Our People and Teams

Paula Schneider
President and CEO

Paula Schneider is president and CEO of Susan G. Komen®, responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operation of Komen’s research, community health, public policy advocacy and global programs. Schneider brings a personal perspective to Komen’s mission as a breast cancer survivor whose mother died of metastatic breast cancer.
Learn more about Paula now.

Ed Dandridge
Chair of the Board of Directors

Ed Dandridge is a recognized business leader with a 30+ year track record of joining executive management teams of leading global companies at critical points of transition, working closely with CEOs and boards of directors to help reshape their market positioning and reputation among key stakeholders.
Learn more about Ed now.

Catherine Olivieri
SVP Human Resources

As vice president, human resources for Susan G. Komen^®, Catherine Olivieri oversees the people-related programs and policies to connect and align business to people strategies throughout the organization. This includes talent acquisition, talent management, employee benefits, compensation, employee relations, succession planning and organizational development. She assures that Susan G. Komen complies with requirements of ERISA, EEO and all federal, state and local statutes in support of the world’s largest breast cancer organization.
Learn more about Catherine now.

Ria Williams
Chief Financial Officer

As chief financial officer for Susan G. Komen®, Ria Williams is responsible for all financial matters affecting the world’s largest breast cancer organization, including the oversight of Komen’s finance and accounting systems. Williams will guide financial strategy for operations at Komen’s headquarters as well as its global network of Affiliates.
Learn more about Ria now.

Victoria Wolodzko Smart
SVP Mission

As senior vice president of mission for Susan G. Komen^®, Victoria leads a team of scientists, public health professionals, educators, and administrators in developing and executing Komen’s investment to fulfill our vision, working to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world through groundbreaking research, education, screening, and treatment programs in more than 30 countries.
Learn more about Victoria now.

Kim Blackwell
Dr. Blackwell serves as Chief Executive Officer of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. Prior she served as Chief Medical Officer and SVP of Oncology Clinical Development at Tempus Labs, after serving as VP of Early Phase Oncology and Immunology-oncology at Eli Lilly. Dr. Blackwell was a faculty member at Duke University Cancer Institute for 18 years where she served as the principal or co-principal investigator for over 50 cancer clinical trials, co-founded Cereius, and co-directed the Women’s Cancer Program and Precision Medicine Initiative. She holds a BA degree in Bioethics from Duke University and a MD degree from Mayo Clinic Medical School.

Michelle Bottomley is the Chief Executive Officer of the Modern Growth Exchange, a tech-enabled growth acceleration business. Immediately prior, Michelle served as Chief Marketing Officer for New York Life, Staples, Mercer and Barclaycard. She started her career on the agency side in client and agency leadership roles at Bronner Slosberg Humphrey (currently Digitas), Epsilon and Ogilvy. A fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors, Michelle has served on the boards of Bose Corp and currently serves on the board of directors for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Prophet, a business transformation consultancy. Bottomley has taken courses toward a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University (ABD), after completing a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Economics from Northeastern University.

Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan is a seasoned private equity and venture capital investor with 25 years of experience investing in rapidly growing technology companies. Elizabeth is currently responsible for AVP’s Late Stage growth equity fund. Before joining AVP, Elizabeth held the positions of Managing Director at Sun Capital Partners and Partner at Jump Capital. Elizabeth previously spent more than seven years at TA Associates. Elizabeth has a BA in International Relations and Economics from Brown University. She holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Elizabeth spends time in Boston and New York with her husband and three children. 

Julie Gruber is Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Corporate Secretary of Gap, Inc. Julie leads the Legal, Compliance, ER, Asset Protection, and Global Security functions for Gap Inc. As Corporate Secretary, she is a trusted advisor to the board and works closely with the Chairman of the Board and the CEO.  Julie’s teams protect the people, property, reputation and information of Gap Inc.’s employees, customers and communities. Julie is a graduate of the University of California’s Hastings College of Law and received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Yale University. Julie serves on the Executive Board of LifeMoves – Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness.

Gail Heimann is President and CEO of Weber Shandwick, a leading global communications network that delivers next-generation solutions. Gail oversaw the development of the firm’s evolved service delivery model, designed to drive the kind of deep integration it takes to solve for clients. Gail has accelerated innovation and activation across the firm. She has helped to build brands and burnish reputations for organizations across the industries – from technology and finance to food & beverage and healthcare.

Under Gail’s leadership, Weber Shandwick has won nearly 100 Cannes Lions in partnership with leading brands. She has served on three juries at the Cannes Lions International Festival-of-Creativity: President of the PR jury, 2012; a member of the inaugural Glass Lions jury, which celebrates work that breaks through gender bias and stereotypes, 2014; and a member of the Titanium jury, 2018. In 2020, Gail won PR Agency Head in Campaign’s inaugural U.S. Agency-of-the-Year awards. In 2019, she was honored twice by PRWeek as US Agency Professional of the Year and Global Agency Professional-of-the-Year. Gail and her husband have two daughters and live in New York.

Jerri Johnson began her volunteer efforts with Komen in 2003 and most recently with the Los Angeles County Affiliate as board president. She is a 21 year survivor of stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer and thriver living with metastatic disease. Jerri is an operations executive with over 25 years of experience in the start-up, turnaround, and improvement of organizations in national and international settings. She has demonstrated success in building and leading top-performing teams focused on exceeding organizational goals. She is currently employed with Sony Pictures Entertainment as a VP of Workforce Management Technology.  Prior to joining Sony Pictures Entertainment, she was an executive at The Walt Disney Company and Partner at Ernst & Young leading the ecommerce practice and strategic global accounts. Jerri has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Miami University.

Christina Minnis is global head of Global Head of Credit Finance and Global Head of Acquisition Finance at Goldman Sachs.

Christina joined the firm in 1998 as a vice president in IBD, where she focused on leveraged finance deals. She was named managing director in 2004 and partner in 2008.Prior to joining the firm, Christina was with BT Alex Brown where her last position was managing director in Corporate Finance.

Christina is a member of the Yale Development Council and Yale School of Management Advisory Board. Christina earned a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MM from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Luke Sauter, a former Fortune executive and current CEO of Vidarrow Investment Advisors, is a seasoned leader whose expertise spans finance, operations, and technology, complemented by a strong emphasis on fostering positive and inclusive cultures within both Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations. As the CEO of Vidarrow, he drives the strategic direction of the firm and uses real-world perspective to develop solutions that meet the needs of clients. Luke has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Illinois, and is a Licensed and Registered Certified Public Accountant, Personal Financial Specialist and Investment Advisor Representative. He remains actively engaged in professional organizations such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants while also maintaining a strong connection to his heritage as a member of the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association. 

Paige Ross is the Global Head of Human Resources at Blackstone. She brings more than 30 years of experience in talent management and strategic planning. In her role, she drives the firm’s talent strategy, leading its efforts to attract, develop and reward talent. 

Previously, Ms. Ross served as the Managing Director of Talent Management at Centerbridge Partners. She has also held a variety of human resources leadership positions at Pfizer, Avon and PepsiCo. 

Ms. Ross earned her PhD in Applied Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University. She received her BA and MA in Psychology from Stony Brook University and Adelphi University, respectively.

Valerie Rainey was most recently President of iCIMS where she was responsible for the strategic growth of the business. She is an experienced global executive and Board member with private equity backed and public companies (ranging from $150M – $2.5B) with 20+ years of executive leadership in SaaS/Technology.  She has diverse executive experience leading strategy, corporate development, partner ecosystem, M&A, sales, marketing, customer service, technology, and front & back-office operations.  Through the course of her career, she has developed a track record for building high performing teams, scaling companies, accelerating growth, creating enterprise value and driving successful exits.

Before joining iCIMS, Rainey served as CFO for a number of private equity backed and public companies. Earlier in her career, Rainey was with global public accounting firms.   She currently serves on the Board of Envoy Global.

Rainey was recognized as a leader in finance by NJBIZ in 2021 and received the 2019 Silver Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year.  She holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.B.A. from Fordham University.

Charles Rockefeller is the Co-Founder of CuraPatient, an AI-enabled digital health platform in use at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its primary functions are to provide intuitive care plans, patient engagement tools and automated administration. Curapatient is one of only 21 companies to have been certified as FedRamp High, which indicates the highest possible standard of cybersecurity and government interoperability. CuraPatient also won first prize in a Tech Sprint competition hosted by the National Institute of Artificial Intelligence and was named “The Future of Healthcare.”

BJ Schaknowski is the CEO of symplr, a leading healthcare operations software and services company.   BJ is a seasoned software industry executive, with over 20 years of experience in leadership roles across a wide variety of operating functions. Before joining symplr, BJ served as the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Vertafore, the world’s leading provider of insurance technology. He held numerous senior and global leadership roles earlier in his career at LexisNexis, CA Technologies, Intuit, and Sage Software.  BJ brings his dedication to creating balanced value and outcomes for employees, customers, and shareholders to the symplr community. He earned a BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo and his MBA at the University of Georgia – Terry College of Business. BJ served in the United States Marine Corps infantry as an enlisted reservist for 8 years. He lives in Denver with his wife, Heather, and two children.

Robyn Shepherd is the Co-Head of Asia Pacific, responsible for developing and managing the commercial strategy across the region, with a focus on new business development. She joined Bridgewater in 2004 and is a Partner of the firm. She has spent nearly two decades in executive, commercial, and investment roles at Bridgewater, most recently as Head of Corporate Engagement, where she oversaw public affairs, corporate communications, CSR, DEI, and served on the Operating Committee and Commercial and Business Strategy Committee.

Robyn began her career at Bridgewater as a Senior Investment Associate in the Account Management group and later took on other key roles within the firm’s Client Service and Marketing team — first as an Associate Client Advisor covering international clients and business development, and later as the Head of Client Service Analytics. Subsequently, Robyn served as Chief of Staff to CEO David McCormick, partnering with him on the firm’s strategic agenda, business oversight, founder transition, corporate governance, and management of the Client Service and Marketing department.

Robyn was a founding member of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, and the Co-Founder and Executive Sponsor of Bridgewater’s Women’s Influence Network (WIN). In 2020, she was recognized by The Hedge Fund Journal as one of the “50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds” and was named the 2021 “Women of Excellence: Trailblazer” by Seramount, in partnership with Working Mother and the National Association for Female Executives.

Before joining Bridgewater, Robyn was an Analyst at Lime Rock Partners and an Investment Analyst at HarbourVest Partners. She serves on the boards of Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest non-profit source of funding for the fight against breast cancer, and Oakland Catholic High School, an all-women’s college preparatory school in Pittsburgh, PA. Robyn received her BA in economics from Brown University.

Kathy Sutherland is a Partner and the Chief Executive Officer of GoldenTree Asset Management. In addition, Ms. Sutherland is a member of GoldenTree’s Executive Committee. Ms. Sutherland oversees the firm’s global strategy, product and business development, and long-term planning. Prior to joining GoldenTree, Ms. Sutherland was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan where she was responsible for Fund and Structured Product Distribution across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia from 2005 to 2008. During that period, J.P. Morgan became recognized as a leading Fund and Structured Product franchise, advising many of the most important asset managers and investors globally. In her 12 years at J.P. Morgan, Ms. Sutherland held several management positions across Portfolio Management, Structured Credit and High Yield including Senior US CLO Structurer, Co-Head of European Secondary Loan Trading, Head of High Yield Credit Derivatives Marketing, and Global Head of Structured Syndicate. Ms. Sutherland graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Chemistry and specialization in Biochemistry.

Nancy G. Brinker, Founder

Nancy G. Brinker is regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement. Her journey began with a simple promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything possible to end the shame, pain, fear and hopelessness caused by this disease. In one generation, the organization that bears Susan’s name has changed the world. Learn more about Nancy now.