About Us
Meet Sebastian
Sebastian Nicolas Ortiz, the second of our three boys, was born on May 10, 2000. He unwittingly stole the spotlight from his mom Rose’s 29th birthday. Needless to say, she never received a better birthday gift before or since that day.
Our Team
Oscar Ortiz
Sebastian’s Dad, Co-Founder & Executive Director
Rose Ortiz
Sebastian’s Mom & Co-Founder
Jasmine Gomez
Chief Operating Officer
Board of Directors
Past Directors
ScientificAdvisory Board
Meet the Doctors that help guide us towards the best possible projects to get us closer to a cure. Our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is comprised of some of the top doctors in the country who are working every day to make life better for kids.
Dr. David Loeb
Dr. David Loeb graduated from Johns Hopkins University and then moved to New York and obtained his MD and PhD from the Columbia University College Physicians and
Dr. Matteo Trucco
Dr. Matteo Trucco is the Director of the Children’s Cancer Innovative Therapy Program and a practicing Pediatric Oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic and
Dr. Warren Alperstein
Warren Alperstein, MD, is Assistant Professor of Hematology / Oncology / Bone Marrow Transplants at the University of Miami in Florida, as well as Assistant
Dr. Ranjith Muraleedharan
Dr. Ranjithmenon Muraleedharan is currently a research scientist at the Center for Development Therapeutics at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Dr. Elizabeth Stewart
Dr. Elizabeth Stewart is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and an Assistant Member at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Solid Tumor Division
Dr. Adriana Fonseca
Dr. Adriana Fonseca is a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Children’s National Hospital and an assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine. She leads the
Torch 35
Torch35 is SebastianStrong’s young professionals’ group, whose purpose is to support the mission and goals of the Foundation. They do so by hosting fundraising events, making personal contributions, developing volunteer programs, and leading community outreach initiatives.