Barbara Bierer, MD

Harvard Medical School

Barbara Bierer, MD, is the Faculty Director of the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center); Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; and a hematologist/oncologist. She is also the Director of the Regulatory Foundations, Ethics and Law Program of the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center and the Director of Regulatory Policy, SMART IRB. She is Faculty in the Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, and Affiliate Faculty in the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Previously she served as Senior Vice President, Research, at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital for 11 years, and was the institutional official for human and animal research, for biosafety, and for research integrity. She initiated the Brigham Research Institute and the Innovation Hub (iHub), a focus for entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition, she was the Founding Director of the Center for Faculty Development and Diversity at the BWH.

In addition to her academic responsibilities, Dr. Bierer served or serves as Chair of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Human Research Protections, Department of Health and Human Services (2008-2012); as a member of the National Academies of Sciences Committee on Science, Technology and the Law (2007-2016); on the Boards of Directors of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) (2011-2020), Management Sciences for Health (MSH) (2013-2022), Vivli (2017-), Clinithink (2015-), and North Star Review Board (2020-). She chairs the Board of Trustees of the Edward P. Evans Foundation, a foundation supporting biomedical research. She has authored or co-authored over 260 publications.

Dr. Bierer received a B.S. from Yale University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Stephen Plank

Annie E. Casey Foundation

As vice president of Research, Evaluation, Evidence and Data at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Stephen Plank balances several responsibilities. These include advancing evidence-based practices; commissioning social policy research; overseeing evaluations of Casey programs and initiatives; supporting innovative research methodologies and data resources; and building local capacity to produce and use data to inform programs, planning and policy reform.

Plank’s expertise — cultivated over 25 years — is in leveraging data, research and evaluation in the areas of education, school improvement and college and career readiness. Additionally, he has collaborated with experts in public health, housing, workforce training and other human service fields.

Prior to joining Casey, Plank served as a managing researcher at the nonprofit American Institutes for Research, one of the largest behavioral and social science research and evaluation organizations in the world. Earlier in his career, Plank directed research and evaluation at the Corporation for National and Community Service — the federal agency that administered AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and the Social Innovation Fund — and spent 18 years as a faculty member and research scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Plank has authored several books and articles in journals including the American Educational Research Journal, Teachers College Record, Journal of Vocational Education Research, Sociology of Education and American Journal of Education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematical methods in the social sciences and sociology from Northwestern University and master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago.

Pretima Persad

American Cancer Society

Pretima Persad is the Regional Director of Philanthropy for the Greater New York City Area at the American Cancer Society, where she specializes in donor partnerships related to health and social justice programs, specifically health access and equity.  Pretima has 15 years of experience working within the New York City healthcare space on a variety of fronts. She began her career at major NYC academic medical centers, New York Presbyterian and Hospital for Special Surgery, while working on healthcare operations and various fundraising campaigns. Her career transitioned to strategy and grantmaking efforts at The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust in New York City, where she was first introduced to Generation Patient, who later became a Helmsley Trust grantee.  Her grantmaking efforts focused on advocacy and improving access to care for grantee partners living in low and middle-income nations.

In addition to healthcare, Pretima is passionate about access to higher education for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations and expanding access to clean water to low-income nations.  Pretima holds a Bachelor's degree from Manhattanville College and both a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology and Health Policy from New York Medical College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Seton Hall University.

Keely Cat-Wells

Keely Cat-Wells is an Entrepreneur and Disability Rights Advocate. While in the hospital, she founded a company that evolved into C Talent. Acquired by Whalar in 2022, C Talent represents Disabled talent, reshaping perceptions of Disability. Under her leadership, C Talent had an artist roster with a combined following of over 50 million people and placed talent in thousands of projects for brands like Savage X Fenty, HBO, and Disney, and they’ve represented Academy Award and Emmy-nominated Disabled talent. The acquisition marked a significant investment in Disabled talent and a pivotal milestone for the creator industry.

Following the acquisition, Keely established Making Space, a venture-backed, accessible talent acquisition and learning experience platform that allows companies to train and access pre qualified disabled talent pools. Designed to bridge the education-employment gap, Making Space creates tangible pathways to employment and career advancement through employer-supported courses. Making Space is a Techstars Economic Mobility 2023 company and a winner of Pepperdine’s 2023 ‘Most Fundable Companies’.

In collaboration with Disability Rights Advocate Sophie Morgan, Keely co-founded Making Space Media, a division of Making Space. They produce film, TV, and promotional content that centers the Disabled voice. Making Space Media has secured a first-look deal with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.

Keely has been a Disability subject matter expert in discussions with notable figures such as President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. She has had the privilege of serving on the Advisory Board for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and currently holds positions on the Board of Directors for No Barriers USA, 2-Gether International and Reelabilities Film Festival.

Keely played a key role as a youth leader in the inaugural Mental Health Youth Action Forum, hosted by MTV Entertainment Group in collaboration with the Biden-Harris Administration and leading mental health nonprofits. Selena Gomez, First Lady Dr Jill Biden, Surgeon General Dr Murthy and President Joe Biden were in attendance and conversation. The forum took place at the White House, driving mental health awareness to action through storytelling and media.

Keely became a laureate of the Youth Activist Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on the eve of the International Day for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2022. In 2023, Keely became a Storyteller in Residence at the Clinton Global Initiative and in 2024 Keely was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar. The program is a partnership among the Presidential Centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson and is designed for leaders who share a commitment to helping solve society’s greatest challenges. 

Keely has received numerous awards and honours. Among these are Forbes 30 under 30 and The Diana Award, established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It is renowned as the most prestigious accolade a young person can achieve for their humanitarian or social action endeavors.

Leah Clark

McAllister & Quinn

Leah Clark serves as a Senior Research Analyst for the Advanced Technology, Defense & Homeland Security Practice. In this role, Leah assists the managing directors and team through research and development for technical-based clients. She provides analytical and managerial support in grant-seeking strategies and government relations projects for clients.

Leah is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan, where she earned her M.S.E. in Nuclear Engineering and two graduate certificates, the first in Science, Technology, and Public Policy and the second in Professional Development Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her research involved the characterization of detectors for neutron and gamma-ray radiation spectroscopy for nuclear nonproliferation efforts. She tested and compared different detection systems to determine best practices for underground nuclear explosion monitoring. Her work was supported by the Consortium for Monitoring, Technology, and Verification and was selected for poster and oral presentations at several conferences.

Apart from engagement with the scientific community, she has also spent several years advocating for patients with chronic illnesses and for improvements in healthcare through nonprofit and for-profit spaces. She is a program director for a nonprofit organization centered on improving the lives of young adults with inflammatory bowel disease and has mentored 25 fellows, including ten international fellows, over the past three years of the program. She also served as the Customer Service and Social Media Manager for the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company and focused on communication with patients for their affordable medication needs. 

Sneha Dave

Sneha graduated from Indiana University in May 2020 where she majored in chronic illness advocacy as well as journalism. She created the Generation Patient and its program the Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network (CCYAN) to create support systems for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions across the U.S. and internationally. She is proud to work with a team composed entirely of young adults with chronic medical disabilities and to keep Generation Patient transparent and independent from the pharmaceutical and insurance industry.

Sneha has completed an undergraduate research fellowship in health policy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She has also interned at numerous places such as Pfizer Global Headquarters in health economics and outcomes research for Inflammation and Immunology. Sneha has spoken on Capitol Hill, featured nationally on C-SPAN, and is a past contributor for U.S. News and World Report. She has served on the Democratic National Committee Disability Policy Subcommittee and she is part of the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council, an independent appraisal committee of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. Sneha also serves on the patient engagement collaborative for the FDA. She was previously a national policy fellow at RespectAbility and now serves as the youngest director on the board for the national nonprofit. Sneha was awarded two academic fellowships with the Association of Health Care Journalists. For her work, Sneha was selected as one of the most influential teenagers in 2018 by the We Are Family Foundation and she was been recognized as an American Association of People with Disabilities Emerging Leader in 2020.