DJ is an investor at Inverness Graham, a Philadelphia-based lower middle market private equity firm. He evaluates investment opportunities, conducts financial diligence, and collaborates closely with portfolio company CFOs. His focus lies in advancing the firm’s Green Light strategy, targeting businesses leading the charge towards environmental sustainability. Prior to Inverness Graham, DJ worked at Quad Partners in NYC, specializing in education investments, and at Cantor Fitzgerald as a healthcare investment banker.

In 2008, DJ’s sister was diagnosed with desmoid tumors. Since then, he and his family have been passionately involved in the DTRF community, actively contributing to events like the Running for Answers 5K & Fun Run annually.

DJ holds a B.B.A from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Yating is currently serving as the Senior Director of Marketing at The Clorox Company, overseeing the Clorox Homecare and Laundry businesses. In her previous role, she was responsible for driving sustainability across the enterprise, integrating it into every business and brand. Notably, under her leadership, Brita experienced significant transformation, going from a period of consecutive decline to one of the fastest-growing, purpose-led brands in the company. She’s managed brands such as Kingsford, Hidden Valley, and Glad, bringing together diverse teams to achieve record-high growth.

Prior to Clorox, she worked at Kraft Foods and various social enterprises. Yating holds her MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and graduated magna cum laude from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Yating lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Bryan, and two children. Her personal journey navigating the challenges of her oldest’s diagnosis and ongoing desmoid care has sparked a commitment to advance new treatments and advocate for a cure for desmoids in this lifetime. 

Tom is an attorney in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he has practiced since 2019. Tom finished his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in May 2013 and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in December 2019.

Tom is a mid-level associate in the firm’s Complex Litigation and Trials group. He previously clerked for the Honorable Philip M. Halpern, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Tom’s practice focuses on securities class actions, high-stakes breaches of contract, mergers and acquisitions disputes, international arbitrations, and government investigations.

Tom has long-running philanthropic fundraising experience with the Autism Alliance of Michigan and maintains a robust pro bono practice, where he has secured substantial settlements for clients in a number of civil rights cases.

Jerry March is currently Executive Vice President of KenKen LLC, a digital marketing company based in Pleasantville, New York that develops unique products for the toy, gaming, and education industries. After graduating cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in History and from Harvard Business School, Jerry pursued a successful career in general management as an executive and investor.  He co-founded Arden Group Publications, a national publisher of regional consumer wedding magazines, where he served as President, and was a principal and EVP at Venture Opportunities Corporation, a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) where he invested in, and provided strategic planning and senior management, to a variety of businesses owned and operated by underrepresented populations.

For the past 11 years, he served as a Senior Executive at MBI, Inc., the world’s leading direct response marketer of consumer collectibles, where he was in charge of all strategic development, business operations, management, and marketing for a $60 million division. In addition to his executive experience, Jerry has been actively involved in a number of non-profit entities.  For four years, he served as the Chairman of the Byram Hills Education Foundation where he raised more than $1.4 million dollars to fund grants proposed by the district’s educators and administration.  He was also a founding member of the Board of Directors for the Banksville Nursery School and is currently serving on the Board of Trustees for the North Castle Public Library. 

Jerry and his wife Mary live in Bedford, New York, and are proud parents of three children.

Maria T. Crocitto is CEO of Advantage Communications, LLC, a medical education and communications company she founded in New York City in 1997. Maria has been a leading expert in implementing global education plans for medical societies, research centers, and the pharmaceutical industry. Her hands-on experience ranges from clinical research to journalism to the development of strategic medical education programs. 

After attending the Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program at Columbia University, she earned a M.A. degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a Certificate in Science and Environmental Reporting from New York University. Prior to founding Advantage, as a Science Writer at Medical Tribune, her articles were syndicated in Asian Medical News and the Japanese hospital posters medical bulletins. Maria also worked for six years in the United States Bureau of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. She is fluent in English, Italian, and Spanish. 

Outside the office, she has devoted her time to serving on the board of directors of the DTRF and working on projects in Africa and the U.S for AIDS foundations, overnight homeless shelters and soup kitchens, supporting women survivors of war, and fundraising for hospitals’ neonatal intensive care units.

Marlene Portnoy co-founded the DTRF after her husband, Steve, was diagnosed in 2004 with a retroperitoneal desmoid tumor. While he was treated with surgery and radiation, Marlene experienced frustration with the lack of information available and the lack of research on this rare disease. This kickstarted her goal of accelerating research and the search for a cure. 

After graduating magna cum laude from Albany State University in 1981, Marlene pursued a career in sales, first working at Corning Glass Works and then at Playskool Toys, a division of Hasbro Toys, where she served as a sales representative and later as a District Sales Manager. Afterwards, Marlene took time to raise her two young children, during which she also became active in community service, with activities such as running various social action programs, participating in the local soup kitchen, and working on golf outings and walk-a-thons for local community interests.

Marlene resides in Tuxedo, NY, with her husband. She enjoys spending time with her family, which include two beautiful daughters, Brittany and Danielle, two wonderful sons-in-law, Adam and Mike, and three adorable grandsons, Grant, Mason, and Brooks. Marlene also enjoys such active pursuits such as running, hiking, biking, and skiing. She has a passion for traveling and experiencing other cultures.