NMDP Board of Directors

Officers:
Rebecca A. Lewis, Esquire, Chair
Daniel D. Arndt, Chair-Elect
William (Bill) Pomeroy, Vice Chair
Rebecca McCullough, Secretary 

Rebecca A. Lewis, Esquire, Chair

Rebecca A. Lewis received an unrelated donor transplant through the NMDP in 1997. She started her involvement with NMDP in 1999 as a member and chair of the Patient Services Committee.  She then served on the Executive committee as well as a past chair of the Board Development and Compensation committees. Lewis is an attorney practicing in Wyoming and Colorado.  She served as chief bar counsel for the Wyoming State Bar Association for 9 years and was an adjunct professor of law at the University of Wyoming College of Law for 6 years. Lewis has served on a number of boards, including the boards of the Ivinson Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Wyoming State Bar Foundation. Lewis earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law.

Daniel D. Arndt, Chair-Elect

Daniel D. Arndt is a past chair of the NMDP Audit Committee. Under his leadership, NMDP staff and the committee compiled and completed necessary audits, created and implemented an Audit Committee Charter, created the Whistleblower Policy, and have begun a reporting process to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As staff vice president and General Auditor at 3M for more than a decade, Arndt was directly involved in addressing changes to comply with corporate governance requirements throughout the world. He also participated in initiatives that helped 3M be successful in the ever-changing competitive and regulatory environments. He has served on various boards, including the Institute of Internal Auditors, Twin Cities Chapter; Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce; and International School of Brussels, Belgium. Arndt received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Northwestern University and earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Wm. (Bill) G. Pomeroy, Vice Chair

Wm. (Bill) G. Pomeroy is founder and CEO of CXtec and TERACAI.  CXtec is a global provider of new and certified pre-owned networking and voice equipment. TERACAI is a Cisco Silver Partner that helps its customers build, manage and optimize core networking, communication and data center solutions. He is also a leukemia survivor, diagnosed with AML in 2004 and received a transplant in 2005. Three years later, he met his donor, an experience that had a profound impact on his life. After his diagnosis, he established The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, which focuses on two of his great passions: historic preservation and research, and funding programs related to blood cancers. Understanding the need to increase diversity of the Be The Match Registry, the foundation works closely with NMDP to conduct recruitment drives in diverse communities. Pomeroy received his Master of Business Administration in 1968 from Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

Rebecca McCullough, Secretary

As director of the Marrow Program at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, Texas, McCullough oversees the education and recruitment of donors, with a primary focus on minority donors. McCullough developed the Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program in 1991, and her efforts include expanding an initial $220K grant to a program supported by ten full-time staff. She also presides over a community-based volunteer executive advisory board, volunteer committees, and fundraising as well as conducts public and individual presentations. McCullough served previously on the NMDP Donor Recruitment and Minority Affairs committees and as an NMDP Council officer. McCullough received her bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.

Deborah A. Abroal

Deborah A. Abroal is an event planner with Barclays Capital, New York, and was a recipient of an allogeneic stem cell transplant in May 2007. This journey through illness, treatment and healing gives her insight and empathy for those in need of the NMDP's services. Abroal received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and philosophy from New York University in May 2000, and previously was an assistant teacher at The Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

Jennifer Jones Austin

Jennifer Jones Austin became involved with the NMDP in 2009, when she was diagnosed with leukemia and learned she would need a marrow transplant. Austin and her family worked with the NMDP and the Icla da Silva Foundation, Inc., a Be The Match Recruitment Center, to coordinate donor drives across the United States that brought 13,000 new members to the registry. She received an unrelated donor umbilical cord blood transplant in 2010. Austin is currently senior vice president of the United Way of New York City. She previously held executive leadership positions for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and for Attorney General for New York State Eliot Spitzer. She has also served on several policy, advocacy and service organization boards, including the Children for Children Foundation, Citizens’ Committee for Children, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and the Women’s Bar Association. Austin earned her Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law, and a Master of Science in management and policy from New York University. 

Ann Richardson Berkey

Ann Richardson Berkey is senior vice president for public affairs and healthcare policy at McKesson Corporation, the largest distributor of pharmaceuticals and health care products in the nation and the largest health IT company in the world. Berkey’s husband, Dan, a two-time survivor of NHL as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam, was diagnosed with MDS in 2008.  Finding no match, the family recruited friends, family and neighbors to join NMDP on behalf of Dan and other patients. Unfortunately, Dan’s MDS progressed, and he died of AML in 2009. Though unsuccessful in their efforts to find a match, Berkey and her family remain committed to the NMDP’s mission to help all patients receive the transplant they need. Berkey received her Bachelor of Arts in 1970 from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.

Nelson Chao, M.D.

Dr. Nelson Chao is currently professor of medicine and immunology, chief of the Division of Cellular Therapy and Bone Marrow Transplant and co-director of the Stem Cell Laboratory at Duke University. He joined the NMDP board of directors in January 2010. He is also chair of the Radiation Injury Treatment Network and the BSC Gateway for Cancer Research. Chao is on the editorial board of Blood, Hematologist and Experimental Hematology as well as associate editor of both Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Graft. Chao received his bachelor's degree cum laude from Harvard University and earned his medical degree from Yale University. He completed his residency at the Stanford University Medical Center. He was an American Cancer Society Fellow at Stanford University and a fellow in oncology at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, Calif.

Rex L. Crawley, Ph.D.

Rex L. Crawley is a cancer survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient. Crawley is president of the Jefferson County, Penn. unit of the American Cancer Society and is department head and an associate professor of communications at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. His research interests center on the experiences of African American men, and he has published several articles on Black Masculinity. He is currently working on a book focusing on intercultural/international communications. Crawley earned a Master of Arts in public administration and a Ph.D. in intercultural communications from Ohio University.

Lawrence E. Estaville, Ph.D.

Dr. Estaville is a leukemia survivor who received a marrow transplant from an unrelated donor on the Be The Match Registry. He is dedicated to increasing significantly the number of potential marrow donors on the Be The Match Registry, with a focus on Hispanic and African-American college students. With the support of the NMDP, he led in establishing the Texas State University Cancer Advocacy Movement for Colleges and Outreach (CAMCO), a highly successful model for attracting college students to the registry as committed potential donors while educating them about cancer prevention and early detection. Estaville is a professor in the department of geography at Texas State University and the author of six books and many peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His co-authored book, Texas Health Atlas, is forthcoming in 2012. He holds a Ph.D. in ethnic geography from the University of Oklahoma. Estaville is also a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His final tour of duty was at The Pentagon.  

Gary A. Goldstein

Gary A. Goldstein is a marrow donor and a recognized health care finance expert in the field of blood and marrow transplantation. With knowledge gained in more than 13 years of experience in the Stanford bone marrow transplant program, Goldstein has provided consulting services to biopharmaceutical companies, medical device corporations and health care providers. He has been a featured speaker at national and international transplant conferences and has presented talks to cancer support groups. In his position as a financial specialist, he is a patient advocate for getting treatments approved and helping patients find sources of funding. He received his Bachelor of Arts in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Pankaj (P.J.) Kamani

Pankaj (P.J.) Kamani has served as a member of the NMDP’s Finance Committee for the past six years and on the NMDP’s Investment Committee for four. He operates ABC Language Services, a company that provides translation, interpreting and website localization services. Kamani has also served as managing director and partner for Alexander FX, a financial services company specializing in innovative investment banking, and as vice president of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Kamani holds an MBA in international finance from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Business Administration in international management from Haile Selassie I University.

Miriam A. Markowitz

Miriam A. Markowitz brings to the board an expertise in strategic planning, negotiation and business development. Markowitz was recently appointed to the Board of Medicine, District of Columbia and volunteers with Mentors, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing mentors to high school students in the District of Columbia. Markowitz received a Master of Science in health policy and management from Harvard University, and has a B.A. in economics from Brandeis University, with an emphasis in women's studies and health economics. 

Bernadette Murray-Fertel

Bernadette Murray-Fertel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of acute myelogenous leukemia in May 2005 and matched with a donor through NMDP, which she credits as saving her life. Murray-Fertel is founder and executive director of DonorRevolution.org, whose sole mission is "to create Awareness, Empathy and Action for the cause of saving more lives through bone marrow, stem cell and cord blood transplants." She is a senior marketing executive with more than 25 years of experience in the advertising and publishing sectors. She is also an active board member of other philanthropic initiatives, including the New York Stem Cell Foundations Leadership Council and Alpha Workshops, an organization dedicated to retraining people living with HIV in the decorative arts.

Eneida Nemecek M.D.

Dr. Eneida Nemecek is associate professor of Pediatrics/Hematology-Oncology at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore. She joined the NMDP board of directors in January 2010 and is serving as scientific director. She also serves as medical monitor of CIBMTR and pediatric scientific liaison for NHLBI/Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network. Nemecek is dedicated to researching bone marrow transplantation focusing on late effects of bone marrow transplantation, cord blood banking for public use and procurement of marrow donors from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Nemecek received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and completed her residency at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. She was also a fellow in the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash.

Susan L. Rossmann, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Susan L. Rossmann is a past president of the NMDP Council, representing donor centers. She is the chief medical officer of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston; an adjunct associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine; and on the pathology staff at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. Rossmann serves as chair of the Scientific, Medical and Technical Committee of America's Blood Centers. She is a member of the Donor History Questionnaire Task Force and several ad hoc committees of the AABB, an international association of blood banks. Rossmann is also a delegate from the Harris County Medical Society to the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and a member of the Blood and Tissue Usage Committee of the TMA. Rossmann received her Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College, her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan and Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine.

Zbigniew (Ziggy) Szczepiorkowski, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Zbigniew Szczepiorkowski is associate professor of pathology and medicine; medical director, Transfusion Medical Service; and director, Cellular Therapy Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He joined the NMDP board of directors in January 2010 and is chair of the NMDP Standards Committee. He serves as president of the board of directors for the American Society for Apheresis and is a member of the Executive and Advisory Committee with CIBMTR. He also served as co-chair of the State of the Science in Transfusion Medicine for NHLBI. He is associate editor of Journal of Clinical Apheresis, and is on the editorial board for Journal of Translational Medicine and Journal of Transfusion Medicine. Szczepiorkowski recieved his medical degree magna cum laude at Warsaw Medical University and his Ph.D. in medicine at the Postgraduate Center of Medical Education in Warsaw. He was a clinical and research fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.

Dennis Todd, M.S., M.B.A., Ph.D.

Dr. Dennis Todd is president and CEO of Bergen Community Regional Blood Center. He has served on the NMDP Cord Blood Committee since 2006, and joined the NMDP board of directors in January 2010. Todd is legislative committee chair for Americas Blood Centers. He is a former associate professor with the School of Graduate Medical Education at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. Todd has been the recipient of many grants for cancer research, particularly in the field of breast cancer, and has published numerous papers and abstracts. Todd received his masters and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Lehigh University, in Bethlehem, Pa. He received his M.B.A. from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

John R. Wingard, M.D.

Dr. John R. Wingard is the Price Eminent Scholar and professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Florida. He is director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Florida, deputy director of the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center and medical director for the LifeCord Cord Blood Program in Florida. His transplantation research includes authoring three books, 38 book chapters and nearly 300 articles in professional journals. He is on the editorial board of three journals and is the editor of the periodical: Blood and Marrow Transplant Reviews. As a seasoned leader with extensive knowledge in blood and marrow transplantation, Wingard is a member and chair of several national committees. For more than a decade he has been a National Institute of Health reviewer for ad hoc site visits and has been a consultant for the Social Security Administration, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense. Wingard earned his Bachelor of Arts at Yale University and his Doctor of Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University.