PATHWAY TO CURES - Key Persons


Amy L. Dunn

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Medical and Scientific Advisory Council ( MASAC ) for NBDF
  • Professor of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children 's Hospital / Ohio State University
Dr. Dunn is a Professor of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital/Ohio State University where she is the Director of Pediatric Hematology and directs the Hemophilia Treatment Center. Dr. Dunn received her medical degree from Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio and completed her pediatric and pediatric hematology/oncology training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Dunn is a member of various professional associations including the American Society of Hematology, World Federation of Hemophilia, The International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the International Prophylaxis Study Group and the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society (HTRS). She is the Vice-President of the World Federation of Hemophilia, USA, a board member of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation (NBDF), and the Chair of Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC) for the NBDF. Dr. Dunn has also received multiple awards, including the US News and World Report Top Doctors, and was the National Hemophilia Foundation Physician of the Year for 2020.

Brett Spitale

Job Titles:
  • NBDF VP of Advancement
Brett is an innovative nonprofit executive with more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare nonprofit field. As the Vice President of Advancement, Brett leads the NBDF's development, communications, marketing, and walk programs. Brett possesses significant experience in fundraising, including annual fund programs, major gifts, corporate and foundation development, special event fundraising, capital campaigns, and planned giving efforts. He has created and managed successful communications initiatives, including marketing, media relations and social media development, along with board governance and structure. Brett previously held leadership positions at Autism Speaks, The Alzheimer's Association, The ARC, The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, and the American College of Cardiology. He is also actively involved with the American Society of Association Executives, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and Board Source. Brett attended George Mason University, where he completed his undergraduate and graduate work in communications and public administration.

Brian Andrew - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman

Dawn Rotellini

Job Titles:
  • Leader
  • NBDF Chief Operating Officer
Dawn has been a leader in the bleeding disorders community for many years. As a parent of a son with hemophilia, she founded the Rocky Mountain Hemophilia & Bleeding Disorders Association in Bozeman, Montana, served as its Executive Director, and began their Family Camp. After moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dawn worked for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as an Area Manager. Concurrently, she served as a board member for the Hemophilia Center of Western Pennsylvania for six years. Dawn left the ADA for a position as the Executive Director of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the NBDF in Pittsburgh, where she became actively involved with Camp Hot to Clot and eventually became the Director. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Montana State University in Bozeman.

Dr. Glenn Pierce

Job Titles:
  • Co - Chair
  • Independent Consultant
Dr. Glenn Pierce is currently an independent consultant, entrepreneur-in-residence at Third Rock Ventures, serves on the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) and WFHUSA Board of Directors, and the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF). Dr. Pierce is also a Director of Voyager Therapeutics and Global Blood Therapeutics, two publicly held biotechnology companies. Dr. Pierce retired from Biogen in 2014 as Senior Vice President of Hematology, Cell and Gene Therapies. He had overall R&D responsibility for hemophilia and hemoglobinopathies and led the research and clinical development of extended half-life FVIII and FIX Fc fusions as Chief Medical Officer since joining the company in 2009, culminating in multiple regulatory approvals beginning in 2014. Dr. Pierce spearheaded the initiation of a 5-year Humanitarian Aid clotting factor distribution program with WFH, and My Life Our Future, a population-wide genomic biobank initiative with NHF and other partners. Dr. Pierce has 30 years' experience in biotechnology research and development, from the bench to the bedside in small, large, public and private biotech/biopharma firms, including Biogen, Bayer, Inspiration, Avigen, Selective Genetics, and Amgen in the areas of tissue regeneration and hematology. He is the co-author of more than 150 scientific papers and has been awarded over 15 patents. Dr. Pierce served on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council, the Board of Directors, and was President of the Board of the National Hemophilia Foundation (U.S.) spanning 1983-2005. Dr. Pierce also served on the Blood Products Advisory Committee at the US FDA and the Committee on Blood Safety and Availability at the US Department of Health and Human Services. He received an MD and a PhD in Immunology, both from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and did his postgraduate training in pathology and hematology research at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Katherine High

Job Titles:
  • Visiting Professor at Rockefeller University
Dr. Katherine High is currently a visiting professor at Rockefeller University and serves as a Board member for Incyte Corporation, CRISPR Therapeutics, and Virion Therapeutics. She is a past president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, and a member of both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. High served as the President, Therapeutics of Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a subsidiary of Bayer AG, and as a member of AskBio's board of directors. Previously, Dr. High co-founded Spark Therapeutics, Inc. and from September 2014 to December 2019, she served as President and as a member of the board of directors and served as Head of Research & Development from September 2017 to February 2020. From 1992 to 2014, Dr. High was a Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, an Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, and attending physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She completed a five-year term from 2000 to 2005 on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee on Cell, Tissue, and Gene Therapies and is a past president of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. Recognized for her pioneering research and development of gene therapies for genetic disease. She is known for her studies in adeno-associated viral (AAV)-mediated gene therapy for hemophilia, including the development of AAV vectors that brought about long-term improvement in small and large animal models of hemophilia. She translated these findings to studies of men with severe hemophilia and overcame hurdles identified in clinical trials including the risk of germline transmission and human immune response to the AAV vector. Dr. High earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Harvard, an M.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and completed medical training in Hematology at Yale. Dr. High has a business certification from the University of North Carolina Business School Management Institute for Hospital Administrators and an honorary M.A. from The University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Steven Pipe

Job Titles:
  • Co - Chair
  • Professor
Dr. Steven Pipe is a Professor and the Laurence A. Boxer Research Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the Medical Director of the Pediatric Hemophilia and Coagulation Disorders Program and Medical Director of the Special Coagulation Laboratory. His clinical interests include bleeding and thrombotic disorders and congenital vascular anomalies. Dr. Pipe also directs a basic research lab investigating coagulation factor VIII and the molecular mechanisms of hemophilia A. He has been actively involved in clinical trials with novel therapeutics for hemophilia including gene therapy. He was the 2015 recipient of the Leadership in Research Award from the National Hemophilia Foundation. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society, as Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network, and currently as a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Hemophilia Foundation.

Gilbert C. White, II

Dr. White is a Hematologist and researcher currently serving as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at University North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNCCH). Dr. White received his medical degree from UNCCH in 1971 and returned to UNCCH after his internship and residency at Georgetown University. Dr. White served UNCCH in various roles over the years, including as an Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, a Member of the Dental Research Center, a Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Pharmacology, the Associate Director and Director of the Comprehensive Hemophilia Diagnostic and Treatment Center, and the Associate Director and Director of the Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis. He last served as the John C. Parker Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology from 1999 to 2004. Following this, Dr. White joined Versiti, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based blood health organization, where he served as the Executive Vice President for Research, Director, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Versiti Blood Research Institute. He also served as the Richard H. and Sara E. Aster Chair for Medical Research at the Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin (formerly known as the BloodCenter of Wisconsin) and is currently designated as a Senior Investigator Emeritus. He is also an Emeritus Associate Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he previously served as the Associate Dean for Research. He is a Director at the Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation. He was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), Marquette University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) previously. Other than that, he served as a Director at the National Hemophilia Foundation and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and as a Member of the Advisory Council at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Haiyan Jiang

Job Titles:
  • Co - Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at PointLoma BioSciences
Haiyan Jiang, PhD, is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at PointLoma BioSciences. Dr. Jiang has a proven track record in drug development from research to IND and BLA, specialized in translational research and preclinical development. Dr. Jiang has extensive and in-depth experience in cell and gene therapy, viral vectors and genome editing, and more recently, on developing genetically engineered innate cellular therapy for cancer. Dr. Jiang has made vital contributions to the development of EDIT-101 and EDIT-301 at Editas Medicine, Eloctate and Alprolix at Biogen, and Jivi at Bayer. She was a co-inventor of Altuviiio. She started her research on AAV-mediated gene therapy for hemophilia A and B at Avigen in 2001. She has 45 peer-reviewed publications and 21 granted US patents. Dr. Jiang received her Ph.D. in oncology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and postdoctoral training at University of California, San Francisco.

Leonard Valentino - CEO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
For over three decades I treated families with bleeding disorders, working towards finding better treatments for patients and preventing complications of their disorders through education, advocacy, and research. My work was most gratifying when I could help someone realize his or her full potential, living a life not limited by a diagnosis or its complications. Diagnosing and treating boys and girls, men and women, parents, grandparents and family members was fulfilling personally and professionally. Conducting clinical and laboratory research helped me to understand how to develop and elevate treatments to new levels, seeking cures and improving the quality of life for everyone in the bleeding disorders community. I have spent time in the biopharmaceutical industry trying to understand how to bring new therapies to patients globally. My past experiences as a physician, educator, researcher, and an industry partner have all focused on treating patients and their families and have provided me with the experiences and knowledge to take on this challenging role as the President and CEO for the National Hemophilia Foundation, a role I take on behalf of the entire bleeding disorders community and one that I see as the pinnacle of my career - serving you. The landscape of the bleeding disorders community is changing and there are challenges ahead. Gene therapy and novel technologies and treatments bring new opportunities, and many questions as well. We will face these challenges together, working jointly to find solutions. Through collaboration with patients, families, chapters, partners, supporters, medical professionals, patient organizations, government agencies, and all stakeholders in the bleeding disorders community, everything is possible. I believe in unity, and my past leadership roles in these areas put us in a unique position to move forward in ways we haven't had the opportunity to do so ever before. To unlock our greatest potential in such an exciting time we must all support each other - this is what will define our success. This is an exciting time for the bleeding disorders community as research is progressing forward in unimaginable ways, but there is still more to be done. This is why one of my primary objectives will be to increase our funding to support innovative research on new therapies, and then educating stakeholders on these advancements. Advocating on behalf of those impacted by bleeding disorders with our legislators locally and in Washington D.C. for better access, including access to care, to treatment centers, to physicians, and to new treatments will be ever more important. I look forward to working with you in our joint pursuit to improve the outcomes for our community. Dr. Valentino currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Pathway to Cures in addition to President & Chief Executive Officer of National Hemophilia Foundation. For over three decades he treated families with bleeding disorders, working towards finding better treatments for patients and preventing complications of their disorders through education, advocacy, and research. Conducting clinical and laboratory research helped him to understand how to develop and elevate treatments to new levels, seeking cures and improving the quality of life for everyone in the bleeding disorders community. He has worked in the biopharmaceutical industry trying to understand how to bring new therapies to patients globally. His past experiences as a physician, educator, researcher, and an industry partner have all focused on treating patients and their families and have provided him with the experiences and knowledge to lead the National Hemophilia Foundation and Pathway to Cures.

Michael Recht - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Chief Medical and Scientific Officer
  • Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Dr. Recht serves as the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer (CMSO) of Pathway to Cures and National Bleeding Disorders Foundation (NBDF) and serves as a member of NHF's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC). An internationally respected leader in pediatric hematology, Dr. Recht is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and member of the Hemophilia Treatment Center and Section of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine where he cares for children, adolescents, and young adults affected by bleeding and clotting disorders. Dr. Recht most recently served as the Chief Science Officer for the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network (ATHN) where he worked at the strategic and policy level to inform the scientific direction of the organization. He was also Director of the Hemophilia Center at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) from 2007 until 2020 and Director of the Mountain States Hemophilia Network, a collaboration of hemophilia treatment centers in the western United States. He has also participated in over 110 clinical research trials testing new treatments for children with bleeding and clotting disorders, including being a leader in research involving gene therapy for hemophilia. Dr. Recht serves as the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer (CMSO) of Pathway to Cures and National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) and serves as a member of NHF's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC).

Peter Harvey

Job Titles:
  • Chief Business Officer for NBDF
Peter Harvey serves as the Chief Business Officer for NBDF including oversight for finance & accounting, business development, conference & travel services, payer relations, and IT. Peter is a senior healthcare finance and operations executive with diverse experience in healthcare nonprofit finance & accounting, pharma/biotech HEOR and medical affairs business operations, academic medical/pediatric department and Hemophilia Treatment Center administration, plus PM&R medical practice and research foundation executive leadership. Peter has volunteered at a number of non-profits and is a founding volunteer board member of a nonprofit providing education and humanitarian support to children and families in Mariani, Haiti. He has a B.A. in Biology from Augustana College and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business in Finance and Healthcare.

Renee Peck

Renee leads the fundraising initiatives for Pathway to Cures with a focus on supporting equity investments in companies developing therapies for inheritable blood diseases. For over 25 years, she has been advancing the mission of non-profits through strategic fundraising and communication initiatives. Organizations have greatly benefitted from Renee's fundraising expertise including Providence Health System, Ascension St. John Foundation, Corewell Health's Beaumont Foundation, Detroit PAL, and Henry Ford Health. Additionally, she has done medical research for Henry Ford Health and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. Renee has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Western Michigan University and a Masters in Community Medicine and Healthcare Administration from Wayne State University School of Medicine. Her community service includes volunteering with Avalon Healing Center, Alternatives for Girls, and Elite Detection K9 as well as previous roles with other non-profits. She resides in Rochester Hills, Michigan with her husband of 24 years, Trevor, and their Brittany spaniel: Otus. She loves spending time with her friends and family as well as gardening, hiking, kayaking, and traveling.

Scott Martin

Scott Martin is a private investor based in Houston, Texas. He has a son with severe hemophilia and has worked to improve the lives of people with bleeding disorders by supporting the Lone Star Chapter. He is the current Board Chair of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation. In addition, he co-founded Inspiration Biopharmaceutical, a factor manufacturing company that initiated two products that today are owned and marketed by Shire and Aptevo. Scott was also co-founder of Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ; MMLP) and serves on several non-profit and profit boards.

Teri Willey

Teri is joining the team at the National Hemophilia Foundation to launch, lead and manage the new Pathway to Cures (P2C) National Hemophilia Foundation Venture Fund, LLC focused on project specific and equity investments in companies developing therapies for inheritable blood diseases. Teri has been in the business of commercializing early-stage research results for over 35 years and most recently as the founding managing director of IU Ventures' Indiana Philanthropic Venture Fund. Teri served as a senior executive for business development for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC, was the founding chief executive of Cambridge Enterprise Ltd in Cambridge England and a co-founder of ARCH development partners an early-stage Midwest venture fund. Her career has been about starting, re-organizing and leading technology transfer programs and launching new early-stage funds that invest in science-based ventures. She has been an advisor to policy makers, universities and companies, is a past President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), a former Bye Fellow of Christ's College Cambridge in England and an Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash. Teri lives in Bloomington Indiana with her partner Richard McConnel who is retired from the University of Cambridge. Together they have six children and four grandchildren who live in various places in England, Scotland and the US.

Tim Brent

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director of Business Development
Tim has been involved in the bleeding disorders community since 2004. He serves as Sr. Director of Business Development for the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation and Pathway to Cures. Tim provides deal sourcing activities, maintains prospect lists for existing and new investments, contracts oversight, platform management, and operational support. His previous experience includes clinic and pharmacy operations management and national accounts contracting for a national specialty pharmaceutical distributor. For over 15 years, he has been supporting and advising governing boards of various not-for-profit organizations with which he has been affiliated. Tim holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Eastern Illinois University.