The Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation welcomed its new executive director, Gary H. Ross, on January 1, 2008. Mr. Ross has an extensive background in health care administration and not-for-profit management and brings to our organization experience in strategic planning, service delivery, operations and fund raising.
Judy Jones, Cofounder and previous Executive Director, has moved into the position of Board President, and will continue to be active with the organization that she helped to form ten years ago. With the new Executive Director on board, Mrs. Jones will have more time to bring the message of the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation to an international audience and attend speaking engagements for physicians and patients alike.
Before joining the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation, Mr. Ross was the Region Vice President for the New York metropolitan area for Premier, Inc., the San Diego based health care group purchasing, consulting and data management organization. Prior to that Mr. Ross was the Executive Director of Makor, a not-for-profit arts, entertainment and educational enterprise that burst onto the New York cultural landscape in 2000 and served as the launching pad for Grammy Award winner Norah Jones.
Mr. Ross has held executive positions in a number of major teaching hospitals in New York City including Maimonides Medical Center where he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The Brooklyn Hospital Center and Saint Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center. He holds a B.A. degree from Temple University, an M.B.A. from Wagner College and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
A native of New York City, Mr. Ross and his wife Janet currently reside in New Bern, North Carolina and East Hampton New York.
Reporting on his first month as Executive Director, Mr. Ross said, “I am excited about working with a dedicated Board of Directors, an inspired President and a talented staff in finding ways to increase resources and expand activities in support of the Foundation’s mission of promoting awareness and education, advancing patient care and facilitating research for a cure.”
Mr. Ross has already attended meetings of the American Academy of Dermatology, the International Society of Cutaneous Lymphomas, Coalition of Skin Diseases and the Medical Dermatology Society. Mr. Ross provided some initial thoughts from his experiences thus far: “Through these meetings I have had substantial contact with dermatologists involved in the treatment of cutaneous lymphomas and gained some insight into the complexities of diagnosing and treating the disease. During the same time period, following the questions and comments from patients and caregivers utilizing the Foundations listserv has given me a greater appreciation of the confusion and frustration faced by patients dealing with the disease and the importance of our work.”
Mr. Ross will work with the current staff to develop programs and raise funds. Of his plans for the coming months, he says, “I look forward to the next phase of my orientation in which I will be meeting patients, participating in patient educational forums, and attending advocacy efforts in Washington.”
Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation Welcomes New Executive Director