Dyson Dialogues

Dr. Harold Brandford '72

Anesthesiologist
Tuesday, December 5, 2024

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Dr. Harold Brandford completed his training in anesthesiology at the University of California, San Diego, and fellowship training in pediatric anesthesia and critical care at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington. Following this, he served as an attending anesthesiologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. He has been a practicing anesthesiologist in the Seattle area since 1980 and has considerable experience in all areas of anesthesia.

A Dyson Biology graduate, Brandford was one of the first Pace students to attend medical school. At this Dyson Dialogues event, he spoke about his Pace experience, the importance of his mentor as a role model and his successful career as an anesthesiologist in a conversation with Dr. Marcy Kelly.

Dr. Donald Moore '76

Adjunct Professor in Biology - Pace University / Previous CEO and Owner - Dr. Moore and Associates
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

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Dr. Donald Moore previously ran a full-time general medicine practice in Brooklyn and has distinguished himself through service to his community and his profession. He is also a retired attending physician at New York Methodist Hospital and teaches medicine students at Weill Cornell Medical College and nurse practitioner students at NYU and Hunter College. He is a board member of the New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and the Dyson Advisory Board. He has received numerous awards including an award for teaching excellence from Weill Cornell. He has also been recognized for his humanitarian efforts in health care delivery by the New York State Senate and U.S. Congress.

Co-sponsored by Tri-Beta, Minority Association of Pre-health Students, and Pre-Professional Health Society, Dr. Moore discussed at this Dyson Dialogues event how patients are harmed when the social determinants of health are ignored and presented a detailed history of racism in healthcare in the United States. He discussed the transformation from Scientific Racism, to experimentation, Medical Apartheid, and the current situation of inequality in insurance and access to medical care.

Dr. Charlie Gombar '74

Senior Vice President of Portfolio and Project Management, Retired - Pyxis Oncology
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

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Dr. Gombar is the former Director of American Course on Drug Development and Regulatory Science at the University of California, San Francisco. He most recently served as Senior Vice President, Portfolio and Project Management at Pyxis Oncology. Prior to joining Pyxis, Dr. Gombar was Deputy Director for HIV drugs at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he was responsible for the programs investing in the development of long-acting antiretrovirals for the prevention of HIV infection such as cabotegravir (Apretude®).

At this Dyson Dialogues event, Dr. Gombar presented on Chemistry in Action: How do We Get a Drug to its Site of Action.

Andréa Richardson '03

Executive Vice President and Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Zeno Group
Thursday, April 4, 2024

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Andréa Richardson is Executive Vice President and Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Zeno Group. She provides strategic counsel to top global corporations, nonprofits, and public entities on DEI strategies, multicultural marketing, crisis and issue management, reputation management, and public affairs. Andréa has helped organizations navigate some of the toughest societal and business challenges through the lens of DEI. Andréa has also worked at Fortune 500 companies and has held marketing and communication roles at Advertising Age, Fairchild Media, and Conde Nast. One of her most notable appointments includes her role at Hilton as their head of multicultural and diversity engagement.

Alexander Dinelaris Jr.

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Screenwriter, Producer and Founder - Lexicon
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Alexander Dinelaris is an Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winning screenwriter for Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), a co-producer on the three-time Academy Award® winning film The Revenant, and the book writer for the Broadway musical On Your Feet! The story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan, as well as The Bodyguard Musical which began on the West End and now performs worldwide. He is the screenwriter and producer of the upcoming feature film, Jekyll & Hyde which is an adaptation for the London stage. Alexander also wrote the screenplay for Carmen, directed by Benjamin Millepied, and premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. His film company, Lexicon, is currently developing State of Motion, a story by Marco Perego Saldana, written by Alexander as well as Consurgo. Lexicon was the winner of the Sundance Film Festival's U.S. Grand Jury Prize Dramatic for In The Summers written by Alessandra Lacorazza and their first produced film. He recently teamed with Grammy winner, Residente, to write a historical film about Puerto Rico. Alexander will be making his directorial debut with a film adaptation of his play Still Life in 2024.

Fern Johnson '91

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Former CTO and Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations - PepsiCo
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Fern Johnson, having served as PepsiCo's CTO and Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations, embodies an IT executive leader renowned for global transformation, strategic IT planning, and fostering vendor relations. With a distinguished career blending business, change management, operations, and technology expertise, she has steered the development and execution of innovative technology solutions aligned with overarching growth objectives encompassing revenue, profit, and competitive advantage.

In her Dyson Dialogues presentation, Johnson led a panel on Women in Tech – Empowering Women to Enter Tech Fields. Speakers included:

• Fern Johnson ’91, CTO and Vice President – Global Infrastructure and Operations, PepsiCo
• Robert Peterkins ’89, Director of Technology Risk, BNY Mellon
• Mary Beth Henderson ’91, Worldwide Practice Delivery Leaders for GDPS, Technology Services, IBM
• Ericka Shoulars ’92, Program Manager of Client Service Delivery, BNY Mellon
• Grace Clarke ’13, Senior Certified Scrum Master, Blackstone