After a Record-Breaking Year, CurePSP Elevates Leadership With Two New Board Members and Kristophe Diaz’s Promotion to CEO

NEW YORK, September 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CurePSP, the leading research and advocacy nonprofit organization for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA), has welcomed Stephen E. Canter and Salin Geevarghese to its Board of Directors. In addition, CurePSP’s executive director and chief scientific officer, Kristophe Diaz, PhD, has been promoted to chief executive officer.

“CurePSP is experiencing unprecedented growth in research, care, advocacy and awareness. Promoting Dr. Kristophe Diaz to CEO and welcoming Steve Canter and Salin Geevarghese to our board strengthen our leadership at a pivotal moment. Their vision, experience and passion will accelerate our momentum and bring us closer to a world free of PSP, CBD and MSA,” said CurePSP’s Board Chair, Jack Phillips.

“These strategic leadership additions energize our mission at CurePSP. Salin’s personal experience with CBD and Stephen’s drive to help us accelerate research in PSP underscore our commitment to significantly increase investments in corticobasal degeneration, while continuing to advance progress in PSP and MSA,” said Diaz. “Together, we’re accelerating breakthroughs, expanding patient and caregiver support, and driving toward earlier diagnoses, more effective treatments and ultimately, a cure.”

These leadership changes follow the organization's most successful fiscal year in its 35-year history, marked by impressive progress in its mission to raise awareness, build community, improve care and find a cure for PSP, CBD and MSA. In addition to expanded advocacy efforts, the organization launched or partnered with several critical initiatives, including:

• The PSP Trial Platform (PTP): a partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, on a first-of-its-kind clinical trial platform that will test three PSP drugs concurrently.
• CurePSP Genetics Program: a nationwide initiative involving in-home genetic sample collection will help researchers better understand and treat PSP, CBD and MSA.
• Quality of Life Respite Care Fund: much-needed funding to increase support so more families can afford in-home professional care.

Diaz’s recent promotion to CEO reflects these accomplishments. It is part of a larger strategy to strengthen and amplify leadership as the organization continues to make a global impact in the neurodegenerative space.

Canter, who joins the board in memory of his wife and her courageous battle with PSP, says: “My service on the Board honors people living with PSP, their care partners and families. It is a privilege to serve and an opportunity to leverage my experience and deepen the impact of my personal commitment.”

Geevarghese lost his father to Alzheimer’s in 2018 and his mother to CBD in 2024, and promised his mother that her disease would serve a higher purpose, telling her: “We might not find a cure and treatments in time to help you, but we will help others.”

Canter is a seasoned investment management executive. His experience includes senior roles at major global companies such as Mellon Financial Corporation. He currently serves as a Managing Director of Zephyr Management, L.P. He has been on the board of several nonprofit organizations, including The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He earned his A.B. in Economics from Cornell University and his M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Geevarghese is a lawyer, champion for equity and a globally recognized expert in social inclusion, urban policy, democracy and engagement and economic mobility. He is currently the President & CEO of SGG Insight, LLC, a cross-sector impact consulting firm, and was previously a member of the Obama Administration, where he developed cross-sector, cross-silo policies and programs to increase access to opportunity.

Contact:

Kristophe Diaz, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

646-725-1453

diaz@curepsp.org