People

Ray Neilsen was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation in 2006. During his tenure, the Foundation has grown to North America’s largest private funder in the world of spinal cord injury.  The Foundation supports scientific research, community programming as well as education for individuals living with spinal cord injury.  Ray is actively involved in setting the Foundation’s long-range vision, overseeing the investment of the Foundation’s assets and determining the strategic direction.

In addition to his work with the Foundation, Ray is President of Neilsen and Company, a real estate development company responsible for a number of major commercial, residential, educational and municipal buildings. Originally founded and operated by his grandfather in the 1960s and led by his dad for the next three decades, Ray continues the Neilsen family legacy of creating exceptional real estate projects.

Ray’s professional career began as a busboy at Ameristar Casinos, Inc., the company founded by Craig H. Neilsen. His father insisted Ray immerse himself and learn all levels of the organization, so he worked through the ranks and was with the company for 20 years. Ultimately, Ray served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Ray earned a Bachelor of Science in history from the College of Idaho and a Master of Business Administration from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Gordy Kanofsky has been actively involved as an advisory board member of the Foundation since its inception in 2002 and was appointed as a member of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2006.

Gordy was the Chief Executive Officer (June 2008-August 2013) and a member of the Board of Directors (November 2006-August 2013) of Ameristar Casinos, Inc., the company founded by Craig H. Neilsen. He previously served, as Vice-Chairman of the Board, Co-Chairman of the Board, Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs since he joined the company in 1999. Prior to this, he served as Ameristar’s outside general counsel since 1998 and its securities counsel since 1993, when he was retained to represent Ameristar in connection with its initial public offering.

Gordy was in private practice as a corporate and securities lawyer in Washington, DC and Los Angeles for 20 years before joining Ameristar. He became a partner in Hughes Hubbard & Reed in 1989 and later became a shareholder in Sanders, Barnet, Goldman, Simons & Mosk.

Gordy has served on the Board of Directors of the American Gaming Association, in various volunteer leadership positions for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and as the Chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the Washington University Alumni Association.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in history. Gordy earned his law degree, with honors, from Duke University.

Dr. Robert Brown joined the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation as a Board Member in April 2007.

At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, Bob is a professor of neurology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and is the John T. and Lillian Mathews Professor of Neuroscience. In addition to his clinical work, his research interests include cerebrovascular diseases of all types, including primary and secondary stroke prevention, acute ischemic stroke, carotid angioplasty/stenting, intracranial aneurysms, intracranial vascular malformations, primary central nervous system vasculitis and the epidemiology of stroke and other cerebrovascular disorders.

Bob has received a number of awards and distinctions. He is a previous recipient of the Mayo Distinguished Clinicians Award, the Mayo School of Continuing Medical Education Outstanding Faculty Award, the Mayo Individual Award for Excellence and the American Heart Association’s Stroke Leadership Award. He has been elected to membership as a fellow in the American Neurological Association, and is a fellow in the Stroke Council of the American Stroke Association, and in the American Academy of Neurology.

Bob completed his medical training at Mayo Medical School, neurology residency at Mayo Clinic and stroke and cerebrovascular disease fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He also has a Masters of Public Health in epidemiology and clinical trial design.

As the Executive Director of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Kym serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors. She is responsible for the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan, vision setting, and ensuring the values of the Foundation drive day-to-day decision making. Essential to her role is creating an institutional culture that prioritizes partnership, the removal of unnecessary barriers, and enthusiasm for new ideas. Kym works closely with the Co-Trustees and Board of Directors on the vision of the organization as set forth by Craig H. Neilsen. She provides leadership in strategic planning and all operational areas, ensuring the development of innovative and effective programming.

Kym has more than 25 years of hands-on non-profit leadership experience. Prior to her work in the scientific and disability communities, she worked with both emerging and established non-profits, as well as serving on numerous boards focusing on education, social services, health system infrastructure development, and the arts. Kym holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Riverside and a Master of Fine Arts and Non-Profit Management from UCLA.

Dr. Suzy Kim has been involved with the Neilsen Foundation since 2017 as a reviewer for the Creating Opportunity & Independence portfolio.

Suzy is currently the SCI Medical Director at Providence St. Jude Centers for Rehabilitation & Wellness and staff physician at VA Long Beach SCI/D Center. The focus of her clinical practice and research involves treating individuals with spinal cord injuries in multiple settings including academic medical centers, regional trauma centers, National Model Systems of Care for SCI, VA SCI Centers, and county hospitals. Suzy has served as a Medical Director and Associate Chief across the spectrum of clinical care from the hospital to the community. Additionally, she has consulting experience in managing catastrophic SCI care for injured workers in the worker’s compensation sector, and utilization review for commercial insurance companies.

Throughout her career, she’s given expert presentations at national conferences and international symposiums for SCI. Academically, Suzy has co-authored SCI chapters in the Handbook of Paralympic Studies, the Olympic Manual of Sports Cardiology, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ Orthopedic Knowledge Spine Update. As an avid adaptive surfer and wheelchair triathlete, she has volunteered as a Team Physician for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Sports Performance Division Olympic and Paralympic teams since 2009, working with Paralympic Track & Field (Athletics), Handcycling, and Wheelchair Tennis teams. She proudly served as one of the Team Physicians at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, 2012 London Paralympics Games, Para Pan American Games in 2011 and 2015, and World Championships for Paralympic Track & Field in 2010.

After receiving her medical degree from University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, she completed her residency at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab) and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) with subspecialty board certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. Currently, Suzy is a senior reviewer for SCI subspecialty board exams, administered by the American Board of PM&R.

Dr. Steven Kirshblum was elected to the Board of Directors in 2023. Prior to this, Steve served as a member of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation’s Scientific Review Boards from 2011-2021.

Since 1990, Steve has practiced Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (KIR) in West Orange, NJ, and has been a part of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Rutgers NJ Medical School (RNJMS). He served as the Director of Spinal Cord Injury Program from 1994-2023, and is currently the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for KIR. He has served as the co-project director of the Northern NJ Model SCI System since 1999 (to the present), and is the CMO for Kessler Foundation, and Professor and Chair of the PM&R Department at RNJMS.

Steve has authored numerous articles and book chapters on topics in SCI and education, and is the Co-Editor of the text Spinal Cord Medicine. He previously served as President of the American Paraplegia Society and the Academy of Spinal Cord  Injury Professionals (2011-2015) and on the Board of Directors of the American Spinal Injury Association (2017-2023). He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, is a member of Spinal Cord Outcomes Partnership Endeavor (SCOPE), and has received numerous awards to recognize his accomplishments.

Steve is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has a sub-specialty certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine.

Dr. Phillip Popovich began his relationship with the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation in 2012 as a member of the SCIRTS Review Board. In July 2019, he was appointed to the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Phil has spent his entire professional career at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. There, he completed his PhD training in Physiology and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) then, as a post-doctoral fellow, Phil was awarded a competitive Sandoz Research Fellowship to support his formal training in immunology and CNS autoimmune disease. In 2006, he was appointed by Ohio State as the Ray W. Poppleton Research Designated Endowed Chair. In his lab, he has been making seminal contributions to the field of neuroscience and is internationally renowned for doing innovative and rigorous research, especially in the sub-disciplines of neurotrauma and neuroimmunology.

Beyond the Ohio State community, he is a member of several national and international advisory boards for foundations and organizations that support SCI research, patient advocacy and policy development. He also serves on the editorial board of various scientific journals. Phil has received numerous awards to recognize his scientific accomplishments. In 2013, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and two years later was appointed as a member of the Faculty of 1000. Phil received the David F. Apple, Jr. Award from the American Spinal Injury Association in 2017 and in 2019 he was awarded an R35 Outstanding Investigator Award from NIH-NINDS that will fund his research lab through 2027.

Phil is currently Professor and Chair of OSU’s Department of Neuroscience. He also serves as Director of the Center for Brain and Spinal Cord Repair, Executive Director of the Belford Center for Spinal Cord Injury and Co-Director of the Neurological Research Institute. In 2018, he was named a Distinguished University Scholar.

Taylor R. Randall was selected by the Utah Board of Higher Education to serve as the 17th president of the University of Utah on August 5, 2021. He comes to the position after serving as both dean of and an accounting professor in the David Eccles School of Business (DESB).

While serving as dean from 2009-2021, Randall worked to earn the business school a national reputation as a place of innovation. His efforts dramatically increased the value of a DESB education: The school now holds top 10 entrepreneurship rankings for both undergraduate and graduate programs, and seven of the school’s programs are currently ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

Randall began his career at the U as a professor of accounting from 1999-2009. He received awards for the best teacher in the MBA, Executive MBA, and undergraduate programs, as well as the Brady Superior Teaching Award, which is a career achievement award. Under his guidance as faculty director, the University Venture Fund (a real-world investing learning experience) became the largest student-run venture fund in the country. His academic research has examined the interactions between strategy, technology, products, and value chain structure, with an emphasis on how these interactions affect financial performance in organizations.

The president graduated from the University of Utah in 1990 with honors in accounting and then earned an MBA and a doctorate in operations and information management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Randall and his wife, Janet, have four children, one daughter-in-law, and one son-in-law. He loves spending family time playing games, relaxing in the backyard, mountain biking, road biking, golfing, and all things sports-related.

As the Executive Director of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Kym serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors. She is responsible for the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan, vision setting, and ensuring the values of the Foundation drive day-to-day decision making. Essential to her role is creating an institutional culture that prioritizes partnership, the removal of unnecessary barriers, and enthusiasm for new ideas. Kym works closely with the Co-Trustees and Board of Directors on the vision of the organization as set forth by Craig H. Neilsen. She provides leadership in strategic planning and all operational areas, ensuring the development of innovative and effective programming.

Kym has more than 25 years of hands-on non-profit leadership experience. Prior to her work in the scientific and disability communities, she worked with both emerging and established non-profits, as well as serving on numerous boards focusing on education, social services, health system infrastructure development, and the arts. Kym holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Riverside and a Master of Fine Arts and Non-Profit Management from UCLA.

Dr. Naomi Kleitman serves as the Senior Vice President of Grants and Research, overseeing the Foundation’s research portfolios, as well as providing strategic guidance on all grant programs for the organization. She is based in Maryland, near Washington, DC, and is a Fellow of the American Spinal Injury Association.

From 2001-2012, Naomi served as a Program Director at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, administering a portfolio of grants and contracts in spinal cord injury (SCI) research aimed at developing successful strategies for nervous system repair and restoration of function. She also focused on translation of fundamental research on spinal cord and peripheral neural repair into clinical studies that apply these basic principles, and the development of rigorous standards for preclinical and translational SCI research. Naomi has participated on numerous NIH and interagency groups, as a Federal Liaison to SCI research programs at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Administration and several non-federal agencies, and was co-lead for the NIH/NINDS-FDA/CBER working group.

Naomi was a faculty member of the University of Miami School of Medicine in The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis from 1989-2001, studying mechanisms of axonal regeneration in tissue culture and the development of populations of adult rodent and human Schwann cells for transplantation in peripheral and central nervous system injury sites. She also served as the Scientific Liaison for The Miami Project, encouraging interaction between clinicians, rehabilitation and basic researchers, as well as informing the public, patient groups, and the media about progress in SCI research.

Naomi received a PhD in neural and behavioral biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and did postdoctoral work at Washington University, St. Louis.

As Senior Vice President of Finance, Jason is responsible for managing all of the Foundation’s financial activities and safeguarding all of its assets. He oversees the Foundation’s investment portfolio, annual operating budget, grants disbursement, reporting and audit process.

Jason comes to the Foundation with an extensive background in finance and accounting, including experience managing cash flow, developing budgets and creating and maintaining internal controls. He began his career in the audit practice of KPMG and rose to become a senior manager. Since then, he has worked with companies in a multitude of industries, and his experience includes work with a non-profit organization. Jason received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from California State University, Northridge, and is also a California CPA (Inactive).

Kim Cerise is the Director of Grants Management, where she is responsible for managing the Foundation’s grants processes. Kim works at the Foundation’s satellite office in Twin Falls, ID.

Kim has worked for the Neilsen Foundation since its inception. Initially, she worked part-time on the Foundation’s accounting and bookkeeping, as well as assisting with the scientific research grants process. Her responsibilities expanded to overseeing the online grants administration. She joined the Foundation full-time in 2011 when she became the organization’s Grants and Finance Assistant before transitioning into her current position.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Kim worked for 20 years for Craig Neilsen’s first business, Neilsen and Company, in Twin Falls, ID, and was responsible for a wide variety of duties. During that time, she also worked for Ameristar Casinos, also founded by Craig Neilsen. Earlier in her career, Kim worked at the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in Butte, MT, where she was responsible for managing the Admissions Office’s student information system.

Outside of work, Kim enjoys spending time with family and friends, yoga, gardening, music, cooking, and watching TV series and movies.  She loves traveling to the Oregon Coast for long walks on the beach, hiking, and dining out.

Alisa Hardison is the Administrative Coordinator. In this role, she is responsible for providing administrative support to the Foundation’s Grants Management team. She also works with the Program Officers for the Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum (SCIRTS), Psychosocial Research/Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellowships (PSR/SCIMF), Creating Opportunity & Independence (CO&I), and Neilsen Scholarship Program (NSP) portfolios to facilitate meeting planning and logistics.

Alisa’s background consists of working in non-profits focused on economically empowering survivors and those at risk of human trafficking. She has a wealth of experience in managing fundraising data and reporting, as well as overseeing the planning and execution of non-profit events. Alisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from University of California Santa Barbara.

In her free time, Alisa loves to spend time outside, travel the world, relax at the beach, catch up with family, play sports with friends, and paddleboard.

Ehrica Hernandez is the Grants Management Associate. In this role, her responsibilities include administrative support of the Foundation’s grantmaking processes. She also supports grant-related program activities, liaising with staff based out of the Foundation’s National Office in Los Angeles, CA and its four satellite offices.

Ehrica has over 12 years of experience working in administrative support roles. Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked for the City of Pasadena Public Health Department as a Staff Assistant III. During her time there, she performed high-level support to multiple health programs, including substance abuse prevention, tobacco control, nutrition and physical activity, and bioterrorism/emergency preparedness program. In addition, she provided department-wide operational support that included inventory control, payroll, and grants and contracts preparation.

Ehrica enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending concerts, watching movies, collecting artwork, roller skating, and relaxing at the beach.

As the Program Officer, Julea is responsible for ensuring all internal and external communications from the Foundation are deployed in a consistent and professional manner. In addition, she also works with the Program Officers for the Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum (SCIRTS), Psychosocial Research/Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellowships (PSR/SCIMF) and Creating Opportunity & Independence (CO&I) portfolios and the Grants Management office to facilitate program announcements and grant opportunities. Julea also oversees the Neilsen Scholarship Program (NSP).

Julea joins the Foundation with a background in the non-profit independent school setting overseeing events and alumni relations as well as maintaining an integral role in social media, communications and fundraising. Julea received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.

Julea enjoys spending time with family and friends.  She is a sunshine enthusiast, loves working out, listening to country music, traveling, hiking, trying new recipes, and exploring the beautiful outdoors.

As Director of Finance, Gina is responsible for helping to manage all of the Foundation’s financial activities. She helps oversee the Foundation’s investment portfolio as well as manage the reporting and audit process.

Gina joins the Foundation with over 10 years of experience in general accounting and financial reporting. With several years of experience in financial services, Gina brings her experience at Wells Fargo Capital Finance where she managed all general accounting functions as well as several years in the mortgage industry. She received her Bachelor of Science in accounting from California State University, Northridge, and is a California CPA (Inactive).

Gina loves music, sports (football and basketball), comedy, baking, and playing pool. Outside work, she enjoys spending time with family, baking specialty cakes, attending comedy shows and concerts, and during the football season, obsessing over her fantasy team.

Darrell Musick is the Program Officer for the Creating Opportunity & Independence (CO&I) portfolio. Darrell works closely with the CO&I Review Board to help augment the lives of individuals living with spinal cord injury through this diverse portfolio.

Darrell has more than 20 years of clinical experience in the field of spinal cord injury at Craig Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center as a clinician, educator and leader. He founded Spinal Cord Injury Seminars, Inc. in 2004 to promote SCI continuing education nationally. He was previously an adjunct faculty member at the Samuel Merritt College and UCSF/SFSU DPT programs in the Bay Area. Darrell also contributed to the Ekso Bionics robotic exoskeleton development from 2010 to 2020, and served on the CHN CO&I Review Board from 2013-2020.

Darrell received his undergraduate degree in Physical Therapy from California State University at Long Beach in 1989.

Darrell is an outdoor enthusiast, who can often be found fishing or waterskiing the California Delta. He is usually accompanied by his dog, Casey. Darrell is an avid Giants/Warriors/49ers fan, who also enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Jacob Shreckengost is a Program Officer for the Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum (SCIRTS) portfolio. He assists in management of this portfolio throughout all stages of the application and review process.

As a child, Jacob witnessed a car accident that left his younger brother Jesse, then 5, tetraplegic due to a spinal cord injury between the first two cervical vertebrae. This inspired Jacob to focus on neuroscience throughout his academic career with a particular interest in the functioning of spinal cellular networks before and after injury.

Jacob received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Chicago and then attended Emory University to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience, where his work focused on understanding sensory gating in mammalian spinal circuits. His post-doctoral research was split between Emory University and Spelman college, where he focused both on laboratory science and science teaching. Through his doctoral and post-doctoral research, Jacob developed expertise in cellular communication in the spinal cord. He has held faculty and administrative positions at Emory University, Syracuse University, Spelman College, and Georgia State University, where he was heavily involved in teaching, curriculum design, and program management. For the last 4 years, he also been involved in the Emory Tibet Science teaching biology and neuroscience to Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns in Southern India.

When not in front of his computer, Jacob can be found enjoying time with his three dogs, Virgil, Joule, and Mimi, brewing beer, playing rugby, or rehearsing with his vocal band, Best to Burn.

Mackenzie Soldan is the Program Associate. In this role, she supports the Program Officer in the Creating Opportunity and Independence Portfolio (CO&I) and manages the Foundation’s communications, ensuring clear and effective outreach across various platforms.

Originally from Hemlock, Michigan, Mackenzie acquired a spinal cord injury at the age of one. She became a two-time Paralympian and gold medalist, competing in wheelchair basketball and tennis. Beyond her athletic achievements, Mackenzie has built a strong career in the non-profit sector, particularly within the adaptive sports and disability space. She has extensive experience in marketing strategy and implementation, graphic design, website management, event planning, and brings a unique perspective through her lived experience as an individual with a spinal cord injury. Mackenzie graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and a Master’s Degree in Marketing. She was a Neilsen scholar in 2014.

In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys listening to music of all genres, traveling, coaching adaptive sports, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Constanza Svidler serves as the Program Officer for the Psychosocial Research (PSR) and SCI Medical Fellowships (SCIMF) portfolios.

Constanza oversees the PSR portfolio which supports research that addresses the interrelation of behavioral, social and psychological factors that influence participation, health practice, lifestyle, and support systems in community and clinical settings to benefit people living with spinal cord injury. She also manages the SCIMF portfolio which supports specialty clinical training to attract physicians to the field and ensure that the needs of patients with spinal cord injury are met.

Constanza brings more than 20 years’ experience in the academic, nonprofit, philanthropy, and healthcare sectors, leading, designing, and implementing wide-ranging programs and projects. Prior to joining the Foundation, Constanza held positions at Kaiser Permanente, The California Endowment, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and various nonprofit organizations where she developed expertise in strategic planning, program management and evaluation, content development, and curriculum design. Constanza received a BA in Fine Arts and Spanish and Portuguese from UCLA and a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Constanza enjoys spending time with her large extended family and dear friends, typically sharing food, watching movies, playing games, or getting lost in conversation.  In 2021, she started a book club with friends, and she is stunned it’s still going strong.

Dr. Tracey Wheeler is a Program Officer for the Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum [SCIRTS] portfolio. This funding portfolio spans mechanistic, preclinical, translational, and clinical research aimed at improving function and recovery following spinal cord injury. Tracey works out of the Foundation’s satellite office in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

In addition to management of the SCIRTS portfolio, Tracey has been instrumental in coordinating resources and identifying opportunities to advance SCI bowel and bladder management. Through her work with field experts and implementation of a targeted research competition in 2019, the Foundation dedicated over $3.5 million in additional research grants in this area. She continues to manage these promising efforts which hope to translate enabling and curative therapies within the next 10 years.

Tracey has over 20 years of experience in program development, evaluation, and management of scientific research. Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked as a scientific consultant and staff advisor at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA] in the areas of biomedical and biotechnology research. This work included programs designed to determine neural interface failure mechanisms, create technological improvements to overcome these failures, and transition ready technologies to clinical use. She has numerous publications on topics ranging from emerging brain-computer-interface technologies to the long-term effects of stimulant exposure on adolescent central nervous system development. Tracey received her PhD with a concentration in biopsychology from George Mason University.

Tracey spends a lot of her spare time creating functional and enjoyable living spaces. She is an active volunteer in her community; leading scout troops, managing community non-profit grants, and fostering homeless animals. She also loves to observe animals in nature, whether they are in her backyard, a national park, or across the globe.