Board and Leadership

Board of Directors

Charles Cheever
Charles is an attorney at the Boston, MA law firm Choate Hall & Stewart, where he specializes in wealth management for individuals and families. He also speaks extensively throughout Massachusetts about estate planning and wealth management strategies. Charles received his B.A. from Harvard University, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He currently serves other charitable organizations such as Perkins School for the Blind, Wediko Children’s services, and the Massachusetts Charitable Society.

Sam Davenport
Sam is a litigation partner in the Boston office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., where he spends most of his time representing clients in the life sciences industry, including biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic companies. Sam received his B.A. in American history from Connecticut College, and his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. In addition to his work with TargetCancer, Sam also serves as a board member of the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society and the Duxbury Bay Management Commission.

Ted Eichelberger
Ted is counsel with the law firm of Alston&Bird LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Ted has over 25 years of litigation experience and currently focuses his practice on medical malpractice and products liability cases, allowing him to engage his passion for scientific knowledge generally and medical issues specifically. For the past ten years, Ted has spent a substantial portion of his time representing the Grady Health System and Grady Memorial Hospital—an internationally-recognized teaching hospital staffed by physicians from the Emory University and Morehouse schools of medicine and the only Level 1 Trauma Center serving the metropolitan Atlanta area.  Over his career, Ted has handled a broad range of commercial and tort litigation matters for both plaintiffs and defendants, and has substantial commercial litigation experience. Ted received both his B.S. and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame. In addition to TargetCancer’s Board, Ted recently completed nine years of service, including the office of President, on the Executive Committee of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, an organization of over 1,700 Atlanta area lawyers.

Janet E. Fine, M.S.
Janet is currently the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, an independent state agency whose mission is to promote and advance crime victim rights and services. Since the early 1980s, she has been at the forefront of victim rights and services, innovative systemic responses to child victims of abuse and violence, and served as a member of the National Crisis Response Team at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11. She serves on the boards of state and national victim service organizations, is a founder of the Massachusetts Victim Assistance Academy, and is adjunct faculty in Northeastern University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She also provides training and consultation on victim rights and services and organizational and program development locally, nationally, and internationally.

Chris MacKenzie
Chris is the Managing Partner of the Boston office of McGladrey LLP, a national CPA firm, where he is responsible for strategy execution and day to day business matters. He is also a member of McGladrey’s Northeast region’s leadership team. Chris earned his BS in Accountancy from the University of Massachusetts - Lowell and his MS in both Financial Planning and Taxation from Bentley College. Chris is on the board of directors at Old North Foundation, Inc. and an advisory board member to the College of Management at the University of Massachusetts – Lowell.

Jim Palma
Executive Director
Jim has served as Executive Director of TargetCancer since September 2010. Prior to joining TargetCancer, Jim spent over eleven years at Fidelity Investments in Boston, MA, most recently working as a Director in the Legal Product Group. While at Fidelity, Jim coordinated the establishment and ongoing operations of a new remote location in Dallas, TX. In May 2012, Jim completed studies at the Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the Boston University School of Management. Jim attended Loyola University Maryland, where he received a degree in Writing and Political Science.

Kristen Palma Poth
President
Kristen has worked in public service her entire career. She began as a Victim Witness Advocate in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston, where she met her husband Paul Poth, founder of TargetCancer. She worked as a project manager for youth development programs for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, as well as the Public Affairs Director for the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance. In addition, she served as a working group leader at the United Nations Conference for the Establishment of an International Criminal Court in Rome, Italy. She received her BA from Skidmore College and a Masters in International and Public Affairs from Columbia University.

Clare Poth
Clare is an art instructor at Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo, NY and was the co-founder of Bryant Street Studios. Clare studied at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and received her Masters in Education and Museum Education at Bank Street College in New York City. Clare has served on the Boards of many other organizations, including the Erie County Resource Cultural Advisory Board, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, and the Albright Knox Art Gallery Members Council. She is also co-chair of Cultural Acquisitions for the Nichols School annual auction.

Adam Sisitsky
Adam is a partner in the Boston office of the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. His practice encompasses a wide range of litigation matters, with an emphasis on securities-related issues, and includes significant federal and state court trial experience. Adam has also served as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Middlesex County (MA) District Attorney's Office, where he prosecuted and tried numerous criminal cases. He received his B.A. in political science from The American University, his M.A. in public administration from Framingham State College, and his J.D. from New England School of Law. In addition to TargetCancer’s Board, Adam also serves on the Boards of Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, and Greater Boston Legal Services.

Joann Webster
As a two-time breast cancer survivor, Joann knows first-hand the difference well-funded research makes in treating cancer. But when her husband, Dave, was diagnosed with bile duct cancer, they learned that not all cancers are treated equally. Dave passed away less than six months from his diagnosis, at the age of 47. Joann's involvement with TargetCancer allows her to combine her medical knowledge with her personal passion for eradicating cancer so no family has to go through what her family has. Joann is a Registered Nurse and Care Manager for North Shore Physician Group which is affiliated with NSMC, a Boston area hospital providing exceptional healthcare to North Shore families. She works closely and collegially with physicians, associate providers, clinical and adminstrative staff and collaborates to enhace the delivery of patient care services along the continuum of care.

Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. James Bradner
Dr. Bradner is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. His clinical practice centers around the treatment of hematologic malignancies, specifically using allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Additionally, he leads a research laboratory focused on the discovery, optimization and clinical translation of new targeted cancer therapeutics. Dr. Bradner received an A.B. from Harvard University, a M.D. from the University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine and a M.M.S. from Harvard Medical School. He completed postdoctoral research training with Prof. Stuart Schreiber in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Todd Foley
Todd Foley is a Managing Director at MPM Capital, one of the world's largest life-science focused venture capital firms. He has been actively involved in over 20 investments including such successes as Hypnion, TransForm, and AVEO Pharmaceuticals where he served as part of the founding team as VP Business Development. His currently active investments include: Aires, Celladon, Chiasma, Proteon, Selexys, Valeritas, and Zalicus (NASDAQ: ZLCS). Prior to joining MPM in 1999, Mr. Foley worked in Business Development at Genentech and management consulting with Arthur D. Little. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from MIT and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Dr. Jeffrey Settleman
Dr. Settleman’s research is focused on cellular signaling pathways in human cancer. His current research is primarily related to molecularly targeted cancer therapeutics, personalized cancer medicine, and mechanisms of drug resistance. He received a Ph.D. degree in Genetics from Yale University in 1989, and from 1989-1992 was a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at M.I.T. in Dr. Robert Weinberg’s laboratory. He joined the Harvard School of Medicine faculty in 1992, and was named the Laurel Schwartz Professor of Oncology at Harvard Medical School in 2008. He was also the Director of the Center for Molecular Therapeutics and the Scientific Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. In 2010, Dr. Settleman left Boston to join Genentech, where he is the Senior Director of Discovery Oncology.

Dr. Lori Stetz
Dr. Stetz is a physician trained in Family Medicine who has practiced primary and urgent care for the past nine years.  She has recently transitioned to serve as the Medical Director for Aetna International, where she has clinical responsibilty for the company's international medical management strategy. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Haverford College, an M.P.H. in International Health from Boston University, and an M.D. from SUNY Downstate.

Web Design and Development

Michael Colombo

Andrea Kremer
Andrea Kremer is a marketing professional with nearly a decade of experience at the intersection of technology and music. Formerly New Media Manager at Rounder Records, she was part of the team responsible for promoting "Raising Sand," winner of the 2009 Grammy for Album of the Year. She has also held positions at Q Division Records and Sonicbids. She currently runs a music marketing agency, Shake&Howdy, which provides digital marketing, web development, and creative services for a stable of clients that includes internationally-recognized touring artists, music management companies, and arts-related organizations.

Music Advisory Board

Jim Horan
Jim is the Senior Director of Project Management at Rounder Records,one of the largest independent record companies in the country, where he has coordinated the marketing and production of releases from artists such as Robert Plant, Gregg Allman, They Might Be Giants, John Mellencamp, Alison Krauss, Madeleine Peyroux, Ween, The Jayhawks, and Cowboy Junkies. He has taught music marketing for the Berklee College of Music's online division, has served as a mentor at the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, TX, and has been quoted in industry publications such as Billboard Magazine. Jim is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, who has been performing for over 20 years.

Ed Valauskas
Ed is a record producer and musician who manages both the recording studio and record label at Q Division  - a world-class recording facility and independent record label in Somerville, MA. In 2008, he won a Boston Music Award for "Best Producer" for his work with international neo-soul artist Eli "Paperboy" Reed. He has played bass with local favorites The Gravel Pit for the last 20 years, and most recently with the retro-60's Girl Group inspired Jenny Dee&The Deelinquents, who opened up the legendary J. Geils Band/Aerosmith show at Fenway Park. He has recorded and toured with Juliana Hatfield and Graham Parker. In addition to his work with TargetCancer, Ed has been involved with Baseball Hall of Fame Sportswriter Peter Gammons and Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein's annual "Hot Stove, Cool Music" charity fundraiser as both an organizer and a musician for the last 10 years.