Donald Akers, Jr. JD, is an attorney and passionate advocate for patients with chronic illness and the elderly. He has been a volunteer in the bleeding disorders community for 25+ years with organizations including the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA), the Coalition for Hemophilia B (CHB) and the Hemophilia Alliance Foundation. He is a frequent presenter throughout the country on legal topics pertinent to patients and families in the bleeding disorders community.

He is a retired assistant district attorney for the 16th Judicial District of Louisiana where he managed elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation cases. He practices business and estate law in New Iberia, LA. He holds a BA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) and JD from the Louisiana State University Law School (LSU).

Regina Butler has been the Hemophilia Treatment Center Nurse Coordinator at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) since its inception in 1973. She has been the Clinical Manager for the Division of Hematology since 1994 and the Director of the Hemophilia Treatment Centers in the Mid-Atlantic/Region III since 2009. In her role at CHOP, Ms. Butler coordinates the care of over 450 children with bleeding disorders in collaboration with a large, multi-disciplinary team.

Ms. Butler also has served as a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assist in development of educational materials and curricula on bleeding disorders for health care providers and patients and families.

Since the late 1970s, Ms. Butler has had significant involvement in professional committees and organizations within the hemophilia community, including the National Hemophilia Foundation’s (NHF) Nursing Committee, where she served as a founding member and Chairperson, NHF’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Council, and Maternal and Child Health Bureau Executive Committee, on which she is currently co-chair. In 2015, Ms. Butler received the Lifetime Achievement Award from NHF. She is the former U.S. representative to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Nursing Committee and served as a member of its Communications Committee.

Ms. Butler has published numerous papers on hemophilia, patient/family education, nursing education, and nursing perspectives on hemophilia care and HIV risk reduction. Ms. Butler has presented locally, nationally and internationally on a variety of topics in hemophilia care.

Recently retired in January 2025, Laura Carlson served as the 340B Program and Nurse Manager for the Michigan State University Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders in East Lansing, Michigan, a role she held since 2007. With nearly three decades of experience at the center, Laura initially joined in 1996 as a clinical/research nurse, where she gained extensive expertise in hemophilia and bleeding disorders.

A Registered Nurse, Laura holds Hemostasis Nurse Board Certification and a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. Before transitioning to the bleeding disorder field, she worked in oncology and dialysis, which laid a strong foundation for her role in the hemophilia program.

As 340B Program and Nurse Manager, Laura oversaw patient care, clinical and research staff, the center's 340B pharmacy program, coordinated clinical outreach services across Michigan facilitating transportation and contractual outreach services, including telehealth and clinics dedicated to women and girls with blood disorders. She also managed data, research activities, grant writing, reporting and management. Laura played an instrumental role in the NHPCC grant regarding outreach, which included telehealth services to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Additionally, she contributed to the ATHN Care Award and the Mobile Dentistry clinics for the Amish population in Michigan. Laura was also involved in the HTDS and ATHN grant initiatives, helping secure a dedicated data manager.

Throughout her career, Laura found great fulfillment in cultivating long-term relationships within the bleeding disorder community, leaving a lasting impact on both patients and colleagues alike.

Courtney is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with the Hemophilia Treatment Center at St. Jude Affiliate Clinic at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been caring for pediatric patients in Charlotte since 2002. Since 2013, she has focused solely on pediatric hematology patients. She enjoys educating patients, families, and healthcare providers regarding bleeding disorders across the US.

Courtney received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Queens University of Charlotte. She received her Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on Child Health Nursing from SUNY-Stony Brook. She has a hemostasis nursing certification as well.

Tracy unexpectedly became a member of the bleeding disorders community 21 years ago when her son was born and diagnosed with severe Hemophilia A – with no known family history. She served on the Virginia Hemophilia Foundation Board from 2005-2009 and on the Virginia Governor’s Hemophilia Advisory Board from 2006-2010. She joined the Hemophilia Federation of America Board in 2006 as a board member and then served as Secretary, 1st Vice President and Board Chair and currently serves on the Executive Committee as the Past Chair as well as the Chair of the Symposium Committee.

She works as a Trust and Estate Paralegal at Pender & Coward, P.C., Attorneys at Law. She received her Bachelor of Science in Governmental Administration from Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia, 2000. In her spare time, she can usually be found at a baseball field. Her son attends Chowan University and plays baseball, something they thought impossible at the time of his diagnosis.

Susan Cutter, LCSW, MSW, & MPA is a social worker and is currently working as a consultant in the bleeding disorder field. In May 2024, she retired from the Penn Comprehensive Hemophilia Program (PCHP), where she worked as the Assistant Director of PCHP as well as the social worker since 1999. She was also the Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic Region from 1996 to 2008.  She worked as the Hemophilia Center Coordinator and the Social Worker for the Cardeza Foundation Hemophilia Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital from 1989 to 1996. Susan served on the World Federation of Hemophilia Psychosocial Committee as a member, Secretary, Vice-chair, and Chair. After completing her second term as Chair, she stepped down in April 2024 at the end of the WFH Congress.

Dr Craig Kessler is Professor of Medicine and Pathology and attending physician in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, USA. He also serves as the Director of the Division of Coagulation in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and is the Director of the Therapeutic and Cellular Apheresis Unit. Dr. Kessler earned his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He remained in New Orleans to complete his internal medicine residency and Chief Residency before moving to Baltimore, Maryland, to assume a Fellowship in Special Hematology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

His first faculty position was in the Division of Clinical Pathology and Special Coagulation at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and subsequently, he joined the Hematology-Oncology faculty at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. in 1981 where he became tenured Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Adult Component of the Washington Area Comprehensive Center for Hemophilia and Thrombosis Care, and Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology. In 1997 he joined the faculty at Georgetown University Medical Center as Professor of Medicine and Pathology in the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and maintained leadership of the Hemophilia and Thrombosis programs and was Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology until 2008. He is now the Director of the Division of Coagulation in the Department of Clinical Pathology and is the Director of the Cellular and Therapeutic Apheresis Unit. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Kenneth Brinkhous Award in hemophilia research and the National Hemophilia Foundation Physician of the Year award; he has been repeatedly listed in The Best Doctors in America (from 1996 to present).

Dr Kessler belongs to a number of professional societies, including the American Society of Hematology, the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, the World Federation of Hemophilia, and the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society of North America (HTRS). He sits on several medical and scientific advisory boards. He is also the immediate past-Editor of the journal Haemophilia and serves as a reviewer for numerous other journals, including Blood, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Thrombosis and Haemostasis, the American Journal of Hematology, and the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Dr Kessler is a prolific author, and has over 250 peer reviewed published articles, and multiple books and book chapters in the field of bleeding disorders and their treatment. He has been elected to Mastership in the American College of Physicians and is immediate past Chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council for the National Hemophilia Foundation. He serves on the Madical and Scientific Advisory Council for the Platelet Disorders Support Association.

Current Affiliation:
Operations Manager
Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders at M Health Fairview

Amy Marquez has worked with the Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis, MN since 2010. She has served in a variety of roles to support the program and services for patients and families with bleeding disorders. In her current role as Operations Manager, Amy provides leadership and oversight to both the clinic and pharmacy programs and is an advocate for patients and the comprehensive care model delivered at HTCs. She provides information and education to payers on the care and complex needs of patients with bleeding disorders and has extensive knowledge of the 340B Federal Drug Discount Program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, as well as a master’s degree in Health Care Innovation. She serves on multiple committees with the local hemophilia foundation chapter and participates in many community events.

CURRENT AFFILIATION:

Professor of Clinical Medicine Emeritus, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Executive Board: Tri-State Bleeding Disorders Foundation

Dr. Palascak received his MD from The Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He completed his Internal Medicine training at The Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and his Fellowship in Hematology at The Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research at Jefferson. He served as Associate Director of The Cardeza Foundation Hemophilia Treatment Center from 1976-1979, Director of The New England Area Comprehensive Hemophilia Treatment Center 1979-1981, and Director of The University of Cincinnati Adult Comprehensive Hemophilia Treatment Center 1981-2021 when he retired. He served on The Medical Advisory Committee of The Ohio Department of Health Hemophilia Unit.

He is a Fellow (Emeritus) of The American College of Physicians and an emeritus member of The American Society of Hematology and The International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis. His research interests included disorders of Fibrinogen and the treatment of inhibitors in Hemophilia.

Stephanie has been with Cascade Hemophilia Consortium since 1996, including 17 years serving as Associate Director. As Executive Director, she guides the daily operations of 30 full- and part-time staff. She has extensive knowledge of the 340B Federal Drug Discount Program. Stephanie also manages Cascade’s multi-million dollar regional funding program to 18 partnering Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs) and 7 Hemophilia Foundations located in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. In addition to the management of Cascade’s program, as a contract pharmacy, Stephanie and her staff manage 6 HTC 340B factor programs.

Stephanie feels very fortunate and thankful for the many long-time friendships made throughout her years at Cascade. “We have an exceptional community filled with many wonderful and dedicated people”.