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Meet The g6pd Deficiency Board & Advisors

Meet The g6pd Deficiency Board and Advisors, they are the people responsible for driving the foundation’s growth and ensuring light shines upon g6pd.

g6pdDF Executive Committee of the Board

Keely E Harris

President/Founder

For over 20 years, Keely has been actively involved as a volunteer/board member in several community organizations on Long Island, with experience in running fundraisers to raise funding & awareness for breast cancer, children athletics, and many other community endeavors. She was previously employed as IVF Research Technician for over 10 years, working side by side with fertility specialists at the University of Penn Medical School and LI IVF. Her education and hands-on experiences will help to guide the foundation in a direction of success.

Education:
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from SUNY Stony Brook, 1982
Contact:
kharris@g6pdDF.org

Niloofer Darbary

Niloofer Darbary

Vice President

Niloofer Darbary, is a seasoned professional, with more than 22 years of proven expertise driving strategic initiatives with significant top-line and bottom-line impact for global technology conglomerates. She has an innate understanding of diverse cultures, working across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas.

Niloofer is also one of the founding members of a global G6PDD-COVID-19 task force, focused on creating more understanding of G6PD enzyme deficiency, and its role during the COVID pandemic. As an ambassador for the g6pd Deficiency Foundation, she will presently focus on the Newborn Screening campaign for testing for the G6PD enzyme activity and bring forth awareness of this important issue.

Education:
Niloofer received her MBA from Pune University, 2000.
Continuing education courses from Stanford University (2004) and NYU Stern (2017)

Contact:
ndarbary@g6pdDF.org

Mary Regina Phillips Munster

Secretary and General Counsel

Regina is a civil litigator whose practice extends to the defense of matters involving personal injury, product liability, and general negligence. She worked as a New York City Paramedic for more than 10 years, providing traditional 911 medical care to patients residing in the boroughs of New York. In addition, she provided medical care to high-risk patients being moved between facilities in the tri-state area. Relying upon this experience, Regina is able to guide the foundation with the substantive medical and legal issues that may arise as this non-profit foundation grows.

Education:
Juris Doctorate from Fordham Law School, 2004
Bachelor of Arts in English from Kenyon College, 1992
Contact:
mrpmunster@g6pdDF.org

Karen Corley, CPA

Treasurer

Since 1993, Karen has served as Director of Finance for Not-for-Profit 501 C-3 Legal Services Corporation of an annual budget of $ 7.5 Million. While working in public accounting, she specialized in not-for-profit accounting. Licensed as a CPA in New York State since 1982, she has worked as a CPA for 34 years in a variety of areas of business. Her expertise in not-for-profit accounting will support the board’s success in achieving its mission.

Education:
Master of Science in Taxation from Long Island University, CW Post Center, 1987
Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Long Island University, CW Post Center, 1980
Contact:
kcorley@g6pdDF.org

Brianne Brathwaite, MS RDN

g6pd Deficiency Dietitian

Brianne is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) who has work in the public health sector of nutrition for over four years. She has helped many people adopt healthy lifestyle changes. She has won an award for leadership & innovation and continues to work to make an impact on the world with her knowledge of nutrition. She intends to continue her education by pursuing a Ph.D. focusing on G6PD Deficiency (G6PDd) and dietary lifestyle changes. As a person affected daily by G6PD Deficiency, she believes it’s important to use her expertise to further research, increase awareness, and to educate the public about G6PDd. She believes her personal experience with the disease allows her to provide insight and connect to others who are also affected. She hopes to bridge the gap between G6PDd and the food we consume.

Education:
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of New Haven, 2015
Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Genomic/Genetics from the University of New Haven, 2018
Contact:
bbrathwaite@g6pdDF.org

g6pdDF ADVISORY BOARD

Vinod K. Bhutani

Vinod Bhutani M.D. FAAP

Chief Medical/Research Advisor

Vinod K. Bhutani, (Vinny), is the Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology, Emeritus) at the Stanford Children’s Health of Stanford University. He has pioneered universal pre-discharge newborn bilirubin screening, global maternal Rhesus blood type screening, point-of-care assays of G6PD enzyme and for hemolysis as well as effective prescription of phototherapy. As the Chair of the Global Bilirubin Club (Pediatric Academic Societies), he strives to reduce the burden of kernicterus through promotion of newborn safety and targeted screening strategies to equitably manage newborn jaundice world-wide. As the incoming Chair of Medical Advisory Board for the g6pd Deficiency Foundation he intends to promote public learning of the biological, chemical, dietary and drug environments to enhance humanity lifestyles including those susceptible to a unique medical condition of inherited G6PD enzyme deficiency.

Dan J. Vick, MD, DHA, MBA, CPE

Vice President for Medical Affairs

Dan Vick is a Pathologist by training who practiced in the Army and in a private group in Upstate New York. He has spent the past several years in hospital executive and academic roles and is currently the Chief Medical Officer of a hospital in New England. As a faculty member in Health Administration at Central Michigan University during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan raised concern regarding the use of quinolone drugs in treating COVID-19 in persons with G6PD deficiency. He then turned his attention to whether G6PD deficiency was responsible for increased severity of illness and mortality in COVID-19 patients in certain geographic and demographic population subsets. He discussed these topics in news interviews and his articles on the subjects have been published in the peer reviewed medical literature. Dan continues to research the COVID-19/G6PD deficiency issue. He intends to help with raising awareness about G6PD deficiency and enacting legislation mandating newborn testing for this condition in every state.

Education:
Doctor of Health Administration from Central Michigan University, 2017
Master of Business Administration from Regis University, 2008
Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia – Virginia Commonwealth University, 1994
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Virginia, 1984

g6pdDF Ambassadors

Markee Harris, PA-C

Markee Harris is a New York State board-certified Physician Assistant, currently practicing in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine since 2016. Markee has obtained two Bachelor’s degrees and a Master’s throughout her education. Markee strives to continue her education by pursuing a Ph.D. She also has an interest in bringing Medical education to others, starting with G6PD Deficiency. G6PD Deficiency is important to Markee because her godson was greatly affected by the disease. She intends to have an integral role in furthering research, increasing awareness, educating patients and family members about the deficiency. She believes her personal experience with the disease can provide a special insight and connection to others who are also affected.

Education:
Masters Physician Assistant Studies from Touro College, New York, 2016
Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Touro College, New York, 2016
Bachelor of Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University, Georgia, 2011
Contact:
mharris@g6pdDF.org

Joni M Lynch

Ambassador of Financial Relations

Joni has spent decades in product marketing, most recently in the juvenile industry. She managed a portfolio of juvenile healthcare products and later strollers and travel systems. She was responsible for multi-million dollar product portfolios: pitching new product ideas to get projects funded, working within the organization to bring these new products to market and, ultimately, to families. This role required extensive knowledge of consumer behavior and market trends, along with a passion to make life better for babies and their parents. Through the years, Joni has also volunteered for Junior Achievement, Project Literacy U.S., Naval Officers Spouses Club, various Parent-Teacher-Organizations Little League Baseball, etc. Her experience and interests have prepared her to be the Ambassador of Foundation Relations, focused on helping to build awareness and support for the Foundation and its mission.

Education:
Masters of Business Administration from University of Michigan, Michigan 1988
Bachelor of Arts from Cornell College, Iowa, 1994
Contact:
jmLynch@g6pdDF.org