Jack Phillips became deeply engaged with CurePSP during his late wife’s courageous journey with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which ended in 2023. Through this experience, he witnessed firsthand the challenges of navigating a complex and often underrecognized disease—ranging from delayed diagnosis and limited treatment options to the critical need for specialized care and clinical research. Determined to drive change, Jack has since dedicated himself to advancing CurePSP’s mission. As Board Chair, he plays a key role in guiding the organization’s strategic growth, expanding access to care, and fostering innovative research to improve outcomes for those affected by PSP, corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Jack holds a BSBA from Bucknell University and an MBA in International Business from George Washington University. His professional career included global leadership roles as Vice President at Owens Corning, where he led worldwide businesses. He lived ten years in Europe with postings in Athens and Brussels. Following his corporate tenure, he transitioned to entrepreneurship, co-founding and serving as COO of Wind Energy Corporation.

Amy worked for over 28 years in the Banking, Financial Markets, and Insurance sectors chiefly as Director of Global Accounts with SunGard Data Systems and with Computer Sciences Corporation, as head of Business Development for the Disaster Recovery Division.  She has served on the board of several not-for-profit organizations, including Ronald McDonald House, Kids Helping Kids Art Auction (North Carolina). Amy holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  “The opportunity to serve CurePSP is one I welcome. It is not often that time and circumstance permit giving back and making a contribution with a disease that hits close to home. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my mother and stepfather; her with Alzheimer’s Disease, him with PSP. For my parents and for the parents and spouses and families of others; I am honored to support the mission of CurePSP.”

Justin is a Principal at Hammes Partners, a private equity platform focused on the U.S. healthcare market, where he is primarily involved in the firm’s investment activities and is a member of its Investment Committee. Prior to joining Hammes, Justin worked with the Acquisition and Asset Management groups at Greenfield Partners, a global real estate investment firm, where he was responsible for acquisition and management activities across various real estate sectors, including healthcare, hospitality, distressed debt, and land, overseeing over $500 million in equity investments. Previously, he worked with Robert W. Baird & Co. in its Investment Banking Group. Justin graduated with honors from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, earning a B.S. in Accountancy and a B.S. in Real Estate Finance. He has been involved with CurePSP since his father was diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and currently serves as a Member of the Board, the Executive Committee, and as Chair of the Finance Committee.

Mana Bhatt Sanghvi has spent the last 20+ years building and scaling businesses domestically and internationally across Fortune 200 companies, startups, and PE-backed companies. She has focused her career on driving transformational growth and innovation, in industry verticals including health and wellness, consumer and B2B tech, CPG, residential real estate, and education. In 2010 Mana’s Dad and best friend was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s and one year later, correctly diagnosed with PSP.  She and her sisters spent many years navigating how to support their caregiving Mom and patient Dad on their unexpected path. 

In her last Christmas with her Dad in 2015, she promised him she would make a difference in helping serve CurePSP families differentially and meaningfully. She’s delighted to deliver on that commitment, both, as a board member for CurePSP and by standing up the Hemang Bhatt Legacy Fund, focused on research for a cure, in his honor. Mana earned her undergraduate degree in Finance and International Business from NYU’s Stern School of Business and her graduate degree in Marketing and Strategy from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Her happiest moments center around living, laughing, and traveling with her husband, two incredible kids, and their sweet dog.

Russell Gardner is a principal in Gardner Employment Solutions, LLC, a law firm focusing on advising and counseling management-side clients in all aspects of the employment relationship.  He was a partner in the Employment Practice Group of DLA Piper, a global law firm, for more than 25 years before his retirement from the firm in 2015. 

Russ is acknowledged by “Chambers USA” as one of the leading lawyers in Maryland practicing management-side employment law.  He continues to be honored by his peers through inclusion in “Best Lawyers in America.”  He is rated “AV” from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available, and was selected by them as a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment.  Russ earned his B.A. (History/English) from Alfred University and his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law. Russ is a member of the Bars of Maryland and New York.  He is admitted to several federal district and appellate courts, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States.

Jim graduated from the University of Houston Bauer College of Business, class of 1979.  Jim began his CPA practice in 1983, James G. McClellan CPA, in Sugar Land, Texas. His over 40 years of business includes the practice of public accounting, financial and estate planning, business consulting and as a state registered investment advisor in Texas and is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and Personal Financial Specialist (CPA/PFS).

Currently as President and Trustee of the Fred and Mabel R. Parks Foundation, the Foundation is active in making grants primarily in the area of higher education, medical research and services, and in support of social services for the disadvantaged.

Mr. McClellan currently serves on various other non-profit boards including Child Advocates of Fort Bend, Director and Past-President and Blue Cure Foundation, Director and Treasurer.

Lawrence I. Golbe, MD is Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. He was Acting Chair of his department at Rutgers from 2000 to 2003, Director of its Division of Movement Disorders from 2012 to 2020 and Program Director of its neurology residency from 2003 to 2018. His research has focused on the clinical genetics, clinimetrics and epidemiology of the Parkinsonian disorders. In 1988 he co-led the first studies of the prevalence and risk factors for PSP and published the first PSP diagnostic criteria. He led the clinical portion of the project that in 1997 identified the first known Mendelian mutation causing Parkinson’s disease in the gene for alpha-synuclein. He developed and validated the PSP Rating Scale, which since its 2007 publication has become the standard clinical measure and treatment outcome marker for PSP world-wide. He is the author of A Clinician’s Guide to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (Rutgers University Press, 2018) and maintains psp-blog.org. He has worked closely with CurePSP since 1990, presently as Chief Clinical Officer, chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Steering Committee of its Centers of Care network.

Paul Freeman is a Miami-based attorney and real estate developer. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1969 with a BA in Accounting and Finance, and from the University of Miami Law School with a JD in 1973 and an LLM in Taxation in 1976. Paul has been a Florida licensed CPA and Attorney since 1973. He started his career as a tax attorney before transitioning to a real estate-based practice. Since the mid-1980s, Paul has been involved in real estate and citrus business in Florida, and his company remains active in real estate development in Southwest Florida.  Paul became involved with CurePSP after his wife, Eva, was diagnosed with PSP in 2000 and he became her primary caregiver. He joined the organization’s Board of Directors in 2006 after Eva’s passing. He has served as the Treasurer for CurePSP and was an honorary Board Member. In 2022, he rejoined the board. He has also moderated the Southeast Florida Support Group, which serves patients and caregivers dealing with PSP, CBD, and MSA since 2009. Paul has also been involved with many charitable and civic organizations over his career.

Louis is a Portfolio Manager at Focus Partners Wealth and co-manages more than $1 billion of assets under management.

Louis received a B.A. in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University, where he also completed the Entrepreneurship & Management program. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Louis previously worked in the Baseball Operations department of the Baltimore Orioles.

Louis joined CurePSP in 2021 after his father’s battle with the disease.  His father dedicated his life to medicine, and Louis aims to mirror that dedication in his service to CurePSP, where he currently serves on the Finance and Investment Committees.

Lawrence D. Levien focuses on the negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements and has negotiated a variety of complex multiparty transactions. He also has extensive experience in the negotiation and consummation of corporate acquisitions, bankruptcies, and divestitures as they affect all levels of the employee complement. His practice concentrates on clients encountering major restructuring challenges due to either economic circumstances or industrywide dislocations.

Mr. Levien generally represents employers with multiple union relationships and/or employers party to multiemployer agreements through the auspices of industrywide associations. The interplay between the objectives of his client and the needs of the multiemployer group is a specialized element of his practice.

Mr. Levien began a Legacy Fund to honor and remember his wife, Cherie, who passed from PSP. She was an amazingly strong woman and an unstoppable force. The fund supports respite care to families in need.

Alexander Pantelyat, MD, FAAN is an associate professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is the director of the Johns Hopkins Atypical Parkinsonism Center and the co-Founder and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine. Dr. Pantelyat's research is focused on the diagnosis and treatment of atypical parkinsonian disorders, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome/degeneration and multiple system atrophy; cognitive aspects of movement disorders; and music-based rehabilitation of neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Pantelyat earned his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, where he was elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and received the Matthew T. Moore Prize in Neurology. He completed his residency training in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Pennsylvania/Philadelphia VA Medical Center. He is a 2013 American Academy of Neurology Palatucci Advocacy Leader and grant recipient, a 2014-15 American Academy of Neurology Emerging Leader, and a 2014 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Osler Attending Program inductee.

Ileen Watson McFarland has been a CurePSP Board Member, Support Group Facilitator and Peer Volunteer since 2013. Her late husband was misdiagnosed in 2006 with Parkinson Disease, which several months later changed to a PSP diagnosis. As his sole caregiver, she experienced the numerous challenges caregivers are confronted with as the disease progresses. At that time CurePSP provided few resources to guide caregivers through their journey and virtually no financial support. As a CurePSP Board Member, Ileen served as the first Chair and now a member of the Patient & Carepartner Advocacy Committee, which has been instrumental in providing support and resources to care partners, patients, and their family members. This committee oversees patient and caregiver resources, volunteer recruitment, development and training, peer-organization collaborations, national and international leadership conferences focused on caregiving. Ileen was also the first Chair, and now a member, of the Respite Care Grant Committee which oversees the Respite Grant Program, reviews applications, and awards grants to families in need of the Respite Care Grant. While caring for her late husband, Ileen was unable to hire professional caregivers and learned from personal experience how important it was for the caregivers to get rest and a break. As a result of her personal experience and other care providers she met in support groups, Ileen proposed that the CurePSP Board of Directors establish a respite grant fund. Since inception, the Respite Grant Fund has provided thousands of dollars in grants to hundreds of families. Ileen has also been active in organizing an annual CurePSP fundraising campaign which has benefited the Respite Care Grant Program. She is very active in her community seeking out resources, collaborating with organizations that provide home care, palliative care, and Hospice care. Additionally, she attends local and national events that focus on rare neurological disorders. Compassion, understanding and the willingness to share experiences with people who are dealing with these diseases and provide them with hope and support when all is lost is Ileen’s primary mission.

Board-Certified Nurse Practitioner

Maria Schmidt, DNP, RN, AGPCNP-BC is a movement disorders nurse practitioner at the Johns Hopkins Atypical Parkinsonism Center and CurePSP Centers of Care, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Music as Medicine. She has over 13 years of clinical experience working in neurology, neurosurgery, ENT, orthopedics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, and palliative care. Maria received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Stevenson University in MD. She completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Her clinical practice focuses on individualized care for symptom management, which combines holistic and non-pharmacological treatments, such as music-based rehabilitation, with pharmacotherapeutic interventions for patients with Atypical Parkinsonian Disorders such as Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Corticobasal syndrome (CBS), Multiple system atrophy (MSA), and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), as well as Parkinson Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders affecting movement and cognitive function.

Her interests also include the relief of chronic and neuropathic pain with Scrambler Therapy, a non-invasive way of "resetting" the central nervous system to relieve pain from chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, neurologic disease, and other pain syndromes. Her practice focuses on patient and family-centered care that fosters physical and mental health, well-being, and quality of life. She is integral in the coordination of The Atypical Parkinsonism Multi-Disciplinary Clinic at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She is an active member of the CurePSP Patient and Caregiver Advocacy Committee, as well as the CurePSP Access to Care Committee, which allows her to act as an advocate and play an active role in community outreach, education, improvement of access to care and health equity, and provide both resources and support for patients with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).  

Bill McFarland has more than 35 years of proven leadership, with a passion for improving management in the financial services industry.  Bill has led numerous process improvement engagements and over 60 major system conversion and merger/acquisition projects.  Beyond operations management and efficiency studies, he has a comprehensive knowledge of organizational development, enterprise project management, and profitability enhancement. Bill became involved with CurePSP after his late wife, Adrienne, was diagnosed with PSP in 2005 and passed away in 2013.  Having been involved with charitable and religious organizations throughout his career, Bill considers service at CurePSP among his most worthwhile endeavors, having provided servant leadership and strategic guidance to the Executive Director, Executive Committee and Board of Directors for over 8 years from 2015 to 2023.

Dr. Nadine Tatton brings a wealth of expertise to the CurePSP Board as a seasoned Medical Director with over 8 years of experience in medical affairs and clinical development. With a specialization in Frontotemporal Dementia, ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease, she is a recognized subject matter expert in neurodegenerative diseases and immuno-neurology. Dr. Tatton’s career is underscored by her engagement with clinical Key Opinion Leaders, researchers, and disease advocates.   She has made significant contributions, including 50+ peer-reviewed publications, that have informed research strategies and corporate directions. Her analytical skills extend to competitive landscape assessment, fostering innovative solutions and driving therapeutic advancements. We proudly welcome Dr. Tatton to the CurePSP Board, where her insights and visionary thinking are poised to accelerate our mission of supporting individuals and families affected by prime-of-life neurodegenerative diseases. Her presence amplifies our commitment to making a meaningful difference in this crucial field.

During Steve’s career of over 40 years in investment management, he served as an analyst, portfolio manager, and the senior executive responsible for major global investment management businesses. Following his retirement as Vice-Chairman of Mellon Financial Corporation and Chief Executive of The Dreyfus Corporation, Steve has served as a Managing Director of Zephyr Management, L.P., a firm focused on early-stage investment opportunities in India and Africa.

Steve has been a director or trustee of several non-profit organizations including Tuskegee University and The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Steve earned his A.B. in Economics from Cornell University and M.B.A. from Columbia University.

“During the course of my wife’s battle with PSP, I and our children affirmed a strong commitment to increase awareness of this disease and support research to quicken the pace toward its earlier diagnosis, effective treatments, and a cure. My service on the Board honors PSP patients, their care partners and families. It is a privilege to serve and an opportunity to leverage my experience and broaden and deepen the impact of my personal commitment.”

Losing his father in 2018 after a long journey with Alzheimer’s, Salin Geevarghese never expected that his mother Grace’s difficulty with her right hand would result in a diagnosis of a rare neurological disease called corticobasal degeneration (CBD) in 2020. The family was devastated, but they rallied to care for their mother as she moved in with Salin and his family in the middle of the COVID pandemic in late 2020. Armed with the “hope” and care that her medical team at Hopkins and CurePSP gave them, Salin and Grace set out on everything that CBD threw at them: experimental treatments in pain management; participation in research studies; periodic injections for severe dystonia; PT, OT, counseling, and speech therapy; managing insurance coverage; caregiving at home; and more. In Grace’s last days in 2024, Salin promised his mother that her disease would serve a higher purpose. “We might not find a cure and treatments in time to help you, Mommy, but we will help others.”

Honoring the promise to his mother, Salin joined the Board of CurePSP in 2025. He follows his son Sanjay who served as CurePSP’s first intern in 2023 and started the first CurePSP support group for children and grandchildren of family members struck by the diseases. Salin serves as the Board Director for CurePSP’s Advocacy Committee as well as a co-facilitator of a CurePSP bereavement support group for adult child caregivers.

Salin Geevarghese currently serves as the President & CEO of SGG Insight, LLC, an impact consulting firm offering comprehensive services to public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sector leaders and organizations. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) in Washington, DC and as the Founding Director of the Mixed-Income Strategic Alliance.

Prior to his current roles, Salin served in leadership across the public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, most prominently in senior appointed leadership in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary, where he worked domestically and globally on cross-sector, cross-silo innovation, policy and program development, investment design and implementation assistance.

Trained as a lawyer, Salin has been a champion for equity and justice and a recognized expert and leader on social inclusion, urban policy, democracy and engagement, and economic mobility. He has spoken in venues across the globe and has written for the Washington Post.

Salin lives in his multigenerational household in Maryland, with his wife Dr. Asha Thomas-Geevarghese, his son Sanjay, and his in-laws Tom and Annie. He continues to be encouraged by the spirit of his late father Rev. Dr. P.K. Geevarghese and his late mother Mrs. Grace Geevarghese.

Everett R. Cook graduated from Dartmouth College and from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Mr. Cook is a Managing Director and Co-Founder of Pouschine Cook Capital Management, a private equity fund with more than $250 million of capital under management.  Prior to co-founding Pouschine Cook in 1998, Mr. Cook was a Managing Director of Ampton Investments, Inc., focusing on middle market private equity recapitalizations and acquisitions, and served as chairman and CEO of Bake Rite Foods, Inc., a portfolio company.

Mr. Cook has extensive experience in financial and operations management across a broad spectrum of industries. Mr. Cook currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Drilltec and as a member of the board of SDI. He was previously a member of the board of MasterCraft Boats, Interplan and Latex Foam International. Mr. Cook is also a board member of CurePSP where he is vice-chairman, a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Rainwater Charitable Foundation’s Tau Consortium, and the Cary Institute for Ecosystems Studies, all not-for-profit organizations.  He is a former board member of Eaglebrook School, the Dutchess Land Conservancy, and the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women.

A graduate of Yale University with a major in History plus a Masters in Business from Pepperdine, John Burhoe is a former Naval Officer and executive for Continental and American Airlines. Though “retired” John is an active Partner in a small company and, since 2009, sits on the CurePSP National Board having served as Chairman and currently Chairman Emeritus and member of the Executive Committee.

John is a lifelong history buff speaking frequently on the economic and military history of the United States as well his experiences in the real world of caregiving for his late wife Lou who, for seven years, was under the cloud of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

John has subsequently remarried and lives happily with his wife Carolyn in Dallas, TX.

John Steele was from Toronto and while studying neurology with Drs. Richardson and Olszewski,  helped to describe the first cases of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in 1964. In that same year, he learned that Pacific islanders on Guam experienced a similar pathological illness they called lytico-bodig. In 1982, Dr. Steele moved to Guam and began studies of lytico-bodig with the hope of understanding its pathogenesis, and how this one disease gave rise to so many, separate neurodegenerative diseases. By 2014, only a few, elderly Guamanians remained with lytico-bodig. With profound regret, Dr. Steele’s ended his research and left Guam to write about his experiences, to travel, and to be with his family. He passed away in 2022.

Dr. Reich is a nationally recognized expert in movement disorders. He previously served as an associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his medical degree from Tulane University and completed his neurology residency at Case Western Reserve University Hospital. 

Dr. Reich specializes in movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and related syndromes (progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome, multiple system atrophy), tremor, chorea, dystonia and drug-induced movement disorders, among others. He also sees patients in general neurology including gait disorders and dizziness.

He holds the Frederick Henry Prince Distinguished Professorship in Neurology at the University of Maryland. 

Maggie Orseth, a consultant with Bain & Company, has worked closely with major pharmaceutical companies to develop strategic plans that treat neurological diseases, including tauopathies like PSP.

She has also worked to identify and overcome regulatory and operational roadblocks in the development of novel treatments at other patient advocacy/research organizations, including Charley’s Fund, which focuses on finding a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Maggie became familiar with CurePSP after her father passed away from a neurodegenerative protein-misfolding disorder in 2007, and joined the board in March, 2017. She received her BA in Economics in 2010 from the University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2017.

Janet Edmunson, president of JME Insight, is a trainer, motivational speaker, writer and health promotion professional who is dedicated to using her life experiences and inner values to support the growth and self-esteem of the people her life touches.

Janet took care of her husband, Charles, during the five years when he was fighting a degenerative neurological disease. During that time, she also helped Charles write his book titled Paradoxes of Leadership. In her book, Finding Meaning with Charles, she wrote about how they strived to maintain a positive attitude throughout. Her speaking experience has included keynotes and workshops for various caregiver and disease-oriented conferences.

For the period 1953-1993, Dr. Murray Goldstein was a commissioned medical officer in the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) and a member of the staff of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); for the final 13 years at the NIH he served as the Director of the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. He was an Assistant Surgeon General in the USPHS with the 2 star rank of Rear Admiral.  Following his retirement from the USPHS, he served as Director of the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation from 1993-2005 and medical consultant to the United Cerebral Palsy Association. He is now a medical research consultant to several national organizations and the US government.

George has more than two decades of experience in helping people meet their financial goals through strategies designed specifically for each family’s needs.  George specializes in college planning, portfolio analysis, retirement accumulation, and distribution planning.

George joined United Planners Financial Services of America in 2008 after 12 years as a Senior Manager at Clifton Gunderson LLP, where his practice focused on investment analysis and college financial planning.  George is a graduate of Towson University, where he currently serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching the Certified Financial Planner curriculum to future practitioners.  He earned his MBA from Loyola College in Maryland.

Active in the community, George is a past board member of the Maryland Financial Planning Association, is the Treasurer of CurePSP and the Welcome One Shelter, and is on the Board of Ministry of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. A native of Baltimore, George resides in Bel Air with his wife Laurie.