Add SAPCON Advisory Council Member Bios

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Steering Committee
Advisory Council
Partners

The following information is for the advisory council.

SAPCON ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS BIOS

Irvine Alpert – Seattle, WA Mr. Alpert is the executive vice president of Onvia, a company that provides data, business intelligence, analytics and tools that help firms succeed in the government market. He received his undergraduate degree in social sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mercia E. Arnold – Washington, DC Ms. Arnold is an attorney, economist, and adjunct lecturer specializing in electricity regulations. She has extensive experience in drafting laws, regulations and working within fiscal constraints to create, modify and achieve public policy objectives. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.

Si Baker-Goodwin, EdD – East Lyme, CT Formerly a psychologist and a book publishing professional, Si Baker-Goodwin, EdD is recovering from long-undiagnosed life-long sleep disorders, including sleep apnea. While she is regaining her health she is active on social media in areas of patient activism; using her expertise in differential diagnosis to urge physicians to listen more closely to their patients and ask about their sleep and dietary habits; and trying to decide which of three subjects she will write about first. Brain dysfunction and fatigue are common consequences of sleep disorders. She hopes myapnea.org will help more physicians to save the lives of more patients. (Reviewed)

Ruth Benca, MD, PhD – Madison, Wisconsin Dr. Benca is a professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She is a frequent invited speaker in the area of sleep disorders and is the author or coauthor of more than 100 journal articles, book chapters and abstracts. Dr. Benca is board certified in sleep medicine and psychiatry and sees patients in the UW Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center. Dr. Benca received her medical degree and did her residency at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

J. Albert Borelli, MD – Bluffton, South Carolina (Co-Chair) Dr. Borelli is founder, president, and medical director of MRI at Belfair in Bluffton, South Carolina. He is a leading expert in brain imaging and has an interest in brain imaging in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Borelli is a diplomat of the American Board of Radiology. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, earned his medical degree from Hahnemann University, and received diagnostic radiology residency training at the University of Oklahoma.

Kyra Clark, MD – Atlanta, GA Dr. Clark is an assistant professor of medicine and the medical director of the Sleep Diagnostics Unit Department of Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. She is board certified in internal medicine and specializes in sleep and pediatric sleep medicine.

Dr. Clark is an assistant professor of medicine and the medical director of the Sleep Diagnostics Unit at Morehouse School of Medicine. She received her MD from the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine. Dr. Clark trained in internal medicine and sleep medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Reviewed)

Frankie Collins, RRT – Seattle, WA Ms. Collins is a respiratory and sleep disorder therapist that works in sleep home testing program at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington.

David Dausey, PhD – Erie, PA Dr. Dausey is a scientist, epidemiologist and professor. He is the dean of the School of Health Professions and Public Health and chair and professor of the Public Health Department at Mercyhurst University. He is also a Distinguished Service Professor of Health Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University and policy researcher at RAND Corporation. He received his master degree in epidemiology and public health from the Yale School of Public Health and his Doctorate in Epidemiology and Public Health from the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Linda Duyer – Salisbury, MD Ms. Duyer is writer historical research consultant and previous moderator of the American Sleep Apnea Association’s discussion forum. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland.

J. Christopher Ehlen, PhD – Atlanta, GA Dr. Ehlen is an Assistant Professor of Neurobiology and a member of the Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Disorders program at Morehouse School of Medicine. His research is focused on understanding the brain pathways and genes that regulate sleep need and sleep timing. He earned his doctoral degree in Physiology from Kent State University. (Reviewed)

Sarah Gorman – Stamford, CT Ms. Gorman is an attorney and a former senior labor and employment law counsel at GE Commercial Finance with extensive experience on cutting edge employment law legal issues. Ms. Gorman is also the former chair of the Board of Directors for the American Sleep Apnea Association. She earned her law degree from Cornell Law School.

Girardin Jean-louis, PhD – New York, NY Dr. Jean-Louise is a professor of population health and psychiatry at the Center for Healthful Behavior Change in the Department of Population Health at the New York University School of Medicine. His research focuses on the application of tailored behavioral models to enhance treatment adherence in order to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality among underserved or disadvantaged minorities. Dr. Jean-louis received his doctorate degree at City University of New York and his postdoctoral training at the University of California-San Diego.

Harlan Lachman – Burlington, VT Mr. Lachman is president of the Energy Efficiency Institute in Colchester, Vermont. He also the coordinator of the Chittenden County AWAKE Group, a sleep apnea patient support group. Mr. Lachman is a graduate of Columbia University.

Rolf Maijer, DDS – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Dr. Maijer is clinical director at Canadian Sleep Partners. He is a clinician and researcher with extensive experience in the intervention of maxillo-mandibular underdevelopment. He has collaborated on over 500 maxillo-mandibular surgical cases, providing both pre- and post-surgical care. In addition to maintaining a full-time clinical practice in British Columbia, he taught with the Graduate Faculty of Orthodontics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Maijer is prepared to actively contribute to SAPCON by participating as a cranio-mandibular expert and research advisor.

Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH – Boston, MA Dr. Mandl is a professor at Harvard Medical School in Pediatrics and the Center for Biomedical Informatics. He is a chaired faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he directs the Intelligent Health Laboratory within the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program. Dr. Mandl has pioneered and published extensively in the areas of personal health records and bio surveillance. He is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine and received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and his Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Andres Mendoza – Coral Gables, Fl Mr. Mendoza is an attorney and partner at Bilzin, Sumbert, Baena, Price & Axelrod LLP in Miami, Florida. He focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private investment funds, joint ventures, securities and corporate governance. Mr. Mendoza is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received is law degree from the University of Miami. Andy Mendoza lives in Miami with his wife and 4 children. (Reviewed)

Tracy Nasca – Aurora, IL (ex officio) Ms. Nasca is the executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) and the former senior vice president of Talk About Sleep, a service organization dedicated to information and awareness regarding sleep issues. Tracy was diagnosed with mixed sleep apnea in 1989 and is a passionate patient advocate. Ms. Nasca brings her successful business and leadership skills to the ASAA and MyApnea.Org.

Elana Oberstein, MD, MPH, FACR – Aventura, FL Dr. Oberstein is a board certified internist with a subspecialty in Arthritis and Autoimmune Disease. She is also a certified clinical densitometrist (CCD) with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. Dr. Oberstein received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and graduated with research distinction from the University of Miami School of Medicine with a dual medical degree and Master of Public Health.

Steven Park, MD – Bronx, NY Dr. Park is an author and surgeon specializing in an interdisciplinary treatment approach to managing obstructive sleep apnea. He received his undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons. He is board-certified in otolaryngology and sleep medicine.

Sanjay Patel, MD, MS – Boston, MA Dr. Patel is an associate professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School. He has clinical privileges at both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His research interests include the understanding the epidemiology of sleep disorders with particular emphasis on chronic partial sleep deprivation and obstructive sleep apnea and the potential effects of these disorders on metabolism. Dr. Patel received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. (Reviewed)

Caroline Phan – Issaquah, WA Ms. Phan is a product development coordinator at Polar Graphics in Kent, Washington. She received her undergraduate degrees from the University of Washington and a Master of Arts degree in Comparative European Studies from the University of Bath in the U.K. and the Institut des Études Sciences Politiques (Sciences Po) in France.

Alexander Quarshie, MD, MS – Atlanta, GA Dr. Quarshie is a research associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine and director of the Biomedical Informatics Program at Morehouse School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Interdisciplinary T32 training program in Clinical Cardiovascular and Sleep Disorders.

Beth Rodgers, PhD, RN, FAAN – Albuquerque, NM Dr. Rodgers is a professor and PhD program director at the College of Nursing, University of New Mexico. As a scientist, Rodgers was part of a group of UWM nurse researchers who are exploring, developing and testing ways to help people with chronic problems like sleep apnea better manage their own care. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Georgia State University and her Master of Science in Nursing and doctorate degree in Nursing from the University of Virginia.

Ed Schuck – San Diego, CA Mr. Schuck has had a distinguished career in entrepreneurial management in the health care industry, holding senior positions in EdenTec, Puritan-Bennett, and most recently at Mallinckrodt. His pioneering work in ambulatory monitoring of sleep apnea helped extend the reach of the new field of sleep medicine to the home. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he majored in electrical engineering, Schuck also received a Sloan management degree from Stanford University.

Karl Schultz – Hilton, NY Mr. Schultz is an information technology engineer who resides in Hilton, New York.

Carl Stepnowsky, PhD, (Co-chair) – San Diego, CA
Dr. Stepnowsky is a health science research specialist in the Health Services Research & Development Unit at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and an assistant professor at the University of California-San Diego. He has extensive clinical and research experience in applied patient issues, research methodology, patient-centered outcomes research, and the diagnosis and clinical management of obstructive sleep apnea. He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his doctorate degree from the University of California-San Diego.

Katie Stone, PhD – San Francisco, CA Dr. Stone is a senior scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center. Dr. Stone has over 20 years of experience designing, directing, and analyzing data from large multi-center cohort studies. Her primary research focus is sleep disorders in older adults. She received her Master of Arts in Biostatistics and her Doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Patrick Strollo, Jr. MD, FCCP, FAASM – Pittsburgh, PA Dr. Strollo is a professor of Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sleep Medicine Center and co-director of the Sleep Medicine Institute. He received his MD from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and trained in internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Aaron Taylor – Concord, CA Mr. Taylor is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame and was a two-time All-American. A first-round pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers of the NFL. Taylor currently works as a college football analyst and television sportscaster for the CBS network. He is a graduate of Notre Dame University.

Terri Weaver, RN, PhD – Chicago, IL Dr. Weaver is dean of the College of Nursing and a professor of Biobehavioral Health Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is internationally known for her research on the effect of daytime sleepiness on daily behaviors and assessment of treatment outcomes. She has expertise in issues related to functional status/quality of life, treatment adherence, instrument development, and randomized clinical trials. Dr. Weaver received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh and her Master of Science in Nursing and doctorate degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Paul Zuccarini, MBA – Miami, FL Mr. Zuccarini is owner of Advanced Learning System, Inc. in Miami, Florida. He is an information technology executive with over 20 years experience with some of the world's top companies. He has a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Thomas University.

myapnea / myapnea.org

Add SAPCON Advisory Council Member Bios #149