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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Foundation Board
is responsible for setting the strategic vision and ensuring the outwardly representation of the Foundation.
Our Board members bring a vast range of knowledge and experience in the worlds of business, law, government, technology, health care, non-profit management, to the task of governing the Foundation. They jointly oversee the Foundation's activities and help set the strategic vision for the Foundation's grant making, geographic focus, spending, investment, management, governance and professional standards.
SHAWN STEPHENSON
Foundation Board Chairman
Shawn Stephenson is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Rising Tide, a management company providing specialized investment research, intellectual property and innovation management services.
A graduate of Wabash College, and a 32nd degree Master Mason, Shawn currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for Rising Tide Foundation and Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research.
He is also the chairman of several investment committees and on the Board for Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center.
PROF. DR. BEAT THÜRLIMANN
Foundation Board Deputy Chairman
Prof. Thürlimann has been the Head Physician of the breast cancer department at the Kantonsspital St. Gallen since 2008.
He brings a wealth of knowledge in foundation laws and is personally passionate and professionally committed to advancing cancer research.
DR. HERMANN SCHULIN
Foundation Board Member
Dr. Schulin is a trained lawyer by profession, expert in both Swiss and German Law.
Dr. Schulin's expertise lies in the general parts of Swiss Code of Obligations, and in particular, the law of contract and unjustified enrichment.
During his illustrious career, he was a junior lawyer and assessor for the Federal State of Hessen; held positions at the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, and was also an associate professor at the universities of St. Gallen
and Bern.
WENDY SELIG
Foundation Board Member
Wendy Selig used to serve as Director of the Melanoma Research Alliance and
in 2015, she launched her own advisory consultancy group.
Wendy Selig brings with her more than 25 years of experience in defining and implementing winning collaborative strategies, working at the top levels of government and within the leadership of the nonprofit health sector - more power to our Board!
OUR ADVISORY BOARD
Our Advisory Board supports the Foundation Board in its strategic decision-making for grant opportunities.
Our Advisory Board plays a critical role in reviewing and assessing all grant activities of the Foundation and offers technical advice and dynamic perspectives to support our Board of Directors on strategy and governance issues.
CRISTIANA SESSA, MD, PHD
Advisory Board Member
After her initial education and training in Gynecology and Gyne-oncology in Italy, Cristiana joined the Clinical Research Team of the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI) where she became Deputy Head for Clinical Research and responsible of the programs of New Drugs Development and Gyneco Oncology. During her clinical activity, which had always a significant translational component, she acquired post degree knowledge and experience in Palliative Care, Economics and Health Management and Pharmaceutical Medicine.
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She’s been working for more than six years for the Guidelines Committee of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and as external advisor for the Scientific Committee of the French Foundation pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC).
She is the current Vice-President of the European Society of Gynecologic Oncology (ESGO).
Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Mikhael is a Professor in the Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope Cancer Center. He is also the Chief Medical Officer of the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). He facilitates and promotes myeloma research worldwide, especially in underprivileged countries.
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Dr. Mikhael is a consultant hematologist and Director of Myeloma Research at the HonorHealth Research Institute where he conducts phase 1 clinical trials. He also serves as a Councilor on the Executive of the American Society of Hematology. He also recently led the ASCO guidelines for multiple myeloma.
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Dr. Mikhael was recently a hematologist at Mayo Clinic Arizona where he served as a Professor at the Mayo College of Medicine, Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Deputy Director - Education of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. He has been recognized with numerous awards in education including being in the Mayo Clinic Resident and Fellow Association Hall of Fame as Educator of the Year. He was also recently named in the Top 100 Doctors in the United States.
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He specializes clinically in plasma cell disorders, namely multiple myeloma, amyloidosis and Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. Dr. Mikhael is currently the principal investigator of many clinical trials, primarily in multiple myeloma. His other clinical research interests also include pharmaco-economics, communication skills and media relations. He has published over 150 peer reviewed articles in these fields. He lectures internationally on a regular basis. He is an active member of the International Myeloma Working Group, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.