David A. Hall, MD
Dr. Hall has had a fascination with science from an early age. He graduated from the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1968. He went on to complete a rotating internship at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and then pursued a general psychiatry residency at the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. He became certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1975.
He collaborated with Beckman Instruments in developing the world's first artificial pancreas and he shares two patents with them on this device. Dr. Hall is an accomplished violinist and wrote two violin concertos.
His specialization in psychiatry led him to explore the field of social psychiatry, in which society as a whole is viewed as the patient. This further led to the notion of "the root causes of social dysfunction," in which all social problems are compared to a tree, with roots, branches, and leaves. He observed that most people shortsightedly focus on the leaves of the tree, and miss the root causes. He further explored a type of meditation using theta and delta wave entrainment, and described a unifying theory of human consciousness development based on many disciplines including psychoanalysis, developmental biology, thermodynamics, and meditation.
Elizabeth Wiley, MA JD
Elizabeth Wiley is a lawyer with almost 20 years of experience as the director of her own consulting firm. The firm specializes in racial tension and gang abatement programs. She also has extensive experience in domestic violence and single mother support programs.
Ms. Wiley received her JD from Valley University and California College of Law and her MA from Pacific Oaks College. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix.
She has developed equi-therapy and aquatherapy programs for the Boy Scouts of America. She has been a Level 1 horse trainer and an animal therapy trainer form more than 15 years. Ms. Wiley is also a twelve step program specialist and is certified in first aid, CPR and urban disaster search and rescue.
Akira Robinson
After graduating high school as a valedictorian and National Merit Scholar, Akira Robinson attended Harvard College, where in 2005 he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biochemistry with honors, as well as a citation in French.
Throughout college, he was very active in his fraternity, sports, clubs and volunteer work. As a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, Akira served as the Brotherhood Chairman and worked as a Real Estate Development Intern. He was a program coordinator for the Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers and the House Representative for the Junior Parents Weekend Planning Committee. As a member of Project Baby, he helped connect families with adequate housing and health insurance, as well as educated the public on the benefits of breast feeding. Akira also worked at Provident Healthcare Partners, an investment bank, conducting research and surveying new companies.
While his work, volunteering, and academics kept Akira busy, he was able to find time to join the varsity track and field team, where he competed in sprints. During a couple of summers, Akira worked in New York City as a model for many companies, including Abercrombie and Fitch.
S. Jean Hsieh, MD
S. Jean Hsieh is a board certified Internist. Dr. Hsieh received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in molecular and cell biology in 1997 from the University of California, Berkeley. She then attended George Washington University School of Medicine, receiving her Doctor of Medicine in 2003. In June of 2006, Dr. Hsieh completed a three year residency program in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine where she now works as a post-doctoral research fellow.
In addition to her present work as a research fellow, Dr. Hsieh has completed stints as a research intern, teaching assistant, visiting resident in Swaziland, and as a staff research assistant. Her research and findings throughout the years have been published in Cancer Research and The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Her studies have focused on breast cancer cells and the gene BTNL -2 and its effects on Sarcoidosis. In 1997, Dr. Hseih published her thesis: Indole-3-carbinole Effects on Mammary Tumor Cell Growth.
Apart from her medical work, Dr. Hsieh is a certified Mandarin Health Care Interpreter in Oakland California. She also is an accomplished Tae Kwon Do enthusiast, having achieved her black belt as well as other awards. In college, her team took first place in 1997 and second place in 1999 in the National Collegiate Tae Kwon Do Championships.
Christin Drake, MD
Christin Drake received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biochemistry from New York University in 2002. She then attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, New York, earning her Doctor of Medicine Degree in 2006.
Throughout both her academic and professional careers, research and teaching have been top priorities. From 2000 – 2002, Dr. Drake was a teaching assistant in the department of chemistry at New York University. She has also tutored biology students, ESL students, and taught SAT prep classes. As a research fellow and laboratory assistant, Dr. Drake designed and conducted a project that evaluated the utilization of public healthcare in the West Indies, worked with artificial sweetening products, and analyzed data concerning the kinetics of polymer membranes.
She was awarded the Doctor Cecil G. Marquez BALSO Student Award in 2006, the Dean’s Scholarship for International Service in 2003, and was recognized as a Bohmfalk Scholar from 2002-2005.
Clifford Gevirtz, MD, MPH
Dr. Gevirtz received a Doctor of Medicine from Tulane University School of Medicine and a Masters of Public Heath from Tulane School of Public Health, both in 1981. He was a resident at the Department of Surgery Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center Bronx, NY, and Chief Resident at the Department of Anesthesia Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Bronx Municipal Hospital Center Bronx, NY. Dr. Gevirtz is the Medical Director, Addiction Recovery Institute, Somnia Pain Management, and Attending Anesthesiologist, Resource Anesthesia Associates, New Rochelle, NY.
As a board certified Anesthesiologist, Dr. Gevirtz has served as an Associate Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and an Instructor in Anesthesiology. He is a consultant anesthesiologist, Operation Smile Inc. Norfolk, VA, Volunteer Reconstructive Plastic Surgery-Hang Zhou, People’s Republic of China, Hue, Democratic Republic of Vietnam; West Bank, Israel; Bacolod, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya; Cali, Columbia
Dr. Gevirtz has received numerous awards and grants throughout both his education and medical careers. He has also edited, written, and published seventy-three editorials, peer reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts, non-peer reviewed articles, book reviews, and letters to the editors. His patients include A Method for the Transdermal Induction of Anesthesia and Analgesia: U.S. Patent #5,635,204, and A Method for the Transdermal Absorption of Iron and Elements: U.S. and International Patents Pending.
David Kaplowitz, MD
David Kaplowitz is a board certified Anesthesiologist and Internist. After graduating Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Dr. Kaplowitz attended the University of Massachusetts Medical School where he earned his Doctor of Medicine in 1985. He then completed a three year residency program in Internal Medicine at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, before moving to Los Angeles. At the University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Kaplowitz completed a two year residency in Anesthesiology. Upon completion of his double residency, he worked as a staff physician at numerous hospitals and medical centers, including Santa Monica Medical Center, Olive View Medical Center and Pacific Surgery Center in the fields of anesthesiology, internal medicine and emergency medicine. Over the past few years, Dr. Kaplowitz has worked as a case consultant and expert witness in the medical–legal field.
Stahsha Stanowicz, MA
Stahsha Stanowicz has been in the education and youth advocacy field for 17 years. She graduated magna cum laude from UC Santa Barbara in 1997 and has recently completed her Masters in Education at Loyola Marymount University. She has been a teacher for the Los Angeles public schools for 8 years, on both the elementary and high school level. She has extensive experience in youth development and leadership, both locally and internationally.
Currently, Stahsha is an English teacher at Environmental Charter High School, a progressive public high school that extends learning beyond the classroom walls. ECHS won the Service Learning Leader School Award for 2007-2008 by the California Department of Education. At ECHS, Ms. Stanowicz founded the Africa Club, along with her students, which is a social justice club focusing on issues such as AIDS orphans and child soldiers. She also worked to develop the Green Ambassadors program, an environmental education program for teens. The Green Ambassadors program received the 2007 Environmental Award from the EPA.
Stahsha has led numerous youth leadership camps and events for groups such as The Young Presidents Organization, Youth Leaders in Action, and Youth Peace Journey. She has taken students to Costa Rica for a month long education and service program with the Globalworks company. Stahsha has served on the Board of Directors for The Gwen Bolden Youth Foundation, a nationally recognized non-profit based in Leimert Park which has provided after school tutoring programs in L.A.’s most underserved areas for over 30 years. Stahsha has an undying passion for giving youth the tools they need to effect positive change in their lives, in their communities, and around the world.
Lisa Gerr
Lisa Gerr is a tenured sales and marketing professional with many years under her belt in sales, sales management, business development and marketing as well as independent consulting. She has had the pleasure of working with many personalities on a wide variety of projects. Among her recent ventures; she formed the commercial inflatable industry’s very first online store. Currently Lisa works as consultant in marketing, sales, customer relationship management and market research.
Continuously contributing to her education, Lisa Gerr has accumulated over 17 years of overall business experience. These include four years in video production, ten years in the sales and marketing of equipment and supplies to the video, film and broadcast industry and over three years in the branding, sales and marketing of commercial inflatables to business consumers in the amusement industry. Additional experience has been gained in other verticals such as education and alternative health through independent projects. This knowledge and skill is deepened because Lisa has fully participated in all primary aspects of the business cycle; as a business consumer, as a channel reseller and as a manufacturer. This familiarity with the full business cycle provides a versatile understanding of how each of these entities interacts with the other and what intrinsic needs exist within these enterprises. Very driven by her entrepreneurial spirit, Lisa has independently launched two businesses and assisted other start ups and young companies to gain the traction necessary to become viable enterprises.
Exploring human behavior, the psychology of relationships, the process of negotiation, needs analysis and behavior modification has always held Lisa’s interest and focus both academically and non-academically. Her strengths include communication, project management and meeting deadlines. On a personal level, she is driven by a passion to leave things better than when she arrived; whether it is a company, a community, a facility or the planet. Lisa supports social and business engines that are ethical and will create a positive effect in society. She is motivated to contribute to the building of the social framework within which our young citizens can stage the local and global changes that are necessary to preserve both the earth as well as humanity’s quality of life and evolution.