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All members of our staff are professionals who are donating their time and efforts to DTRF without compensation, so the funds we raise can go directly to support research to find a cure!
Jeanne Whiting co-founded the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation with Marlene Portnoy to facilitate and fund desmoid tumor research and support patients with access to information. Jeanne has lived with a desmoid tumor herself since 2001, undergoing surgery, recurrence of the tumor, and more than two years of continuous chemotherapy. Being personally and keenly aware of the needs of the desmoid community, she is motivated to accelerate the search for a cure. Jeanne spent most of her career as an attorney. After attending University of Michigan Law School and J. Reuben Clark Law School, she received a Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, in 1980. She clerked for the Michigan Court of Appeals in Detroit, Michigan (1980-81), and in succeeding years practiced with Sidley & Austin in Cairo, Egypt (1981-82), and in Washington, D.C. (1983); with Shearman & Sterling in New York, New York (1983-1986); with Stern, Dubrow & Marcus, Maplewood, NJ (1986-1989); and as a sole practitioner (1989-1994). Since her retirement from the practice of law in 1994, Jeanne has been involved in various nonprofit and community organizations as she has raised her family. She was Northeast Director for Choice Humanitarian, 1997-1998, which organizes humanitarian expeditions taking professionals and lay people into Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She served as Executive Director of FamilyCares (in 2000), an on-line resource whose mission is to promote the development of compassion and the spirit of charity in children through hands-on family projects that help others in need in the local and global communities. After Jeanne’s year with FamilyCares, the organization, along with its sister organization Kids Care Clubs, were taken over by the Points of Light Foundation in Washington, D.C., where they continue to be an integral part of their national outreach. Jeanne resides in New Canaan, Connecticut with her husband Steve and their two teenage sons, David and Bryan. They are the parents of four sons and a daughter.
Marlene Portnoy co-founded DTRF because of the frustration she experienced with the lack of information available and the lack of research on this rare disease. Her husband, Steve, was diagnosed in August 2004 with a retroperitoneal desmoid and has since been treated with surgery and radiation. After graduating magna cum laude from Albany State University in 1981, Marlene pursued a career in sales, which she started at Corning Glass Works from 1982-1985 in Chicago, Illinois. She then moved to New York and worked for Playskool Toys, a division of Hasbro Toys, first as a sales representative and then as a District Sales Manager for the Middle Atlantic territory from 1986-1993. She then took time out to raise her two young children and became active in community service which has included activities such as running various social action programs, participating in the local soup kitchen, and working on golf outings and walkathons for local community interests. Currently, Marlene is employed by Innisbrook Wraps, a fundraising company. She resides in Suffern, New York with her husband, Steve, and two daughters Brittany and Danielle. Wendy L. Kaufman Wendy has a background of twenty-six years of accounting experience since becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1982. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is currently licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey. Wendy oversees the DTRF accounting process, which includes the account receivables, banking, account payables, preparation of the foundation tax return and all official financial reporting. She also coordinates the annual audit process for the foundation, working with an independent accounting firm.  Bruce Larson Director, Individual and Foundation Giving The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation Bruce Larson is responsible for increasing DTRF revenue from individual and private and community foundation donors. Bruce is a Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs & Co which he joined in 1987. Among other roles, Bruce has been head of Asia-Pacific Mergers and Acquisitions (while stationed in Hong Kong) and spent three years providing mergers and acquisitions advisory to clients in Japan. Bruce served for one year as the chief of staff to the CFO of Goldman Sachs before becoming the global head of human resources, which he did for five years (1995-2000). Following his role as head of HR, he became the Chief Operating Officer of the Communications, Media and Entertainment group within the Investment Banking division - a role he played for over two years. During his time at Goldman Sachs Bruce has been a member of a number of the firm's important operating committees, including the Compensation Committee, the Retirement Committee, the Recruiting Committee, the Diversity Committee, the Wellness Advisory group and the IPO team which was involved in taking Goldman Sachs public in 1999. He was also invited by Goldman Sachs to participate in a two day executive seminar at Harvard Business School focused on developing leaders in the non-profit world. Bruce’s involvement in the non-profit world includes serving for the past seven years on the board of trustees of New York Downtown hospital in New York City. In that capacity he was an active member of the hospital's "turn-around" committee, focused on improving the financial performance of the hospital, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the hospital. Additionally Bruce oversaw the hospital's "Kress Vision Fund", an endowed fund established to provide free eye care screening and treatment in economically challenged areas of New York city. Bruce has held several other leadership positions in other community and non-profit organizations, including the University of Utah College of Humanities advisory board and the University of Utah School of Business New York Advisory board, the Boy Scouts of America and the New Canaan Basketball Association. Bruce graduated with a B.A. in Finance and Japanese from the University of Utah and with an MBA from the University of Chicago. He resides in Connecticut with his wife, Gayle and their five children Philip Grand, DTRF technical advisor and webmaster, is a software industry veteran with over 25 years of experience developing software for the computer, telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries. He has a B.S. from Northwestern University and a M.S. from the University of Southern California in Computer Science. Philip has designed and developed applications supporting the Financial, Manufacturing and Research areas of several Fortune 500 companies. He has also created various digital photo slide shows incorperating music and special effects. He volunteeers on various committes for his local religious organization. Philip resides in Hillsborough, New Jersey with his wife, and two daughters.
Danielle is a high school senior who has assumed many administrative tasks for the foundation. She is now focusing on fundraising to try to find a cure for this disease Erin Grand Erin Grand is a member of the Mighty Sound of Maryland Marching Band attending the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park
Lorraine Andrusiak manages our listings of published research and articles on desmoid tumors. She holds a B.Sc. with honors in biology from Simon Fraser University, and a M.Sc. in zoology from the University of BC. She works as a wildlife biologist
Many thanks to Amy Carse who has devoted Amy is a Connecticut native who attended Paier College of Art in Hamden, Connecticut. She graduated with honors as a Graphic Design major and Her experience is extensive, and includes working with creative agencies as well as a national catalog publisher. Her present role is that of a graphics and web designer for a fast-growing, advertising sales company. Amy's combination of creativity, customer-focus and attention to detail are evident in all of her work. She currently lives with her husband and two children in Clinton, Connecticut. Alex Ritzcovan Alex Ritzcovan, DTRF website technical advisor, is a software industry veteran with an extensive business and technology background, including over a decade of experience in senior positions with several companies including GartnerGroup, Scholastic, Inc., and BUYandHOLD.com.
As the founder of Grand Central Systems ,
Alex focuses closely on management, providing technical expertise and working closely with customers. Immediately prior to founding Grand Central Systems, Alex served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for the 10th largest online brokerage service, BUYandHOLD.com.
He played an integral role in designing the architecture and managing the development and delivery of the highly-scalable, innovative, dollar based investing system that became the main traffic draw to the highly successful BUYandHOLD.com website. |
Marlene Portnoy 
Amy Carse 
