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.

Board of Directors

Board Member Taylor Binder link to LinkedIn profile.
Taylor Binder
Board Member Ramon Branger link to LinkedIn profile.
Ramon Branger
Board Member Jose E Cueto link to LinkedIn profile.
Jose E. Cueto
Board Member Jasmine Gomez link to LinkedIn profile.
Jasmine Gomez
Board Member Frank Gonzalez link to LinkedIn profile.
Frank Gonzalez
Board Member Leandro Gonzalez link to LinkedIn profile.
Leandro Gonzalez
Board Member Martha Guerra link to LinkedIn profile.
Martha Guerra
Board Member Armando Lapido link to LinkedIn profile.
Armando Lapido
Board Member James Mcallister link to LinkedIn profile.
James McAllister
Board Member Rebecca Mendez link to LinkedIn profile.
Rebecca Mendez
Board Member Yesenia Moreno link to LinkedIn profile.
Yesenia Moreno
Board Member Braulio Ortiz link to LinkedIn profile.
Braulio Ortiz
Board Member Oscar Ortiz link to LinkedIn profile.
Oscar Ortiz
Board Member Mike Percy link to LinkedIn profile.
Mike Percy
Board Member Alexander Sueiro link to LinkedIn profile.
Alexander Sueiro
Board Member Javi Vazquez link to LinkedIn profile.
Javi Vazquez
Board Member Kelsey Weaver link to LinkedIn profile.
Kelsey Weaver

Past Directors

Lindsey Chong
Rose Ortiz
Luis de la Aguilera
Pamela Ricco
Jose Fernandez
Vanessa Sanchez
Danny Martinez
Joan Susie
Emory Mayfield

Medical
Advisory Board

 

Meet the Doctors that help guide us towards the best possible projects to get us closer to a cure.  Our Medical Advisory Board (MAB) 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

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. Ginna Priola

Dr. Ginna Priola completed her undergraduate training at the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Biology. She graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical

2020-10-13 headshots

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.

 

This board is chaired & coordinated by Jim McAllister of Asheville, North Carolina, who also sits on the foundation’s Board of Directors.

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. 

Financials