Board of Directors and Officers

Randy Fenninger, President

Randy is a Senior Policy Advisor at the law firm Holland & Knight LLP in Washington, DC. He specializes in healthcare law and government relations and also has an active regulatory practice in this area. He represents health professionals, institutional providers, medical device manufacturers and patient organizations. I had PE in 2002 and am Factor V.
rfenninger@verizon.net

Traci Wilkes Smith , Vice President

Traci Wilkes Smith is an agent at Willinger Talent Agency, Inc. where she represents news anchors, hosts, correspondents, sports and weather anchors at networks and local stations in top 30 markets throughout the United States. Traci obtained her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers School of Law. She is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bars and began her legal career as an associate at the law firm of Arent Fox, LLC in New York. Traci serves on the Board of Directors of the National Blood Clot Alliance as the Vice President. Traci survived a DVT and Pulmonary Embolism when she was just 25 years old. Traci enjoys spending time with her husband Charles Smith and their daughter Zoë.

Stephen Rodner, Secretary

Steven Rodner Stephen Rodner is a partner in the firm of Pryor Cashman LLP in New York City. He specializes in copyright, entertainment, trademark and intellectual property law. He is a member of the Copyright Society of the USA and the International Trademark Association, the executive committee of the Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, Co-Chair of the motion picture committee and Chairman of the Board for Music For All Seasons.

Stephen has written articles on multimedia and entertainment legal matters for the New York Law Journal, Video Business Magazine and Hollywood Reporter ESQ and has lectured at multimedia and entertainment law conferences. He earned his BA from Columbia College and an LLB from NYU Law School. He was an adjunct professor of copyright and entertainment law at New York Law School. And, he has offered pro bono legal assistance to many non-profit organizations. As both a thrombosis and thrombophilia patient, Stephen is committed to NBCA’s mission to increase public awareness of clotting disorders.

Joseph C. Isaacs, Treasurer

Joseph Isaacs, Treasurer Joe Isaacs brings more than 30 years of experience as an award-winning non-profit association executive, public health policy specialist and health care management consultant to the NBCA Board. He now serves as the Vice President of Public Policy directing the Washington, DC office of the United Spinal Association, an advocacy group dedicated to improving the quality of life of all Americans living with spinal cord injuries and disorders. He is also the President of the New Heights Management Consulting Group, LLC, which serves nonprofit clients.

Previously, Joe served as chief staff officer of various health-related associations including the: Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN); RESOLVE Inc.: The National Infertility Association; the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and the National Health Council (NHC). He has also served in senior public policy posts for the American Hospital Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges and was the Associate Director of the National Health Policy Forum, a think tank based at The George Washington University, where he held an adjunct professorship in the School of Medicine. He began his career with Ernst and Young, LLP.

Joe is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). He has served on several nonprofit boards of directors and received numerous awards for his volunteer leadership, including 1984 Washington DC Volunteer Activist of the Year, 1986 Outstanding Young Marylander, and the 1989 Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Regional Leadership Award. He is also a former three-term elected City Councilman in Greenbelt, MD.

Joe was named outstanding graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine’s Master’s degree program in Health Services Management and received his Bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He and his wife Deborah are the parents of three daughters and a lovable West Highland Terrier named Riley and reside in North Potomac, MD. Joe is an avid runner and reader, loves a good game of pick-up basketball, and collects baseball memorabilia. It was after arthroscopic knee surgery that Joe suffered the first of his two blood clots. His first volunteer activity on behalf of NBCA was leading efforts to successfully gain inclusion of two important DVT prevention standards in the U.S. Public Health Services’ “Healthy People 2020 Objectives.”

Jack Ansell

Jack Ansell Dr. Ansell is the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Before joining Lenox Hill Hospital, Dr. Ansell was Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Vice Chairman for Clinical Affairs of the Department of Medicine. See related news story.

After receiving his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dr. Ansell completed an internship and residency at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Ansell then completed a fellowship in hematology at Boston University and in hematology/hemostasis at Boston’s Veterans Administration Hospital.

Dr. Ansell’s main areas of interest and research include hemostasis and thrombosis, with a special emphasis on thrombotic disorders and antithrombotic therapy. He has had a continued interest and involvement in the application of new modes of delivering and monitoring anticoagulants, particularly in the management of oral anticoagulant therapy.

Dr. Ansell’s main areas of interest and research include hemostasis and Dr. Ansell has approximately 170 publications in notable journals such as Annals of Internal Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Journal of the American Medical Association. His publishing activity includes reviews, editorials, textbooks, videos, abstracts and letters. He serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis and as an editorial consultant for such journals as The New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and Circulation.

Dr. Ansell is the founder and Chair of the Anticoagulation Forum, a network of anticoagulation clinics throughout North America, and is a member of a number of professional organizations including the American College of Physicians (Fellow); the American Society of Hematology; the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis and its Scientific Subcommittee on Haemostasis Testing; the American Heart Association (Fellow), and the American Medical Association. Dr. Ansell also serves as Chair of the Committee on Managing Oral Anticoagulation for the American College of Chest Physicians Consensus Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy.

Elizabeth Pulsifer-Anderson

Anderson

Beth Anderson joined NBCA in 2006 after her 16 year-old daughter was diagnosed with a DVT, PE and Factor V Leiden.

Beth is the founder and executive director of the Pediatric Adolescent Gastroesophageal Reflux Association. She has been on the board of several other non-profits and worked for several NIH contractors. She is a medical writer specializing in translating medicalese for the public and the author of several medical journal articles. Beth will be using her experience in public relations and media to help the NBCA communications team.

Teresa Bordeaux

Teresa Bordeaux Teresa Bordeaux, CPA is a Technical Manager with the Peer Review Program of the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) in Durham, North Carolina. Prior to joining the Peer Review Team, Teresa was a Technical Manager for the AICPA Professional Ethics team. She began her career in public accounting and later worked with the North Carolina Local Government Commission and the City of Raleigh before joining the AICPA.

Teresa holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Accounting from North Carolina State University. She also serves on the Government Accounting and Auditing Committee of the North Carolina Association of CPAs. Teresa and her husband Larry, have two sons and live in Cary, NC. Larry developed portal vein thrombosis in 2007 and in 2009 the clot extended into his superior mesenteric vein and he began treatment with Coumadin. Teresa wants to help NBCA spread awareness about all clotting issues including those like Larry’s that don’t involve the extremities.

Kate Gray

Kate Gray has worked in the development profession for the past six years, working for both Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY and Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, raising money for physician and scientist research. Her area of specialty is donor identification and qualification, bringing together the intent of the donor with the mission and vision of the organization at hand. She holds a BA from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and is a 2011 MPA candidate from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, specializing in nonprofit management. In addition to her development experience, Kate has a strong background in communications and policymaking, having worked for both CNN and the office of United States Senator Max Cleland. She currently lives in Manhattan with her husband Alex and son James.

Michele Hart-Henry

Michele Hart-Henry Michele Hart-Henry is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience in all facets of marketing, communications and public relations. Her career has included work in the health insurance, banking, health care services delivery, specialty lab services and physician marketing arenas. Currently, she is the Principle of H2C, an integrated Marketing Communications consultancy. Prior to that, she was the Senior Director of Marketing for Ameritox, LLC; and previously served as Vice President, Employer Solutions Marketing, for a division of Walgreens.

Michele holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree and has been recognized for outstanding corporate work, as well as community leadership. A resident of Glasgow, Delaware, she is committed to furthering awareness of the risks of blood clots and clotting disorders. Her late husband, David Henry, a former Board Member of NBCA, survived two pulmonary embolisms and was deeply involved with the organization prior to his passing in 2010 from Glioblastoma.

Mark Jablonski, Past President

Mark Jablonski

Mark is a business development executive with extensive consulting and project management experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Mark, his wife Georgianna and 2 of their 3 children have the Factor V Leiden gene mutation.

jablonskithrombo@yahoo.com

Maury L. Lieberman

Maury L. Lieberman Maury L. Lieberman, MSW, MURP is a community services planner and organizational consultant based in Washington, DC. He has been treated for DVT. For more than 20 years at the National Institute of Mental Health, Mr. Lieberman developed and administered extramural research programs involving urban and social problems, work and mental health, mental health services and training, and prevention/intervention research. He later headed the state mental health planning program, and was responsible for developing a federal mental health response to such concerns as workplace violence, suicide, and trauma. Mr. Lieberman’s early career focused on community organization and housing development for immigrant populations, including Mobilization for Youth in New York, whose experiences formed the basis for the national anti-poverty program.

Since retiring from the federal government, he has been active in local, regional and national organizations, as well as consulting and serving as adjunct faculty member and lecturer in graduate schools of social work and city planning. He currently serves on the Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He has also served on the Board of the Green Door in Washington, DC, which helps people recovering from mental illness to live and work in the community, as well as active volunteer roles with the American Councils for International Education and Children International. Mr. Lieberman holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, a MSW from Rutgers University, and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public and International Affairs, and completed doctoral studies (ABD) in City and Regional Planning at Cornell University.

Kathleen M. Smith, MLA

Kathleen Smith Kathy Smith is a seasoned mission driven, visionary executive leader whose experience spans associations, governance, non-profits, healthcare, government, chambers of commerce, faith-based organizations, and consulting. Kathy reinvigorates missions, boards, staff, and stakeholders. She envisions possibilities and creates strategies to execute them. A turnaround specialist and natural relationship builder, she inspires hope, forms synergistic partnerships, and rebuilds infrastructures.

Mrs. Smith is the Chair of the Board of Directors of both Community Health Charities of Maryland and Non Profit Services and Solutions, Inc. She holds credentials in nonprofit management, HealthCare administration, Ethics and Bioethics, and Volunteer Administration. She is a member of the American College of HealthCare Executives and has served on numerous boards. She serves on the Capital Campaign Committee for the Little Sisters of the Poor and is a very committed volunteer in her church community.

Kathy, and the love of her life-husband, Joe, are blessed with 5 fabulous children and 6 incredible grandchildren. They live outside of Baltimore, MD. Her interest in National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA) is rooted in her siblings and nieces who are positive for Factor V Leiden.

Kathy holds a Master in Liberal Arts (MLA) from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

Shawna Russo Baffone

Shawana Russo Shawna Russo Baffone is a regional human resources business partner for Take Care Health Systems a Walgreens Health and Wellness Company. She has over 15 years HR experience in the banking and health care industry. Shawna is an active member of Society of Human Resource Management. Shawna is a graduate of New England Institute. Shawna survived several pulmonary embolisms while in her twenties and is committed to increasing awareness of thrombosis and thrombophilia.

Alan P. Brownstein, Chief Executive Officer

Alan P. Brownstein, CEO, National Blood Clot Alliance Alan Brownstein is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA). Since 2007, over $5 million has been raised with an emphasis on education programs for patients/families, health professionals and the general public as well as programs of support and chapter development directed at achieving targeted health behaviors and outcomes.

For 30 years, Brownstein has combined his business/strategic planning skills and expertise in public health programs and policy to provide leadership in developing and growing health organizations and shaping health policy/regulation in the U.S. Brownstein held the position of President/CEO of the American Liver Foundation and as the CEO of the National Hemophilia Foundation. Brownstein has also held executive positions as the head of a national trade association, hospital administrator, registered lobbyist and state official in health planning/regulation.

Brownstein has a number (40+) of scientific, health policy and management-related publications and has presented testimony before congressional committees, regulatory agencies and state/local legislative bodies.

Brownstein has served on a number of national boards. He has a Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan.