Meet the team
Making a difference, together.
Each of our members have unique skills and passion for advancing surgical care in developing countries and working together and with others to advance training and bring mentors and mentees closer than ever. Ohana means “family” and we bring everyone into our Ohana to feel supported, inspired and connected.
Board of Directors
David Kulber, MD
Co-Founder | President
David Kulber, MD, FACS, is a board-certified specialist in hand and plastic surgery with Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, covering a wide range of surgical practices. After earning his degree from UC Berkeley and a medical degree from the University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, he completed extensive training at several prestigious institutions. Dr. Kulber directs the Plastic Surgery Center at Cedars-Sinai, serves as a professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, and holds numerous professional affiliations and board positions. He has published extensively, received numerous research grants, and is actively involved in innovative surgical research and global medical missions with Mending Kids International and Ohana One.
David Kulber, MD
Co-Founder | President
David Kulber, MD, FACS, is a board-certified specialist in hand and plastic surgery with Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, covering a wide range of surgical practices. After earning his degree from UC Berkeley and a medical degree from the University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, he completed extensive training at several prestigious institutions. Dr. Kulber directs the Plastic Surgery Center at Cedars-Sinai, serves as a professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, and holds numerous professional affiliations and board positions. He has published extensively, received numerous research grants, and is actively involved in innovative surgical research and global medical missions with Mending Kids International and Ohana One.
Michele Dee, MD
Co-Founder | Immediate Past President
Since 2002, Dr. Michele Dee has served as an attending Anesthesiologist at Cedars-Sinai, where she is one of the few board-certified Pediatric Anesthesiologists. She also manages scheduling and daily operations for Beverly Anesthesiology and teaches residents and nurse anesthetists. During the pandemic, she was key to the Cedars COVID Airway team and coordinated PPE donations. As Director of Anesthesiology at Cove Surgery Center, she focuses on pediatric reconstructive surgery. Dr. Dee co-founded Ohana One International Surgical Aid, emphasizing surgical and anesthesia education globally.
Kylie Tanabe, PA-C
Co-Founder
Kylie continues her love for bringing access to surgical care throughout the world with Ohana One.
After graduating from Wagner College’s five year BS/MS Physician Assistant program, Kylie knew that surgery would be the natural next step for her. She entered the Norwalk/Yale Surgical Residency Program for PA’s, where she would then combine her love and passion for surgery and traveling. Kylie is a Physician Assistant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, in the Beverly Hills Hands Surgery Department.
Kylie Tanabe, PA-C
Co-Founder
Kylie continues her love for bringing access to surgical care throughout the world with Ohana One.
After graduating from Wagner College’s five year BS/MS Physician Assistant program, Kylie knew that surgery would be the natural next step for her. She entered the Norwalk/Yale Surgical Residency Program for PA’s, where she would then combine her love and passion for surgery and traveling. Kylie is a Physician Assistant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, in the Beverly Hills Hands Surgery Department.
Adrian Ashkenazy
Ohana One Vice President
Co-Owner, L’Ermitage Hotels
Susan K. Laffer
Ohana One Tresurer
Attorney
Jennifer Bepple, MD
Digital Health Consultant,
Urologist
Aaron Bregman
Attorney,
Bregman Law Group
Marshall Geller
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, St. Cloud Capital, LLC
Tom Gordon
Chairman at DSL Construction,
Co-Trustee, Don Levin Trust
Harry Levitt
Managing Director,
Mack Financial Group
Sharon Oreck
Writer/Producer
Garry Pearson
Sun Valley, Idaho,
Private Investor
Bill Pope
Director of Photography
Jay Roach
Director, Writer, Producer,
Delirious Media
Sandra Rodriguez, RN
Registered Nurse,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Robert Uhlaner
Senior Partner,
McKinsey & Company Inc.
Operations Team
Marchelle Sellers, MBA
Executive Director
Maggie Bohlman
Marketing and Media
Jeanne Bray
Partnerships
Grace Berglin
Surgical Support Specialist
Theo Brown
Surgical Data Scientist
Rachel Buigas-Lopez
Graphic Designer
Sidra Bugsch
Office Administrator
Flávia Cavicchioli
Special Project Researcher
& Data Analyst
Jenny Davidson
Development
Tarek Elshayal
Biomedical and Logistics Coordinator
Cristina Farrut
Outreach Manager
Kelly Fogel
Photographer
Nikitha Garapaty
Research Intern
Megan McCullough, MD
Surgical Consultant
Bevin Metzger
Grant Partner Success
Cecelia Ronoh
African Field Coordinator
Peter Ronoh
African Field Coordinator
David Sellers
Technical Consultant
Sara Stohl
Communications & Content Coordinator
Advisory Board
Joyce Brandman
Philanthropist
Andrew Freedman, MD
Vice Chair Pediatric Urology,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Gracie Fermelia
Chief Operating Officer,
Causeway Capital
Edward Ray, MD
OO App Development Team Leader
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Pedro Santos, MD
African Education Coordinator
Karissa Sharifian
Plastic Surgery, Physician’s Assistant
Nick Loui
Co-Founder/CEO, PeakMetrics
Nuka Solomon
CEO, Free Wheelchair Mission
Adrian Ashkenazy
Vice-President
A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Chicago Law School, Adrian is also a member of the New York and California Bar Associations and the Young President’s Organization.
Adrian owns and manages a boutique hotel company, L’Ermitage Hotels, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Before joining L’Ermitage, was Chief Financial Officer of PREI-Latin America, the Latin America real estate investment and advisory business of Prudential Financial. During his tenure at Prudential Financial, Adrian was a member of PREI-Latin America Executive Committee and Investment Committee and served on the Board of Paz Corp., a multi-family development company publicly traded on the Chilean stock exchange. Prior to joining PREI-Latin America, Adrian worked for Soros Real Estate Partners in London, where he analyzed investment opportunities in Europe. He also worked as an analyst at JP Morgan in New York and Credit Suisse First Boston in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Susan K. Laffer
Treasurer
Susan specializes in employment law, business litigation, workplace investigations and management training.
Client industries include healthcare, veterinary care, entertainment, insurance, food services, manufacturing, distribution, professional services and education. Ms. Laffer graduated from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism and Boston University School of Law, and completed mediation training at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution.
Sandra Rodriguez
Registered Nurse, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Registered Nurse (RN) with 20+ years of experience and specialty in plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, and complex wound care. The last 10 years in a cross-functional leadership role with an emphasis on management, research, and global health resulting in the implementation of new workflows and protocols.
Marchelle L. Sellers
Executive Director
Marchelle is a Past President of the South Pasadena Rotary Club and was named Rotarian of the Year in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Marchelle is the founder of The Welcome Home, a hospitality house in Pasadena for families of children going through treatment in nearby hospitals. Ronald McDonald House Charities acquired The Welcome Home just two months after it opened in 2003, renamed the Pasadena Ronald McDonald House, where she served as Executive Director until 2008. In 2007, Marchelle was awarded Most Inspirational Executive Director by both the State Assembly and Senator’s offices for her work there.
In 2009, she was recruited to lead Mending Kids, a children’s surgical charity that gifts complex surgeries to kids across the globe. In eight years, Marchelle expanded the charity’s reach from 12 to 63 countries, raised $42 million (cash and in-kind), dramatically reduced costs while increasing outcomes and surgeries performed, and built sustainable training programs in 15 countries. In 2014, THE Magazine recognized her as one of the Top 50 Women in the San Gabriel Valley and in 2015 she was awarded Top Nonprofit Executive by LA Business Journal. Mending Kids won Top Midsized Nonprofit that same year.
She previously served on Pasadena’s Accessibility & Disability Commission focusing on adaptable playgrounds and is an Advisory Committee Member for the Shriners Medical Center in Pasadena and is a member of the Business Leadership Committee at the University of LaVerne.
Marchelle studied Public Policy & Management at the University of Southern California, minoring in accounting and sociology, and received her MBA from Ashford University, with a concentration in organizational management.
Marvee Turk, MD
Surgical Consultant
Marvee Turk is a resident in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Southern California.
Marvee developed an early commitment to the intersection of scientific inquiry and civic engagement. She earned her BA in Anthropology at Dartmouth, where she studied the rehabilitation of acid violence victims in South Asia. She then attended Harvard Medical School, where she conducted both clinical and basic science research on the utility of face transplantation in the catastrophically disfigured. Now, as a surgical resident at one of the nation’s largest safety-net hospitals, Marvee continues to appreciate the power of surgical sciences as a tool for health equity. She is currently a Global Surgery Fellow at Operation Smile, where she helps to generate evidence in support of equitable access to cleft care worldwide. Finally, she is also currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School, where she hopes to develop the skillset to expand her impact at the population level.
Eva Williams, MD
Surgical Consultant
Originally from Saint Petersburg, FL, Eva is currently an integrated plastic surgery resident at the University of Southern California. Growing up in an international home with a mother from Nigeria and a father from the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, she has always had an interest in global health and health equity. As an undergraduate at Duke University, she obtained a Certificate in Global Health and later in medical school completed the combined MD/MPH program at the University of Miami. Eva is thrilled to be a part of Ohana One, furthering her impact in the reduction of global disparities through surgery and education.
Jennifer Bepple, MD
Digital Health Consultant, Urologist
Dr. Jennifer Bepple is a board-certified general urologist. She is passionate about improving access to high quality care and develops patient-centered digital health solutions to bridge the gap between technology and healthcare.
Jennifer’s expertise in digital health includes the development of a national telehealth program and virtual specialty clinics. Her combined clinical and technical background make her ideal for scaling digital health solutions.
Jennifer completed medical school and residency training at the Eastern Virginia Medical School and was in private practice until 2021. She is completing a Master of Management in Clinical Informatics from Duke University and is in the inaugural class of telehealth fellows with Doximity. Jennifer is also consulting in real world evidence and other digital health efforts.
She is a member of the American Telemedicine Association, American Urologic Association, and American Medical Informatics Association. She is a reviewer for the Urology Practice Journal and has presented nationally on her digital health efforts. Additionally, she holds a certification from the American Board of Telehealth.
Jennifer is also an advocate for improving special education and enjoys taking family adventures with her three children and husband.
Dr. Bepple is excited about the opportunity to join the team of innovators at Ohana One who are working together to rethink surgical training so that we can democratize care at scale.
Robert Uhlaner
Senior Partner, McKinsey
Robert Uhlaner is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s San Francisco Office and is the global co-leader of the Firm’s Strategy and Corporate Finance practice. In that role, he has primary responsibility for the Finance and M&A service lines.
Robert’s clients primarily include established companies in the health care, high-tech, and industrial sectors. He has pioneered approaches to strategic diligence, growth through programmatic M&A, and the design and implementation of restructuring programs.
Previously, Robert drove the transformation of Microsoft’s finance organization and M&A capability — starting as an advisor, and then as Corporate Vice president for Strategy, Planning and Analysis. In that role, he was responsible for the FP&A, Corporate Strategy and Venture Integration groups.
Robert has a Doctorate in Economics with fields in Finance and Econometrics, a Masters in Finance from the Haas Business School, and a Bachelors in Mathematics and Economics, all from the University of California at Berkeley. He has published on topics include M&A best practices and corporate finance topics in Harvard Business Review and the McKinsey Quarterly.
Jay Roach
Director-writer-producer, Delirious Media
Roach’s career began in feature comedies. His first completed film was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, which spawned two sequels The Spy Who Shagged Me and Goldmember. He also produced and directed Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Mystery Alaska, and The Campaign.
Jay produced and directed 2019’s Bombshell, starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and John Lithgow. The film, financed and released by Bron Studios and Lionsgate, was nominated for two Golden Globes and two Academy Awards — for best actress and best supporting actress – for Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie.
Bombshell won an Oscar for best make-up and hair.
Roach won a Golden Globe for producing HBO’s Game Change, which he also directed. Game Change won three Golden Globes and five Emmy’s — including an Emmy for directing — and a Peabody Award.
He produced and directed HBO’s Recount which won three Emmys; it was nominated for eleven. And he produced and directed All the Way, also for HBO, which was nominated for eight Emmys.
In 2015 he directed the feature film Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren, and Diane Lane. Cranston was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance as Dalton Trumbo.
Roach’s career began in feature comedies. His first completed film was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, which spawned two sequels The Spy Who Shagged Me and Goldmember. He also produced and directed Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Mystery Alaska, and The Campaign.
Roach produced Borat, Sisters, and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Before directing, Roach was a screenwriter in science fiction. He co-wrote the pilot for the short-lived CBS series Space Rangers in 1993.
Roach is married to Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles. They have two adult children. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He graduated from Stanford University in 1980 and earned an MFA in film production from USC in 1986. Prior to directing, he taught cinematography and directing at USC for six years.
Garry Pearson
Sun Valley, Idaho, Private Investor
Born raised and educated in South Africa, Garry holds an undergraduate degree in marketing and finance.
Garry spent 13 years in Canada running Canada’s largest printing company before moving to California in 1983 and investing in what was to become the largest commercial printer in the Western US. Pearson sold the company in 1996 and since then invested in numerous businesses, some in active roles and some, passive.
Having lived for 30 years in West Los Angeles before moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, Garry remains active in his businesses and continues to enjoy philanthropy and serving on several boards.
Prior board experience includes public and private corporations as well as the advisory boards of the departments of surgery of both Cedars-Sinai and UCLA hospitals.
Harry Levitt
Managing Director, Mack Financial Group
Harry served on the Board of Alliance for College Ready Public Schools, a network of 25 free charter high schools and middle schools serving 13000 families in the Los Angeles area.
A partner with MullinTBG (a national executive benefits consulting firm) until retiring in 2018; Harry has more than 40 years of experience in corporate finance, investments, financial analysis and corporate treasury activities. Before joining MullinTBG, he worked on Wall Street, where he specialized in developing and executing investment strategies for large qualified pension plans. His corporate treasury and finance work included more than 10 years as a corporate pension plan sponsor.
He was a frequent speaker on executive benefits and compensation topics. He was an instructor at Pepperdine University teaching finance in the MBA program and has previously been a lecturer at UCLA and the University of Southern California.
Harry was on the Board of the City of Hope, a leading cancer and diabetes research and treatment center in Duarte, California, where he served on the Audit and Compensation Committees.
He graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.
Tom Gordon
Chairman at DSL Construction, Co-Trustee, Don Levin Trust
Thomas D. Gordon is the Chairman of the Board of the DSL Construction Corporation and a co-trustee of the Don Levin Trust.
In his previous role as Executive Vice President of Cedars-Sinai Health System for 22 years, Tom oversaw the organization’s Medical Network of primary care and specialist physicians. One of Tom’s many roles was Chief Executive Officer of Cedars-Sinai Medical Network Services, a management services organization that handles the administrative functions of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, Cedars-Sinai Health Associates (IPA), Cedars-Sinai Inpatient Specialty Practices, California Heart Center, Tower Hematology Oncology, Los Angeles Cardiology Associates, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Center, Santa Monica Orthopedic Group, Valley Internal Medicine and Santa Monica Gastroenterology. The Medical Network, which covers a wide geographic area in Southern California, consists of more than 1,000 physicians, providers and specialists, serves over 150,000 fee-for-service and managed care patients, and employs over 1,900 staff.
Tom began his medical management career in 1988 as a consultant to the Medical Group of Beverly Hills. Within a year he became the group’s Chief Executive Officer. Five years later in 1993, Tom oversaw the medical group’s merger into the Cedars-Sinai Health System.
Tom obtained a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1971. After graduating from UCLA, he pursued graduate studies in Business Administration, with an emphasis on management. During his professional career, Tom has enjoyed management responsibilities in such diverse industries as screen-printing, advertising, retail auto services and consulting. He founded and was a principal in a graphics company and immediately before his affiliation with the Medical Group of Beverly Hills, he founded a management and marketing consulting firm.
Tom is dedicated to serving the entire health care community and sits on a variety of boards including the Professional Advisory Council for the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA, Partners Bank of California and The Brentwood School. Tom remains a consultant to the President of Cedars-Sinai Health System, and has served as an active member of the Medical Group Management Association and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Tom teaches a course on Leadership in the Executive MPH Program, and has been a preceptor in the graduate program in Health Policy and Management for over twenty-five years, from which he has had the privilege of recruiting over twenty MPH graduates. He is also a guest lecturer at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. Tom has been a keynote speaker for many conferences and executive retreats at the local and national levels on topics related to leadership and management, change management, culture building, training and motivation, and managed care. Tom has been married for forty-seven years, has two married daughters and five grandchildren.
Marshall Geller
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, St. Cloud Capital, LLC
Marshall S. Geller is a founder and senior managing partner of St. Cloud Capital, a Los Angeles-based private equity fund formed in December 2001. He has spent more than 40 years in corporate finance and investment banking, including 21 years as a senior managing partner of Bear, Stearns & Co. with oversight of all operations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Hong Kong, and the Far East. Mr. Geller is currently on the board of directors of COR Capital LLC, Wright Investors’ Service Holdings, Inc., GP Strategies Corporation, and UCLA Health System and is on the board of governors of Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. Mr. Geller also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Business & Economics at California State University, Los Angeles.
Gracie Fermelia
Chief Operating Officer, Causeway Capital
Gracie earned a BS, cum laude, in accounting from the University of Utah. She has served as a board member of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles and Neighborhood Youth Association.
Gracie is Chief Operating Officer of Causeway and is responsible for operations, compliance, trading, finance and human resources. She co-founded the firm in June 2001 and is a member of the operating committee.
From 1997 to 2001, Gracie was the business manager for the Hotchkis and Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (HW-MLIM). At HW-MLIM, she managed the trading, marketing, client service and administrative functions of the team. From 1994 to 1997, she was the compliance officer of Hotchkis and Wiley.
During this time, she monitored compliance with client investment guidelines, applicable laws, rules and regulations, proxy guidelines and personal securities trading. From 1985 to 1994, Gracie was a senior manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the investment company practice.
Sharon Oreck
Writer/Producer
Sharon Oreck, an established female producer, founded O Pictures Inc. in 1986.
Over the years Oreck has been recognized for many awards including an Academy Award nomination in 1985. the Women in Film Award in 1989 and 1991, and the Grammy Award in 1991 for the music video Opposites Attract. O Pictures Inc. was one of the first female owned and operated production companies, with an accomplished female-dominated cast of twenty-five. With O Pictures, Oreck produced and executive produced over a thousand groundbreaking music videos, commercials, public service spots and campaigns and long form documentary and dramatic feature films.
Prior to founding O Pictures Inc. Oreck worked as a producer for the motion picture “The Killing Fields” and multiple films for The American Film Institute, and she was the co-owner and Executive Producer of No Pictures, a boutique production company in Los Angeles. Alongside Oreck’s career in production, she is the author of a memoir for Faber and Faber, An Affiliate of |Farrar, Straus and Giroux. She was also a segment producer on Nat Geo/Fox TV’s “Cosmos.” Oreck decided to go back to school, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Antioch University in 2021. She is a board member of the prominent NGO, Ohana One and is currently producing a documentary on their work with director Jay Roach (“Bombshell,” “Austin Powers” etc.).