Meet Our Board
Kim Allen
Board Member
Kim has worked in the health insurance industry in the Rochester area for over 15 years. She holds a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership and a Bachelors of Science in Organizational Management both from Roberts Wesleyan College and an associates in Science in Business Administration from Monroe Community College. Kim works at MVP Health Care and has a great appreciation for the services provided by the center and the challenges that the patients and the center face when working with insurance companies.
Kim is the mother of three children her oldest daughter JaNée is a 2005 graduate of Allendale Columbia School and a 2009 Graduate of Boston College, her son James is a 2009 graduate of The Charles Finney School and is currently attending Monroe Community College and her youngest daughter Taylor is attending school at Bishop Kearney. She also has a beautiful dog named Romeo he is her fourth child.
Kim enjoys singing and is an active member of Baber AME Church where she sings in the church choir. She loves children and traveling. She currently serves on the Rise up Rochester Board and actively volunteers at the School Without Walls as a portfolio reviewer.
Micheline DeFranco
Board Member
Micheline is the Director of Stewardship Communications at the University of Rochester, where she manages the strategy and implementation of acknowledgments, recognition, and other stewardship efforts for the University. She previously was Director of Advancement Communications for Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and also owned a writing and consulting business for more than 12 years. She has helped plan and implement major comprehensive campaigns in higher education and with local non-profit organizations.
A patient of the Center for the past 6 years, Micheline has become an enthusiastic supporter of the Center through Train for Treatment and cannot imagine life without doing the Finger Lakes Triathlon each September. She lives in Brighton with her husband Gary and their son Christian. When she is not rescuing animals both domesticated and wild, she enjoys running, horseback riding, and playing with local bands.
Erika Duthiers
Board Member
Erika is Associate Counsel at Rochester Institute of Technology. She is responsible for legal matters involving and affecting RIT. Prior to her employment with RIT, Ms. Duthiers was a senior associate at Nixon Peabody LLP, where she represented clients in domestic and international arbitrations, and complex commercial litigation involving contracts, intellectual property, and employment matters in state and federal courts. Prior to her employment with Nixon Peabody LLP, Ms. Duthiers served as a law clerk at the New York State Court of Appeals.
Ms. Duthiers holds a B.A., from Manhattan College, and a J.D. from Albany Law School. She is active on several boards of non-profit organizations around the Rochester community and lives in Pittsford, New York with her husband and two sons.
Elizabeth Fedorjaka
Board Member
Betty has 30 years of experience in Health Care and Human Resources in the Rochester area. She retired recently after 18 years as the Administrator for the Iron Workers District Council of Western NY Health Care, Pension, and Annuity Funds. Her success in setting up and maintaining that Self Insured, Self Funded Health Care Plan was one of her most challenging and rewarding accomplishments.
A longtime Irondequoit resident (38 years), Betty has been active in the Rochester area both professionally and socially. She chaired the Rochester Administrators Roundtable and the Iron Workers Administrators Roundtable. In 1999-2000 she was active in the Rochester Healthcare Forum, a community organization of leaders from health, business, labor, nursing and physician sectors. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Human Resources from Roberts Wesleyan College and an Associates Degree in Science in Business Administration from MCC.
She is an avid golfer (VP of the Women’s Association of Webster Golf Club). She sings in her church choir and sang in an a acapella group for 10 years.
Betty is a devoted Buffalo Bills fan and she looks forward to spending cold winter months in Naples Florida. She was diagnosed with hemochromatosis as part of the primary care screening study done in Rochester in the 1990s.
Robert Fox
President, CEO
Bob has been President/CEO of the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center in Rochester, NY since June of 2000. He has been involved with Rochester’s healthcare industry since 1990, formerly with the Rochester Health Care Forum and as Executive Vice President of the Hospital Consortium of Greater Rochester (Rochester Area Hospitals Corporation). He is past president of the Hemophilia Alliance, an organization that promotes the interests of Hemophilia Treatment Centers nationwide (www.hemoalliance.org). He was on the organizing committee that founded ATHN – American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network, a non-profit organization providing stewardship for the creation and operation of a national data base for the bleeding and clotting disorders community (www.athn.org) – and served as ATHN Treasurer. He instigated and supports a State-wide collaborative advocacy effort focused on challenges facing people with bleeding disorders. Each September, he completes the Finger Lakes Triathlon at a leisurely pace.
In 2011 & ‘12 Bob was privileged to complete the Advanced Leadership Course given by Leadership Coaching, Inc. (www.leadershipcoachinginc.com). He was a 2008 graduate of Leadership Rochester, a voluntary program that seeks to provide established and emerging leaders with knowledge and access to resources, enabling them to understand and respond to quality of life challenges in the Rochester region (www.leadershiprochester.org). He has a master’s degree in Health Administration from Cornell University and a BA from Union College. Bob lives in Rochester. His son is a student at American University in Washington, DC.
Richard Forbes
Board Member
Rich is an Engineering Specialist with Xerox Corp. and has been with Xerox for over 40 years in research and engineering. He has a B.S. in General Studies (Physics) from the University of Rochester. Rich’s ties to the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center come through being a Factor IX patient of the Center for almost 40 years until a recent liver transplant.
Rich is a big sports fan and played softball and volleyball in Webster for many years, raising occasional concern of the Center’s Staff. He and his wife Laurie and daughter Julie live in Pittsford.
Mary Gooley
Board Member
Mary, the Center's founder, helped organize the Rochester Chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation in 1953 and served as the first director of the treatment center from 1959 until 1986. She was a guiding force in establishing Hemophilia Centers in other Upstate NY communities, and has served extensively at the national level. Her 'retirement' includes active involvement on the board of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, membership in the National Hemophilia Foundation, Retired Professionals Society, the Memorial Art Gallery, and the Eastman House. She is a life member of the Hemophilia Center's board.
Monica Gurell
Board Member
Monica is a 9th grade special education teacher at Wilson Magnet High School in the Rochester City School District. She has been teaching there for the past eleven years and absolutely loves it! She can’t imagine teaching at any other place. Monica teaches Biology and loves to teach her students about hemophilia since it relates too many of the topics which are part of the curriculum. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SUNY Geneseo.
Monica and her family have been affiliated with the Mary Gooley Hemophilia Center since her son Aaron was diagnosed with severe Hemophilia A when he was 8 months old. Due to the wonderful care given to her son Monica has been inspired to do all that she can to help the center continue with its mission and to advocate for the needs of people with hemophilia and other blood disorders.
Monica, her husband Dan, and their 2 year old twins Aaron and Kyla live in Honeoye Falls. Besides being a working mother of two Monica spends her time being actively involved in the Junior League of Rochester and Temple B’rith Kodesh.
Christine Hay, MD
Board Member
Christine is a faculty member in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She received her MD degree from Washington University in St. Louis and completed residency and fellowship programs at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She currently serves as Program Director for the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at URMC and as an investigator in the Vaccine Research Unit and the HIV Vaccine Trials Unit at the University of Rochester.
Christine resides in Pittsford with her husband, Jeffrey, and their three children. Their son, Andrew, has severe hemophilia A and has been a patient at the Hemophilia Center since 2003. In addition to her work and family commitments, Christine serves on the Vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Penfield and as a parent room representative at the Harley School. She enjoys reading, walking, and chauffeuring her children to various sporting events.
Todd Mosher
Board Member
As a 1986 graduate of RIT, Todd has very much enjoyed the many interesting experiences presented to him along his 26 year journey as a software engineer. These experiences include a vast array of research as well as years of international travel. Todd is currently employed at Harris RF Communications.
Todd and his wife have raised four wonderful Christian children, the youngest of which is in his junior year at Liberty University. With the first four somewhat independent, the Mosher’s are starting again with the adoption of three young girls. Life is a bit hectic but they find time to enjoy frequent visits to the zoo and museum.
For the first 21 years of life, and now the last 15 as well, Todd has been a patient of the Hemophilia Center. Todd has many good memories of the center and attributes his good health to the diligent care received there.
Andrew Park
Chairman
Andrew is an outpatient substance abuse conuselor for Ontario County. He has received his bachelors degree from SUNY Fredonia in 2006, and his masters degree in mental health counseling in 2008. Andrew was diagnosed with severe hemophilia when he was 6 months old. He has been a patient of the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center ever since. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his family and friends, watch baseball, hockey and football, go to the movies, play Wii and many other activities. Andrew is currently the chairman of the Board of Directors.
Ronald Sham, MD
Medical Director
Ron is the Center's Medical Director and has provided hematology services to patients for over 20 years. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in biophysics and from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.
He practices hematology in the Lipson Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Rochester General Hospital. Ron has been intimately involved with hereditary hemochromatosis outreach and research at the Center.
Marcia Sutton
Board Member
In her 35 years of work, Marcia has worked in the healthcare industry for 27 years; for 22 years as Finance Manager for Highland Hospital/Strong Health Primary Care and for the past 5 years as an auditor for the Excellus Health Plan. Prior experience included 5 years in public accounting and several years at Lincoln First Bank as Manager of Accounting and Operations in Commercial Finance/ Mortgage Operations.
In her free time, Marcia spent years as the chain crew leader for the Brighton High School football team; volunteered as an usher for the Rochester Broadway Theatre League; taught aerobic classes at the Jewish Community Center; and served as treasurer for the Rochester Chamber Orchestra. Marcia believes strongly in the balance of a healthy mind and healthy body; and as such, she actively participates in cycling and zumba classes or any other form of exercise.
Marcia holds a B.A. from Clark University and an M.B.A from University of Rochester, Graduate School of Business. She lives in Brighton. Her oldest son is an Information Systems Engineer at Mitre Corporation and lives in Arlington, Virginia; her youngest son is a Safety Engineer at Exxon and has been living in Australia/ Papa New Guinea for the past 3 years.
Robert Switzer
Board Member
Bob is a Physician Assistant and has worked in the Rochester and Finger Lakes region for the past 9 years. He currently works at an Urgent Care Clinic in Webster, Urgent Care at Lifecare in Seneca Falls, and provides medical coverage at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva. He received his Bachelors Degree from Daemen College in Buffalo and his Masters Degree from the University of Nebraska. Prior to becoming a Physician Assistant he worked as a Radiologic Technologist, primarily in the Angiography Suite and in Management.
Bob has been affiliated with the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center after being diagnosed with Factor IX deficiency as a child. He has become an active volunteer in the Medical Tent for our Triathlon that is held in the fall.
Bob enjoys spending time with his wife at their cottage on Keuka Lake.
Leslie Vecchiotti
Board Member
Leslie has been an educator in the Wayne-Finger Lakes region for 25 years. She is a certified Speech Therapist and Special Education Teacher, currently teaching high school special education in the Palmyra-Macedon Central School District. She is also an adjunct instructor in the Graduate Adolescent Inclusive Education program at Nazareth College. Leslie has been a Staff Development Specialist for the past 17 years, specializing in topics such as differentiated instruction, learning styles and classroom management as well as all areas of interpersonal skills development.
Leslie’s father, Herb Elliott, was a patient at the center from 1960 until his death in 1993. She has fond memories of the doctors, nurses, and staff (not to mention the Christmas parties!), and a strong desire to give something back to the Hemophilia Center for the wonderful care given to her father for so many years.
Leslie lives in Macedon with her children Julianna, Anthony and Carly.
John Viera
Board Member
John is a senior leader with Lifetime Care in the area of social work. He is energetic and self-motivated in his leadership style and he focuses on moving his sub-ordinates to their ideal state within an organization. John holds a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership from Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester NY and has a Liberal Arts Degree from Mount Saint Mary’s College, Newburgh NY. He understands both for profit and non-profit management and recognizing potential organizational problems. As a cross-functional leader and counselor, John builds and nurtures teams which consistently surpass productivity while providing on-going support and guidance to those that are not meeting organizational goals. John is devoted to assembling strategic affiliations along the way to maximize potential opportunities to ensure strategic competitive advantage for an organization. He specializes at increasing productivity whiles maintaining focus on overall customer experience while upholding the mission, vision and core values of an organization. John comprehends with established success how to infiltrate specific strategic initiatives to move a leadership team who is resistant to change and move them to the firm’s overall strategic business objectives which creates sustainability and competitive advantage. He worked fourteen years with the Rochester Police Department as a Crisis Counselor and also worked for Catholic Charities Rochester NY for nine years as the manager of the Bilingual HIV/Aids Team. He also owned and operated Viera’s Market in Rochester NY for three years. John is a devoted husband and father and is fully aware of von Willebrand disease as his wife and three daughters are carriers of this disease. John and his family currently reside in Rochester NY.
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