:
  • Education Chair

Rusty Kelley

Job Titles:
  • Founding Board Director of Opus Genetics, Board
  • Managing Director for the Foundation
  • Managing Director, RD Fund
Rusty Kelley is the managing director for the Foundation's venture arm, the Retinal Degeneration Fund with responsibility for all external investments that strategically align with the Foundation's therapeutic mission. Rusty brings over 25 years of experience in identifying and developing life science technologies to his leadership role. Prior to the RD Fund, Rusty led translational and interdisciplinary science programs at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF). Prior to BWF, Rusty was a senior scientist, director and then head of preclinical at Tengion, a tissue engineering biotech firm that spun-out of Boston Children's Hospital and Wake Forest University. Earlier in his career out of Wilmington NC, Rusty served in clinical development at PPD, Inc. where he helped manage clinical trials in the divisions of Medicine, NIH trials and Infectious Disease. Prior to PPD, Rusty served on the bench in the pharmaceutics and analytical chemistry divisions for AAIPharma. Rusty received a BA in Chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill, a PhD in Pharmacology at LSU's Health Sciences Center. He was then awarded an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship in the School of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill, and recently earned an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Rusty is currently a founding Board director of Opus Genetics, Board director of SparingVision, and Board observer for Atsena Therapeutics, Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, and Vedere Bio. He also serves as a Board Director of DC-based Health Research Alliance (HRA) and North Carolina's Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED).

Sandy Krems

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Cleveland Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Sara Lou

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Seattle Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Sarah Rossetti - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Boston Chapter Leadership Team

Sarah Wells - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Scott Burt

Job Titles:
  • Foundation Board Director
  • Director / Castle Rock, CO

Sean Teare - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Boston Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Shannon E. Boye

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Pofessor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida

Shelly Porter

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Charlotte Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Sheri Lawrence

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Los Angeles Chapter Leadership Team
  • Diversity & Inclusion Chair

Shivam Patel - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Simon Petersen-Jones

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Comparative Ophthalmology, Dept. of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University

Stephanie Lassar - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Seattle Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Stephen P. Daiger

Job Titles:
  • Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health the Univ. of Texas Health Science Center at Houston ( UTHealth ) Houston, TX

Steve Alper

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Foundation Board Officers Team
  • Interim Vice Chair, Development / Managing Director

Suzi Ford

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Jacksonville Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Teri Wichman - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Terri Gazzara

Job Titles:
  • Revenue Chair

Terry Super

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team
  • Chapter President

Theresa Maresco

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Arizona Chapter Leadership Team
  • Resource Chair

Thomas Reh

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington School of Medicine

Tiansen Li

Job Titles:
  • Senior Investigator, Retinal Cell Biology & Degeneration Section, Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration & Repair Laboratory, National Eye Institute

Todd Durham

Job Titles:
  • Senior Vice President, Clinical & Outcomes Research

Valerie Morrill

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Kansas City Chapter Leadership Team
  • Revenue Chair

Veronika Shiroka - VP

Job Titles:
  • Member of the New York Chapter Leadership Team
  • Vice President

Vicki Western

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Fort Wayne Chapter Leadership Team
  • Education Chair

Warren Thaler

Job Titles:
  • Director / Ardmore, Pennsylvania

William A. Beltran

Job Titles:
  • Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, Professor of Ophthalmology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

William Carty

Job Titles:
  • Foundation Board Director
  • Director / Herndon, Virginia

William F. Chatlos

Job Titles:
  • William F. Chatlos Professor, Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Wilmer Eye

Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Univ. Hospital; served as Director of Wilmer for 15 years. "The Foundation Fighting Blindness is an extraordinary organization. It has given hope to people who didn't previously have hope, and it has supported the most important fundamental research in the retinal degenerations being carried out anywhere in the world today. Thanks to the Foundation, I have confidence that we will understand and be able to successfully treat many of these (retinal degenerative) diseases in the relatively near future... we are on the verge of human clinical trials and that would not have happened without the support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness."

Yael Friedman

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Philanthropy