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Richard
Ellson, MS
Treasurer
Richard Ellson serves on the Board of Sophia's
Garden Foundation and chairs its Scientific Advisory
Board. He is Chief Technology Officer at Labcyte
Inc., a life sciences tools company formed in
2003 from the merger of Labcyte LLC and the Picoliter
Inc. Since he co-founded Picoliter in 2000, Mr.
Ellson has worked on the development of instruments
for use in the drug discovery, pharmaceutical
particle production and tissue sample preparation
for protein, drug and metabolite analysis. Mr.
Ellson serves on the Board of Directors of Labcyte
and has raised over $27M in venture capital for
the company with senior members of the management
team. In 2004, Labcyte's first instrument, the
Echo 550, received the prestigious R&D 100
Award. Previously, Mr. Ellson served in a variety
of management and technical roles at Xerox PARC
and the Eastman Kodak Company.
Mr. Ellson has published numerous scientific
articles and given presentations on a broad range
of topics. Most recently, he has been a frequent
speaker on acoustics for life sciences research
and drug library monitoring. He is a member of
the Association for Laboratory Automation and
the Society of Bimolecular Screening as well
as a reviewer for their respective journals.
Mr. Ellson is the inventor on 45 issued U.S.
patents.
Mr. Ellson attended Case Western Reserve University
where he received a B.S. in Fluid and Thermal Science
with a minor in life sciences and a M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering. He also took a two-year paid leave
from Kodak to study mathematics at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through the Kodak
Doctoral Awards Program. |
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Karen Herzog
Co-Founder, President & Acting Executive Director
Karen Herzog is the mother of Sophia Sachs,
who at 4-years-old succumbed to Niemann-Pick
Disease, Type A (NPA), a rare fatal genetic condition.
Out of her desire to help Sophia's struggle to
survive and her family’s search for meaning
in the midst of uncertainty, she created Healing
in Community™, a compassionate and highly effective
community-based approach to caring for children
with life-threatening conditions and their families.
She co-founded Sophia’s Garden Foundation
to share this knowledge with the world.
As an educator and advocate for children’s
health, Ms. Herzog has co-authored several case
studies on using integrative therapies to treat
NPA, consulted on the independent documentary film, “Embracing
Sophia” and co-facilitated the “Prayer
Flags for Sophia” project, the 2004 winner
of the Blair L. Sadler International Healing Arts
Competition. She is a member of the Research Initiative
Committee of the National Tay-Sachs and Allied
Diseases Association, a community affiliate of
the Pathways KIDS and Integrative Medicine programs
at Pathways Home Health and Hospice and a founding
advisory board member of the UCSF-Stanford Jewish
Genetic Disease Center.
Ms. Herzog holds a B.A. in Business Economics
from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
She is an accomplished sales and business development
executive experienced in new business development,
strategic alliances and operations for non-profit
and Fortune 500 technology, finance, human resources
and design companies. |
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Adam Kemist
Adam Kemist is the father of Olivia, who succumbed
to Krabbe Disease, a rare leukodystrophy involving
the breakdown of the myelin sheath. Adam has
always been interested in alternative care for
those suffering ailments that traditional forms
of medicine seem to miss. He promotes wellness
of mind and body through his work as a Pedorthist
in his business, The Runners High, a specialty
running and walking store in Menlo Park, CA.
Adam is always searching for the balance in his
customers’ health and fitness routines
so they can perform at their peak. His passion
for balance led him to explore possibilities
for alternative care and balance in children
with life threatening conditions. He works with
aromatherapy, massage, and promotes relaxation
techniques to provide physical relief and mental
support. Adam is involved in the promotion of
Olivia’s Miles, a 1 Mile and 5K run implemented
in honor of his daughter to promote education
and awareness for families of children with diseases
and research for genetic diseases. Adam and his
wife Micheline are also the parents of two healthy
children, Hannah and Dana. |
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Micheline
Kemist
Micheline Kemist is the mother of Olivia, who
succumbed to Krabbe Disease, a rare leukodystrophy
involving the breakdown of the myelin sheath.
Micheline uses her M.A. in education and community
involvement from the ownership of The Runners
High in Menlo Park to educate and empower parents
and families about the sensibility and power
of alternate forms of care for children with
life threatening conditions. She helps promote
total health and balance through initiating community
education, run and fitness groups for children
and teens, and provides nutritional advice. Micheline
is responsible for Olivia’s Miles, a 1
Mile and 5K run for promoting awareness of alternate/interlocking
health practices and research in genetic diseases
and newborn screening. Micheline is always looking
for families who need help, whether emotional,
financial or physical because of the trauma surrounding
children with life threatening conditions. Micheline
and her husband Adam are also the parents of
two healthy children, Hannah and Dana. |
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Eve Levine
Eve Levine is on the Board of Sophia’s
Garden Foundation and serves as its Chief Financial
Officer. She is a consultant to non-profit organizations,
providing financial management services that
include systems evaluation, financial oversight
and human resources administration. She is committed
to demystifying financial information and to
advancing administrative processes in support
of the missions of the non-profit community.
Prior to this, she was the Controller of Earthjustice,
the non-profit public interest law firm for the
environment. |
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Richard Sachs
Co-Founder & Secretary
Richard Sachs, Sophia’s father, is on
the Board of Sophia’s Garden Foundation
and serves as Director of Creative Services.
He is the founder and Creative Director of Valley
Design Group. Since 1989, his company has focused
on the strategic development and implementation
of broadcast, Web and print media campaigns and
information architectures for technology, health
care, government, education, entertainment and
financial services enterprises. Clients include:
Dow Jones, VISA, Quantum, Apple, Novell, 3Com,
Lucent, Marimba, NEC, Sun Microsystems, Hitachi-Maxell,
Countrywide Home Loans, Caltrans, The City of
San Francisco, Stanford University and Medical
Center, Warner Communications, Lifemark Group
and the UCSF-Stanford Jewish Genetic Disease
Center and Countrywide Home Loans. |
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