Advisory Board Members

Dr. Craig Cheifetz is the Regional Dean for the UVA School of Medicine at Inova’s Regional Campus and Inova’s Vice President for Corporate Health Services for which services include: concierge medicine, executive healthcare, occupational health, employee assistance, onsite corporate and government clinics, navigation services and wellness programs. Dr. Cheifetz is a model physician and executive leader who is passionate about providing outstanding and progressive clinical care, education, and innovation to his patients, learners and the community. He and his team have built the metro Washington region’s premier concierge medicine and executive health services practice providing service to nearly 6,000 members and 80 corporations encompassing an additional 2,000 individuals. Dr. Cheifetz has trained over 500 academic and community physician educators in how to become better clinical educators. He has lectured at the national, regional, and local levels in the areas of clinical and health education. In addition to his clinical endeavors in the DC Metro region, for the past 15 years, he has advised hundreds of companies, many of which are Fortune 100 companies, on effective and innovative strategies to optimize their health and wellness related workforce programs.

Dr. Cheifetz graduated medical school from the State University of New York at Buffalo and completed his residency and chief residency at Georgetown University Medical Center. He completed both the Stanford Faculty Development Facilitator’s Program in Clinical Teaching and the Harvard-Macy Program for Leaders in Medical Education. He is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence as a clinician and an educator, including the AAMC distinguished service award, the American College of Physicians Laureate Award, two Golden Apple Teaching Awards from Georgetown for his past contributions to medical student and residency education, and, in 2012 received the Walter J. MacDonald Award for the top young internal medicine physician in the United States.

Dr. Florence Haseltine is a trailblazing medical scientist whose work and career has impacted women’s health globally. After receiving a PhD in Biophysics at MIT and an MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Haseltine completed residency at Boston Hospital for Women (Brigham & Women’s) then served as Associate Professor for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. She and her colleagues at Yale were in the forefront of the science and application of IVF.

Dr. Haseltine was appointed as Director of the Center for Population Research at NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, where she was responsible for the creating and overseeing all NICHD grants and programs related to maternal and child health and for training the next generation of researchers in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. During this period, Dr. Haseltine also founded the Society for Women’s Health Research, a non-profit organization that played a critical role in helping women gain access to federally-funded clinical trials. She also founded the Journal of Women’s Health, and co-founded the non-profit Organization for the Study of Sex Differences. In 2019, Dr. Haseltine came out of retirement to build and lead the North Texas Genome Center and to serve as Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at U. Texas Arlington.

Dr. Haseltine is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Health and Dignity of Women and Girls from the Friends of the United National Population Fund.

The Honorable James W. Ziglar is Senior Counsel at the Washington, DC law firm of Van Ness Feldman where he advises clients and colleagues on legal and public policy issues. His prior roles include President and CEO of Cross Match Technologies, a leading global provider of biometric technologies and security solutions Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate, a position in which he served as the Senate’s chief operating officer, chief protocol officer and chief law enforcement officer. He left his Senate post in 2001 when President George W. Bush appointed him, and he was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate, as Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, a position he held until December 2002 when the agency was dissolved, and its missions transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Ziglar has over 55 years of experience in management, finance, law, education, and public policy, spending 17 years as an investment banker on Wall Street and 22 years as a practicing lawyer. He began his legal career as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. He later was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, and he was a Resident Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Institute of Politics.

Mr. Ziglar presently serves on the Board of Directors of Integrated Biometrics, Inc. and as a Trustee of the Harry A. Blackmun Scholarship Foundation. His prior Board service includes Forward Industries (FORD; Nasdaq); Migration Policy Institute (Chairman), and Radiation Effects Research Foundation (Japan).

Joel S. Kanter is an investor and business leader whose career includes CEO and executive roles in the financial services industry, board roles in the medtech and other sectors, and significant legislative roles. In addition, Mr. Kanter is passionate about his service on numerous non-profit boards aimed at promoting science, innovation and technology; educational opportunities for all; and, the performing arts.

Early in his career, Mr. Kanter served as a Legislative Assistant to former Congressman Abner J. Mikva (D-Ill.) where he supported work on the House Judiciary Committee. He later served as Special Assistant to the National Association of Attorneys General and was involved in legislative efforts to reenact the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and to enact the original Superfund Legislation before becoming Staff Director of the House Rules Committee’s Subcommittee on Legislative Process Chaired by the late Congressman Gillis W. Long (D-La.). Following his public service, Mr. Kanter took on leadership roles as Managing Director, The Investors’ Washington Service, an investment advisory company specializing in providing advice to large institutional clients regarding the impact of federal legislative and regulatory decisions on debt and equity markets, then in 1986 as President of Windy City, Inc., and later as President and Chief Executive Officer of Walnut Financial Services, Inc., a publicly traded company (NMS: WNUT) that supported different forms of financing to early-stage and more mature companies. The Company was sold to Tower Hill Capital Group in 1999 in a transaction valued at approximately $400 million. Mr. Kanter Chairs or serves on several early-stage life science company Boards as well as on the Board of the School of Science & Engineering at Tulane University. He is Board Chair of the Black Student Fund in Washington, D.C, as well as Board Co-Chair of the Kennedy Center’s National Committee for The Performing Arts.

The Honorable Dr. Kathie L. Olsen is the Founder and President of KLO International, LLC, a consulting firm in Virginia. Believing research is the core foundation for innovation that will sustain global quality of life and economic vitality, she is dedicated to helping people and organizations succeed in their science and engineering research pursuits. Dr. Olsen served over 20+ years in the federal government in a variety scientific leadership positions, including the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Science Foundation (NSF); Associate Director and Deputy Director for Science of Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Chief Scientist for NASA and the Acting Associate Administrator for NASA’s Biological and Physical Research Enterprise. In these positions, she led strategic and budget planning and oversaw the development of new research and education priorities and initiatives. Following federal service, Dr. Olsen has served on review and advisory panels for U.S. federal agencies including NIH, NSF, DOD, DHS, as well as foreign governments, international research institutes, professional societies, academia, and UNESCO.
Dr. Olsen earned a Ph.D. in Biology (Neuroscience) from UC-Irvine and her Postdoctoral Fellowship was at Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. Her research on neural and genetic mechanisms underlying development and expression of sex differences in behavior was supported by NIH. Academic positions include Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the State University of New York-Stony Brook and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the George Washington University, and Affiliate Professor of Neuroscience at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University.

Dr. Olsen has received numerous honors and awards in recognition of her service to society, including four honorary doctorates from US universities, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Public Service Award, Society for Neuroscience Louise Hanson Marshall Recognition Award for significantly promoting the professional development of women in neuroscience, the NSF Director’s Award of Excellence; the University of California, Irvine Lauds and Laurels Distinguished Alumna Award, and the Norwegian Royal Order of Merit. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the Association for Women in Science, elected member of the ARCS Foundation, the Explorers Club, and the Cosmos Club.

Leslie Alexandre, DrPH has earned a stellar national reputation as a board director and organizational leader based on her robust experience and lengthy track record of success over a 40-year career in the health care and life science arenas. A two-time CEO, Dr. Alexandre has successfully transformed important public-facing organizations, navigated complex ecosystems, built cross-sector partnerships and leaned into board governance to strengthen performance, amplify impact and grow brand value. A known champion for representation and diversity, she builds inclusive cultures that support participation, collaboration and innovation. She has twice led special board committees in revitalizing governance with new policies and practices that facilitated succession planning, diversity, engagement and productivity.

Most recently Dr. Alexandre served as President, CEO and Board Director at Life Science Washington, where she transformed and revitalized the 501(c)(6) industry association, launched and directed a 501(c)(3) subsidiary (the Life Science Washington Institute) to provide concentrated support for entrepreneurs, and successfully positioned greater Seattle as a top 10 national life science ecosystem. Dr. Alexandre previously served in high visibility leadership positions at the Georgia Cancer Center, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, National Cancer Institute, Oncormed, Inc. (AMEX:ONM), and EDS (NYSE:EDS). In each case her contributions markedly improved organizational effectiveness and impact and increased brand equity. She also amassed a number of legislative accomplishments while serving in senior health policy roles for two U.S. Senators (John Heinz, R-PA and Dave Durenberger, R-MN).

For the past 35 years, Dr. Alexandre has advanced strategic objectives, governance priorities and performance of companies (public and private), government agencies, institutes of higher education and non-profit organizations through her contributions to more than 20 boards and advisory committees. She has been honored with a number of awards, among them the Women of Achievement Award from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of North Carolina; Academy of Women Inductee (Science and Technology) from the YWCA of the Greater Triangle; and Chairman’s Service Award from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development. She earned her DrPH and MSPH from the UCLA School of Public Health and a BA in Community Health from UC Davis.

The Honorable Dr. Rita Colwell is globally recognized leader in infectious diseases, water, and health. In addition to her academic appointments, Dr. Colwell served as 11th Director of the National Science Foundation, a Senate-confirmed appointment, and Co-chair of the White House’s National Science and Technology Council. In the business arena, Dr. Colwell is Founder of CosmosID, Inc which provides metagenomics services and bioinformatics solutions to identify strains of microbes in complex environments.

Dr. Colwell served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington Academy of Sciences, and American Society for Microbiology, Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, International Union of Microbiological Societies, and American Institute of Biological Sciences. Dr. Colwell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Royal Society of Canada, and Royal Irish Academy, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society.

Dr. Colwell has authored or co-authored 20 books and more than 800 scientific publication and has been awarded 63 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education. She is the recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, bestowed by the Emperor of Japan, 2006 National Medal of Science awarded by the President of the United States, the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize awarded by the King of Sweden, 2018 Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize of Singapore, and 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Microbiology.

Romain Murenzi joined Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) as a full professor of Physics in January 2024. Until November 2023, Professor Murenzi served as the Executive Director of The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS), a UNESCO (United Nations Education and Science Organization) programme unit, overseeing also the administration of Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), and the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). Murenzi initially joined TWAS in April 2011 for five years. He then spent 14 months at UNESCO, Paris, as the Director of the Division of Science Policy and Capacity Building, and Executive Secretary of International Basic Science Programme (IBSP) before returning to TWAS in 2017.

Previously (2001-2009) he served as Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Science and Technology and Scientific Research and as Minister in the President’s Office in Charge of Science and Technology, and Scientific Research. In 2009 he was a senior scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center for Science, Technology and Sustainable Development; he served as Director from 2010–2011. Professor Murenzi has led numerous UN advisory groups over the years, including the UN Secretary-General appointment as Chair for the feasibility study of the UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries in November 2014 and to serve on the 10-Member Group to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism in January 2016 for sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Murenzi served as Principal Investigator for the NSF (National Science Foundation) Center for Theoretical Studies of Physical Systems (CTSPS) at Clark University from 1992 to 2001, and as Chair of the Physics Department. Murenzi holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Burundi, a Master of Science and a PhD from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, a Master of Law degree in Information Technology and Telecommunication from Strathclyde University in the United Kingdom, and an honorary doctoral degree conferred upon him by the University of Johannesburg.

Valerie Darling is a nationally recognized multilingual board director and operations leader in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and medical device sectors, and has held roles as CEO, CCO, CRO, and CBO.  She currently serves as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Sequentify, a global cancer genomic sequencing company, and the national Board of Directors of Private Directors Association, the only national organization dedicated to corporate governance of private companies (private equity, ESOPs, and family businesses) comprised of board directors and private companies. She served as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Proteas Bioanalytics, Inc., a proteomic diagnostic and medical technology company, then was later invited to join the executive team as Chief Business Officer and Chief Revenue Officer. Ms. Darling also served as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Class LLC, a cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and risk management professional services company.  She has chaired various board committees: Audit, Nominating and Governance, Compensation, and CEO Search and Succession and been on the Advisory Boards of several companies: Life Science Works, Navvisa, VIC Technology Venture Development, and Ensignis Digital. Nasdaq’s Center for Board Excellence and Equilar included Ms. Darling in its Top 50 Diverse Board Candidates 2023, and Private Corporate Directors magazine included her in its Top 20 Directors to Watch list. She has lived abroad, managed global teams, and is a global citizen. A Latina, she is bilingual in Spanish, speaks French and German, and studied Russian, Portuguese, and Italian.

Over her career, she has built and led operations and commercial divisions with significant revenue streams and growth for global Fortune 100 companies, including Johnson and Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cardinal Health, Astra Zeneca. She has held profit and loss responsibility of $1.4 B in a Fortune 17 company. She has also been a founding builder and leader of early-stage companies (both venture capital and private equity-backed) that experienced successful exits and acquisitions including Genzyme (now Sanofi-Genzyme) and ZymoGenetics (now Bristol Myers Squibb), and others in medical device and health IT.

Ms. Darling has been recognized for her corporate successes and service to the corporate community with numerous awards, including numerous consecutive President’s Club Awards, EBITDA CAGR, and Market Share Growth Leader Awards at Johnson and Johnson, Genzyme, Bristol Myers Squibb, Astra Zeneca, and ZymoGenetics. She was awarded Executive of the Year by Johnson and Johnson.

In addition to her corporate appointments, Ms. Darling has worked to strengthen corporate governance through training and development programs for diverse Board members, including Santa Clara University’s Women’s Corporate Board Readiness Program and Black Corporate Board Readiness Program. She is a national speaker and Director Coach for Diversity Directors Initiative, 50/50 Women on Boards, How Women Lead, and Private Directors Association.

Ms. Darling holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from the State University of New York at Albany and Universidad Complutense de Madrid (through SUNY) and received a certificate from Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business from the Women’s Corporate Board Readiness Program.