Katie Quintas
Founder and CEO
Board Chair
Prior to founding Here to Serve in 2011, Kathleen Quintas designed and managed the local, national and international fundraising programs of over 100 nonprofits through her work with two of the largest marketing/communications and fundraising agencies in North America, the Russ Reid Company and Grizzard Communications, now merged and called One & All. She also was responsible for the philanthropic and volunteer initiatives of a California nonprofit serving children and families in crisis with social and mental health services. She has served in the field of nonprofit fundraising, marketing and communications for nonprofits and corporate philanthropy programs since 2000. Prior to this, she had her own marketing and communications agency after being Vice President at a direct marketing agency. Rounding out her background is her experience in telecommunications at TeleTech and journalism at McGraw-Hill. Learn more: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kquintas
Kathleen is also a mother and wife who has been through life-threatening medical events while holding down a full-time job. Both her son and husband were diagnosed with cancer six months apart; her son with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and her husband with leukemia. They were treated in two different hospitals across town from each other; her son at City of Hope in Duarte, CA and her husband at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, CA. The magnitude of her personal crisis allowed Kathleen to experience the physical, spiritual, intellectual and emotional toll it takes. She knows the challenges such an event can bring about and she also has met dozens and dozens of other people who have gone through crises and gained knowledge from their struggles and needs. Kathleen Quintas is a graduate of Ohio University where she majored in Communications and holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. She has been a contributor to industry organizations and trade journals on the topics of fundraising, marketing and communications. She has also spoken at trade conferences and seminars on these subjects.
Adeel Khan
Board Treasurer
Adeel Khan is an experienced public company executive and accomplished CFO whose experience spans 25 years in commercial real estate and other industries. He is recognized for his expertise in commercial real estate, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, financial & operational strategies, acquisitions and development, capital and debt markets, enterprise risk management, and leadership development. He brings board governance experience and is qualified to serve as a financial expert on audit committees.
Adeel learned about the end-to-end program/mission offered by Here to Serve after a discussion with CEO and Founder Katie Quintas. Furthermore, Adeel’s spouse previously worked for USC/Norris Cancer Hospital and learned about the cancer journey for the patients and families through years of secondary discussions and experiences. Adeel’s goal is to extend the mission by further developing the organization’s structure and to help elevate every facet of the organization ultimately leading to support for additional families. Hopefully this will allow the organization to go from a best-kept secret to a household name.
Dr. Ned Swanson
Board Member
Program Committee Chair
Dr. Ned Swanson has a unique background combining scientific, clinical, and industry knowledge. He is passionately dedicated to improving outcomes for patients across the entire patient journey, from therapeutic innovation to comprehensive social support. He obtained his M.D. with honors from Harvard Medical School and trained as a resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During his time at Harvard and Hopkins, he witnessed the importance of focusing on quality of life and the outcomes that are most impactful to patients.
After Hopkins, Dr. Swanson co-founded PolarityTE, Inc, (Nasdaq: PTE), a biotech company developing a range of regenerative tissue products and biomaterials, led by its flagship product SkinTE® that has helped save patients’ lives and limbs with >1,200 patients treated. As a co-founder of PolarityTE, he gained extensive experience building and operating a public company – serving numerous roles as a former Board Member, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Swanson has over 18 years of experience in biomedical research spanning oncology, transplant immunology, cell therapy, regenerative medicine, and neuroscience leading to more than 45 peer-reviewed papers, four book chapters, and 30 conference presentations. Prior to medical school, Dr. Swanson completed his undergraduate training in bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science, with his senior thesis focused on red blood cell drug delivery for traumatic brain injury.
As a clinician, I am dedicated to improving the lives of patients and their families, which includes the entire journey from diagnosis through treatment. I couldn’t be more excited to join the team at Here to Serve because I know we can fill a massive unmet need for cancer patients and their families by delivering wrap-around support. By supporting the journey, Here to Serve will undoubtedly elevate the outcomes of the traditional focus on treatment and research – a vision that should permeate every field of medicine.
Jason Hicks
Technology Committee Chair
Jason Hicks is a veteran information security and risk management executive with CISO experience in the finance, retail, information security service provider, entertainment, manufacturing, and logistics verticals. As a Field CISO for Coalfire, he is responsible for helping our client CISO’s maximize their security investments and program maturity. Prior to Coalfire, he was the Global CISO for the Kudelski Group (SWX: KUD) and was responsible for the global security programs at five member company’s. Jason also provided Virtual CISO services to multiple, multi-billion-dollar organizations. Prior to Kudelski Group, Jason served as global chief information security officer (CISO) at Ares Management LLP (NYSE: ARES), a multi-national alternative asset manager with more than $262 billion in assets under management.
Hicks joined Here To Serve’s board of directors to do his part to help families in their fights with cancer. Cancer has taken multiple family members from him, and touched others that won their battles.
Jennifer Doner
Board Member
Jennifer (Jenn) Doner is a healthcare business leader who has been driven for over two decades to improve health and well-being through advancing business strategy. Her career has spanned healthcare consulting and executive leadership of multiple organizations & business functions, including a large orthopedic practice, care model innovation for home dialysis, and modernization & innovation solutions for large healthcare businesses. Her leadership has focused on transforming and driving change across all types of healthcare organizations (e.g., not-for-profit, for-profit, academic, large hospital systems, physician practices, and insurance corporations) to address the gaps in our healthcare systems today.
As an individual who has experienced journeys in healthcare, personally and professionally, Jenn believes in the invaluable impact of enabling support, care, and inspiration for families facing pediatric cancer. By helping to support families during their cancer journey, Jenn hopes these services help reduce stress and propel hope, which could have an exponential impact on clinical outcomes.
Matthew Faraone
Board Member
Matthew Faraone is an accomplished financial services executive with 20 years of experience driving business and operational strategy, growth and execution for leading Fortune 500 companies. He is recognized for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, post-merger integration, digital transformation and product and platform development. Matthew also brings extensive commercial experience, serving as a trusted advisor to C-level executives and delivering multi-million-dollar sales and revenue as a former management consultant and currently serving as interim Chief Revenue Officer of an early-stage technology startup.
When I first came across Here to Serve and spoke with Katie, there was an immediate attraction to an organization that has such a profound and direct impact on families in need. Care that extends beyond the lab and in the hospital. Where there is a real need but such a shortcoming of adequate resources to help families navigate through such a devastating journey. Here to Serve fills that void. As a father of four young children, my darkest fear is that one of my children will develop cancer. I would not wish that experience on anyone. My goal is to drive national awareness of this tremendous organization, grow revenue exponentially so that we can expand our care offering and increase the number of families that Here to Serve is able to support. I am truly excited to join this highly impressive and qualified board and work with Katie who has devoted her life to this mission.
Ryan Mathis, MD
Board Member
Ryan is a physician and executive who left clinical practice to help translate novel technologies to reach patients on a broader scale. Ryan has served leadership roles running clinical operations, medical affairs, commercial and business development in biotechnology resulting in a rare blend of scientific, clinical, regulatory, and commercial experience. He has served as a visiting professor at Georgetown University School of Biotechnology and as a member of the research committee for the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, the largest pressure injury-focused organization in the world. He was an elected member for the Medstar House Quality Council and has been an invited speaker or interfaced with many of the largest hospital systems in the country. Ryan takes a patient-first mentality into everything he does and was drawn to Here to Serve’s mission recognizing the team’s potential and the clear need of the services Here to Serve offers for these families. He recognizes the huge impact Here to Serve has made to date and the opportunity to amplify that impact nationally. Ryan is dedicated to applying his experience in scaling businesses, interfacing with hospital administrators, and fundraising to help the mission and change patients’ and their families’ lives.
Paul Obsitnik
Board Member
Paul Obsitnik is Chief Marketing & Communications officer at Solidigm, responsible for overall marketing strategy, brand development, campaigns and demand generation, PR & corporate affairs, digital marketing, and field and partner marketing. Throughout his career, Obsitnik has held a number of leadership positions, including leading large-scale teams in sales, marketing, and product management at companies including Maxim Integrated, Juniper Networks, ONI Systems and 3Com. Paul holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Paul joined Here to Serve because he feels he is filling a role that is vitally needed for our children and their families who are battling cancer. She shares, “Having seen firsthand the severe impact cancer can have on families with children, I am honored to be a part of an organization with such a noble mission and also with the ability to have an amazing impact on these families in helping them navigate their journey.”
Brianna Kauffman Matz
Board Member
Brianna is a seasoned marketing leader who has supported both Fortune 100 category-leading brands and high-growth startups to more effectively connect with consumers and drive sustainable business growth. Throughout her career, she’s helped brand new companies, made legacy brands relevant, and helped to turn businesses around through insights-driven strategy, multichannel marketing campaigns including paid, owned, shared, and earned media, and product innovation. Beyond her professional career, Brianna served on the young professionals board of the New York City Ballet prior to moving to Los Angeles, helping to introduce the art form to younger patrons.
When I was younger, I wanted to become a pediatric oncologist, because no child deserves to go through cancer without an ally. While that did not end up being my path, I’ve always wanted to find a way to use my skill set and network to support children and their families going through their cancer journey. After meeting Katie, hearing her story, and learning about the lack of resources dedicated to helping families through this challenging time, it was an easy decision to get involved.
My goal is to bring broader awareness to the needs that families have, encouraging and securing more widespread support. I also look forward to working with the board to further codify Here To Serve’s strategic roadmap that will allow us to take the necessary steps toward achieving our goals.
