National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia Board of Directors

Jack Ansell

Dr. Ansell is the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Before joining Lenox Hill Hospital, Dr. Ansell was Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Vice Chairman for Clinical Affairs of the Department of Medicine.  See related news story.

After receiving his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dr. Ansell completed an internship and residency at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Ansell then completed a fellowship in hematology at Boston University and in hematology/hemostasis at Boston’s Veterans Administration Hospital.

Dr. Ansell’s main areas of interest and research include hemostasis and thrombosis, with a special emphasis on thrombotic disorders and antithrombotic therapy. He has had a continued interest and involvement in the application of new modes of delivering and monitoring anticoagulants, particularly in the management of oral anticoagulant therapy.

Dr. Ansell’s main areas of interest and research include hemostasis and Dr. Ansell has approximately 170 publications in notable journals such as Annals of Internal Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Journal of the American Medical Association. His publishing activity includes reviews, editorials, textbooks, videos, abstracts and letters. He serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis and as an editorial consultant for such journals as The New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and Circulation.

Dr. Ansell is the founder and Chair of the Anticoagulation Forum, a network of anticoagulation clinics throughout North America, and is a member of a number of professional organizations including the American College of Physicians (Fellow); the American Society of Hematology; the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis and its Scientific Subcommittee on Haemostasis Testing; the American Heart Association (Fellow), and the American Medical Association. Dr. Ansell also serves as Chair of the Committee on Managing Oral Anticoagulation for the American College of Chest Physicians Consensus Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy.

Randy Fenninger, President

Randy was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism in 2002 following an airplane trip. He was subsequently diagnosed with factor V Leiden. Randy is President of MARC Associates, a Washington, D.C. government relations firm. He lives in Vienna, VA with his wife and 2 sons.
randy@marcassoc.com 

Tom Hogan, Secretary,  Member-Education and Communications Committees

Tom had been serving in the U.S. Navy's Submarine Force when he suffered an unexplained DVT in 1992 that was accompanied by a PE. After 6 months of Coumadin therapy, he was returned to full duty. In 1995, he experienced a second unexplained DVT. In 1996, he was diagnosed with homozygous factor V Leiden and high homocysteine levels. Now retired from the Navy, Tom, his wife and 2 children live in Connecticut. Both his children are heterozygous for factor V Leiden.

thogan96@sbcglobal.net 

Stephanie Davis, Member-Fundraising Committee

Stephanie is a fund-raising executive with broad experience in non-profit management, program development and evaluation and marketing and public relations. She is currently the Senior Director of Development for the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Pediatric Oncology. Most recently, she was Director of Development for the Johns Hopkins Bioethics Institute. Ms. Davis holds a master's degree in medical social work from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor of arts from the University of Colorado. She is committed to raising awareness of thrombosis and thrombophilia as she suffered bilateral deep vein thrombosis following an airplane trip.

 Mark Jablonski, Past President I

Mark is a business development executive with extensive consulting and project management experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Mark, his wife Georgianna and 2 of their 3 children have the Factor V Leiden gene mutation.

jablonskithrombo@yahoo.com 

Mike Hefron, North Carolina

Mike is an executive with IBM, where he has been for over 18 years. He currently serves as World Wide Client Unit Director and manages several large electronic clients in the industrial sector. 
 
Prior to taking this position, Mr. Hefron was the Director of IBM’s 360° Program for the Asia Pacific and Americas Group. This program was designed to create unique go-to-market partnerships with large clients in the form of “joint ventures.” Mike was responsible for building the 360° program and developing the infrastructure by creating the program model, securing funding, establishing meaningful and measurable success criteria and establishing a repeatable go-to-market process for the clients in the program.
 
Mike has also held the position of IBM Client Unit Executive; Georgia Industrial Sector, Business Unit Executive; Alabama/Mississippi Finance and Insurance, Branch Manager; Boston Finance, Marketing Manager and Rhode Island Finance, Product Specialist and Marketing Representative. He also owned and managed small businesses in the software and services market from 1993 to 2002.
 
Mike is married and has 4 children. He has a BS/BA in Business Administration and Computer Science.  He currently lives in Charlotte, NC, and is professional soccer coach with the Charlotte Soccer Club.

David Henry, Treasurer, Delaware

David is currently a finance and supply chain consultant. Previously he held senior management positions with responsibilities for accounts receivable and financial management processes for Energizer Battery, Inc. and Playtex Products. David also worked for the Hershey Company in progressive finance and supply chain roles.
 
A DVT and multiple pulmonary embolism survivor, David also serves on  boards for a non-profit assisted living facility and his community maintenance corporation.  He holds an AA in economics, a BA in organizational management and an MBA. David divides his time between his residence in Bear, Delaware and a second home near the Delaware beaches with his wife, Michele, and their flat coat retriever, Chloe.

Lynn Levitt, Vice Chair of Education and Communications Committee Member

Lynn suffered from DVT and a PE in 2003 after which she was diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by recurring blood clots. Lynn currently receives anticoagulation treatment and consultation at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. She became involved in NATT at the end of 2003.
 
Lynn has over 8 years of marketing and event coordination experience. Besides serving on the NATT Board of Directors, she serves as Co-Chair of the Education Committee, member of the Communications Committee and as NATT's Volunteer Coordinator. She is dedicated to spreading awareness about thrombophilia and offering support to other blood clot sufferers and their families.

Lori Preston, Vice President, Chair of Communications Committee

 Lori is an MBA graduate from the Johns Hopkins University. She has extensive experience in marketing, writing, fundraising and event planning at organizations including the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the American Red Cross. Lori was diagnosed with homozygous Factor V Leiden during her pregnancy in 1999. She is passionate about raising awareness of thrombosis and thrombophilia because the disorder has affected several generations of her family and friends.
lpreston@keelan.com

Stephen  Rodner, Esq., New York

Stephen Rodner is a partner in the firm of Pryor Cashman LLP in New York City. He specializes in copyright, entertainment, trademark and intellectual property law. He is a member of the Copyright Society of the USA and the International Trademark Association, Treasurer of the Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, Co-Chair of the motion picture committee and Chairman of the Board for Music For All Seasons.

Stephen has written articles on multimedia and entertainment legal matters for the New York Law Journal, Video Business Magazine and Hollywood Reporter ESQ and has lectured at multimedia and entertainment law conferences. He earned his BA from Columbia College and an LLB from NYU Law School. He was an adjunct professor of copyright and entertainment law at New York Law School. And, he has offered pro bono legal assistance to many non-profit organizations. As both a thrombosis and thrombophilia patient, Stephen is committed to NATT’s mission to increase public awareness of clotting disorders.

srodner@proyorcashman.com

Leslie Smith, Virginia

Leslie Smith is a Public Affairs Specialist with the Department of Defense Joint Warfare Analysis Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, and a retired Army Captain whose military career spanned 11 years. Through her work with wounded warriors, Leslie has become a strong advocate for disabled veterans.
 
Leslie’s life changed dramatically in 2002, when she became very ill during a 6-month peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Leslie was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, where doctors diagnosed her with a rare blood disorder. Because of severe complications, they placed her on imminent death status with only 24 hours to live.
 
Fortunately, doctors did not give up. They succeeded in saving her life by amputating her left leg just below the knee along with extensive tissue in both legs. Leslie spent 7 long months at Walter Reed in intensive care, recovery and rehabilitation. Doctors performed over 20 surgeries that enabled her to walk again. Then, she suffered yet another complication that caused permanent vision loss in her left eye.
 
Instead of being defeated, these setbacks left her with a new outlook and a new determination to accept challenges rather than give up.  Leslie now uses her own experience to help others. She is a “peer visitor” with the Amputee Coalition of America and visits disabled veterans at their bedsides. She encourages and supports wounded military service members and their families at Balboa Naval Hospital and at Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Centers. And, she motivates wounded warriors to overcome their challenges through athletics, just as she has done.
  
Leslie is a compelling spokesperson and represents fellow disabled veterans as a National Spokesperson for the American Disabled for Life Memorial that will be built in Washington, DC. She recently served as the Wounded Warrior’s Advocate on the President’s Commission on Care for American’s Returning Wounded Warriors and she has proposed new legislation, H.R. 2200, that would increase leave flexibility for wounded warriors who are federal employees. Leslie’s inspirational story has garnered extensive coverage in local and national media.

Elizabeth Varga, Chair - Education Committee, Member Medical and Scientific Advisory Board

Liz learned she had factor V Leiden in 2000. She was tested due to a family history of the disorder. Liz is a certified genetic counselor and has 5 years of experience in educating patients, families, health care providers and the public about inherited disorders and disease prevention, specifically as related to thrombophilia.

As the Chairperson of the NATT Education Committee, she helps develop and maintain the organization’s web site, produces and edits patient education materials and presentations and organizes information seminars for health care providers and the public. She also serves as a liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to foster collaboration among public and private groups involved with preventing or reducing the complications of clotting disorders.

Her commitment to NATT is based on her desire to see improvements in health care education related to thrombosis and thrombophilia. Liz currently works as a genetic counselor and research coordinator at Children’s Research Institute in Columbus, OH.

eavarga@hotmail.com

Traci Wilkes

Traci Wilkes was born in NY and raised in N J. She obtained her B.A and Juris Doctorate from Rutgers. She has worked with prestige law firms and clerked for a New Jersey Superior Court judge where she became a certified mediator. Traci is now with WTA (Willinger Talent Agency) where, as an attorney/agent she manages talent in news and sports and negotiates television contracts in top 30 markets. Traci’s husband, Charles Smith, is also an attorney. Since Traci had a blood clot she has committed a great deal of time (as has her mother and husband) in helping at Stop the Clot Forums in NC and MD as well as Washington Day.

Back to Top