Prior to co-founding ACCRF, Marnie held senior positions in Development at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Geographic Society. She also served as a Marketing Representative at IBM after earning her B.S. from the University of North Carolina. Marnie manages the patient relations, accounting and fundraising functions of the foundation.

Three years after co-founding the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation, Jeff left his position as a Managing Director of Putnam Investments to serve full-time as the Executive Director. Prior employers include MFS Investments, Salomon Brothers and the Irving Trust Company. Jeff earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina and M.B.A. and M.I.A. degrees from Columbia University. He manages the scientific and operational functions of the foundation. In addition to his current service on the Scientific Advisory Board of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jeff previously served on the Council of Councils of the National Institutes of Health, the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council, the Council of Research Advocates of the National Cancer Institute and the Cancer Research Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Elisabeth Bakri is a co-founder of Aida Health, a software company that provides a platform for healthcare provider teams to manage care plans at scale and thereby realize the potential of population health management. Aida Health’s platform is being co-developed with the Mayo Clinic. Prior to Aida, Elisabeth worked for technology startups as a software engineer and at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center as a research assistant on several studies of schizophrenia. While taking pre-med classes at night, her husband was diagnosed with ACC and she was instrumental in organizing his care and treatment. This experience led her to ACCRF and to her interest in improving ACC patients’ experience through more support and education. Elisabeth graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Accounting. During her time at Michigan she was also a Varsity letter winner in cross country and track & field.

Ralph Mollis is the former Rhode Island Secretary of State, serving from 2007 – 2015. Ralph previously served as Mayor of North Providence (RI) for ten years (1997 – 2006) and Vice President/Director of Operations of LAMCO (Pension & Investment Advisory Firm) from 1983 – 1994.

As Secretary of State, Ralph was recognized for his work in introducing e-commerce tools for existing and new small businesses in Rhode Island as well as his work and legislation relative to comprehensive election reform. As Mayor he was recognized for his hands-on, business oriented leadership in the successful management of the town’s budget as well as various infrastructure improvements within the business, senior citizen and education community. Ralph is currently self-employed as a Governmental Relations & Public Policy Consultant specializing in Business & Non-Profit Management, Election Management and public policy issues.

He is a graduate of Saint Anselm College, attended Southern New England School of Law and in addition to his passionate service as a Board Member of ACCRF, Ralph also serves as a Board Member of SlamT1D (a non-profit which organizes national events to raise awareness and provide programs to children with Type 1 Diabetes). Ralph lives in Rhode Island and is the father of 3 adult children and has 3 young grandchildren.

Dr. Bozho Todorich is a practicing clinical ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon with a special interest in clinical and translational research. He graduated with honors from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine with an MD and a PhD in cell and molecular biology. He did his residency in ophthalmology at Duke University and subspecialty fellowship in retinal surgery at Beaumont Hospital. As a recipient of many national honors and an invited lecturer in his field, he has published extensively, is a scientific reviewer for a number of journals on retinal disease, and has been a principal and co-principal investigator on a number of clinical trials in ophthalmology. He has joined the ACCRF Board of Directors with a special interest in advancing clinical and translational research in ACC.

Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Wehlage is an obstetrician/gynecologist physician, now retired. She obtained her medical degree at Indiana University and completed her residency at the University of Chicago. She spent her career caring for mothers, their babies, and teaching. Beth won several teaching awards during her career, however her utmost gratitude is for the support of her faith and family through her ACC journey. Beth is an active member of various ACC patient support groups, including serving as an administrator/moderator for the “ACC Warriors” Facebook group. Her compassionate and educated feedback has helped bring comfort to many ACC patients over the years. She comes to the ACCRF board with a special interest in patient-centered communications.

Nicole (Nikki) Spardy Burr, Ph.D. joined ACCRF in April 2016 and was named Director of Research in March 2019. Dr. Spardy Burr is responsible for helping to develop and implement the ACCRF research strategy. Her duties include managing ACCRF’s currently funded research proposals, working with the scientific advisory board to identify new research areas and fostering fruitful collaborations within the ACCRF research community. Nicole earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of Pittsburgh where she worked on dissecting the mechanisms of human papillomaviruses (HPVs)-induced cancer. She then trained in the field of functional genomics in the laboratory of William Hahn, M.D., Ph.D. at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where her work focused on identifying genomic vulnerabilities in cancer cells with DNA repair defects. Dr. Spardy Burr also has worked as a freelance writer for the scientific journal, Cancer Discovery, and served as a research representative of the American Cancer Society.