American Health Assistance Foundation
Board of Directors

Honorary Member
Paul Greengard, Ph.D.

In 2010, Nobel laureate Dr. Paul Greengard accepted AHAF’s offer to become an honorary member of our Board of Directors. Dr. Greengard won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his scientific contributions to our understanding of “signal transduction in the nervous system.” He shares this prize with his colleagues, Drs. Arvid Carlsson and Eric R. Kandel. Dr. Greengard’s groundbreaking research demonstrated that a chemical “chain reaction” sequentially “turns on” a series of proteins by a process called phosphorylation when nerve transmitters (like dopamine and noradrenaline) arrive at their intended destinations. In Alzheimer’s disease, this chain reaction becomes disturbed in memory-forming parts of the brain, contributing to development of the disease. Dr. Greengard’s prolific research career continues at the Rockefeller University, where he has held the Vincent Astor Professorship since 1983. Recently, Greengard’s exciting work has highlighted an existing anti-cancer drug that might be leveraged to fight Alzheimer’s disease as well as cancer. AHAF is both grateful for and honored by the time and effort that Dr. Greengard, a world-renowned researcher and former AHAF grantee, contributes to the AHAF mission.

Read more about Dr. Greengard and his work.

Honorary Member
Kathleen Honaker

Kathleen Honaker retired in December 2009 having served the American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF) for 25 years including the last five years as the Executive Director and prior to that as the AHAF Director of Development. Among her many accomplishments is AHAF’s attainment of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability. In addition, under her leadership AHAF became certified under the Maryland Nonprofits Standards of Excellence and AHAF also earned the Guidestar Exchange Seal. During her tenure AHAF surpassed the $100 million mark in grants awarded to researchers seeking cures for Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration and glaucoma. Ms. Honaker’s legacy of recognizing AHAF’s donors as the special people who make it possible for AHAF to fulfill its mission continues.

Honorary Member
Stanley B. Prusiner, M.D.

In 2007, Dr. Stanley B. Prusiner accepted AHAF’s offer to become an honorary member of our Board of Directors. Dr. Prusiner won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of prions, infectious proteins in the brain that cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow” disease) and in humans, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. There are similarities between the loss of brain function in prion diseases and in Alzheimer's disease. Both prions and beta-amyloid, respectively, are natural human proteins that, under certain conditions, can form harmful deposits in the brain. Dr. Prusiner's dedication to understanding how prion disease begins and develops may one day lead to a treatment and cure for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative and aging conditions. Dr. Prusiner continues his work as the Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco where he has worked since 1972. In October 2010, he was named by the President to receive the National Medal of Science, the United States of America’s highest honor for science and technology. AHAF is extremely proud that Dr. Prusiner, a world-renowned researcher and former AHAF grantee, has committed his time and efforts to our mission.

Read more about Dr. Prusiner and his work.

Chairman
Brian K. Regan, Ph.D.

Dr. Regan has been the Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety for New York-Presbyterian Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System since November of 2010. From 2003-2010, he was the Director of Administration at New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System where he led system development and management. From 1991-2003, he was the Vice President of Professional Services at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York, where he was responsible for 14 departments, including risk management and quality improvement. From 1983-1991, Dr. Regan was engaged in risk management at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, eventually becoming an Associate Vice President and Director of Risk Management. He began his career at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New York, and then worked for several years as a researcher, consultant and program evaluation specialist. Dr. Regan holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Hofstra University.

Vice Chair
Grace Frisone

Grace Frisone, a three year veteran of the AHAF Board, is a financial services executive with 30 years of experience in business development, strategy and e-commerce. She spent the bulk of her career with JP Morgan in New York and Milan where she developed business with Fortune 100 companies, banks and government agencies and high net worth individuals. From 2002 until 2006 she was the Director of Trust and Asset Management at Capital One Bank. She was a member of the board of Capital One Asset Management and responsible for $4 billion in personal and institutional assets, including the bank’s mutual funds. Previously she held positions with ING Furman Selz Asset Management in New York and at FOLIO[fn], a e-commerce company. Ms. Frisone holds a B.A. from Long Island University, and an M.I.A and M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Treasurer
Nicholas W. Raymond

Mr. Nicholas Raymond is a retired retail banker with experience in lending, investments and insurance. Since 1987, he has been a corporate officer at M & T Bank in Silver Spring, Maryland. From 1980-1987, Mr. Raymond was a branch banker with First and Merchants Bank. He is a U.S. Army combat veteran of five wars and has retired from the Maryland Army National Guard. Mr. Raymond received a B.A. from the Virginia Military Institute and an M.B.A. from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Secretary
Michael H. Barnett, Esq.

Mr. Michael Barnett is the president and managing partner of Barnett, Edelstein, Gross, Kass and Lieber, P.C., a firm specializing in healthcare law. He serves on the Board of Directors of several not-for-profit organizations including the Fiver Children’s Foundation and the Concerned Lawyers Coalition, Inc. of which he is a co-founder and chairman. Mr. Barnett is a New York State gubernatorial appointee to the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council, serving on the Council’s Executive Committee and as chairman of the Project Review Committee. He has received numerous awards including two for alumni of Columbia University. Mr. Barnett holds a B.A. from Colgate University, and an M.S. in Hospital Administration and a J.D. from Columbia University.

Jonathan Rice, Esq.

Mr. Jonathan Rice is the proprietor of the Law Offices of Jonathan Rice, a trial law practice in New York City. He is general counsel to a range of small and medium-sized businesses and works extensively in tort and commercial law. Prior to this, from 1984-1987, he was an attorney at two other law firms. He is admitted to practice in New York and Florida and is a member in good standing of various legal professional associations. He is also an owner of a real estate investment company developing property in Florida and New York. Mr. Rice received a B.A. from Emory University and a J.D. from American University.

Henry J. Pownall, Ph.D.

Dr. Henry Pownall is the Josephine S. Abercrombie Professor of Medicine and former Chief of Atherosclerosis and Lipoprotein Research at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He is a member of several editorial boards, scientific review panels, and professional societies, and has published 200 peer-reviewed research papers. Dr. Pownall has served on the boards of several national public service organizations and was President of the Houston Homeowners Association (1991-92). He has received several service and scientific awards and was named Person of the Year by the Southwest Chamber of Commerce in 2003. Dr. Pownall holds a B.S. from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, an M.S. from Wilkes College, and a Ph.D. from Northeastern University in Boston.  Dr. Pownall leads an active research program that focuses on new therapies for heart disease and stroke.

Diane I. Marcello

Since 1999, Ms.. Diane Marcello has been the administrator at Sunnyside Nursing Home and Assisted Living in Sarasota, Florida. Prior to this, she was the Director of Rehabilitation Services at Sunnyside Village Retirement Community. She is currently the Nursing Home Public Policy Chairperson for the Florida Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. As a speech language pathologist, Ms. Marcello has worked in rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies, long-term care facilities and schools. Since 1992, she has been a speaker, sharing her experiences and expertise in professional and community education on topics ranging from dementia and Parkinson's disease to leadership and best practices. Ms. Marcello has been involved in education since 1972 and has taught at the elementary, middle school and university levels. She holds a B.A., an M.S. and an M.Ed. from the University of South Florida. 

Eltjo (Ed) R. Schoonveld

Eltjo Schoonveld is a Principal with ZS Associates in New York, NY and Leader of their Market Access and Pricing Practice. He has extensive experience in pharmaceutical marketing and pricing from both the corporate pharma and consultancy & research perspective. He has gained extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry through various sales, marketing and general management positions for Lederle, Wyeth, Eli Lilly and BMS in the United States and Europe. Mr. Schoonveld has gained deep expertise in Global Drug Pricing and Reimbursement as the responsible leader for global pricing and health economics groups in Wyeth, Eli Lilly and BMS. Prior to his recent leadership position at BMS, He has been leading Pricing and Reimbursement consulting practices in Cambridge Pharma/IMS, Analytica International and his own consultancy firm. During this time he has advised many large drug companies on product pricing & market access strategy, global pricing policy and internal organizational and process challenges. Mr. Schoonveld is the author of "The Price of Global Health," a recent book about global drug pricing and market access related topics, written for both professionals and others interested in the field. He holds an M.S. from the Delft University of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Scott Rodgville, CPA

In 2007 Mr. Scott Rodgville joined the firm of Gorfine, Schiller & Gardyn, PA., as an Officer, leading the firm’s Labor/Employee Benefit Plans service area. He specializes in the needs of not-for-profit organizations performing financial statement audits, quality control reviews and assisting clients in streamlining and strengthening their internal controls and operating efficiencies. In 2006 he was named one of Baltimore’s Top 50 Accountants in Smart CEO Magazine. Mr. Rodgville serves as treasurer of Paul’s Place, Inc. located in Baltimore, Maryland, an outreach center providing quality of life programs and resources for the community. Mr. Rodgville received his CPA certification in 1998 and earned a MS degree in Taxation from the University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland and a Bachelor in Accounting degree from Towson State University, Towson, Maryland.

June Kinoshita

Science journalist, editor, web site and social media strategic consultant, Ms. June Kinoshita joined the AHAF board in 2011. She is co-founder of Hanoa Productions, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of SociaLife, and Chief Strategy Officer for fanatic.fm. Ms. Kinoshita was the co-founder and Executive Editor of the Alzheimer Research Forum ("Alzforum") and continues to serve there as a senior advisor. She was co-principal investigator with the Massachusetts General Hospital center for interdisciplinary informatics on SWAN (Semantic Web Applications in Neuromedicine). She previously co-founded and served as Chief Information Officer of N-of-One, Inc.

Ms. Kinoshita consults to companies and foundations on neurodegenerative disease and molecular oncology. She is a member of the advisory council of the M.I.T.-Harvard Medical School Division of Health Sciences and Technology and participates in numerous scientific advisory boards. As a journalist, Ms. Kinoshita has published hundreds of articles for national publications and contributed to several television programs. She served on the editorial board of Scientific American magazine and is a consulting editor to the journal Science.

June graduated from Harvard College, where she concentrated in physics.

Judith F. Lee

Joining the AHAF board in 2011, Ms. Judith Lee brings corporate and nonprofit experience to the organization. She served as vice president of J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. from 1973 to 1997, managing corporate finance relationships and product development for corporations and government entities in the United States and Venezuela. She managed the company's Caracas office from 1981 to 1984 and later served as product manager for employee stock ownership plans. From 1993 to 1997, she managed products for high net worth investors.

Ms. Lee was a board member of the Maria Mitchell Association, a science education and research organization, from 1998 to 2007, serving as board president during her final six years there. She has volunteered with the Nantucket Public School system, serving on its strategic planning committee and chairing the search committee for the new superintendent of schools. Ms. Lee graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Economics. She earned an MBA from the University of Michigan.