Board of Directors

Bob Fishman is a founding member of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation’s Board of Directors. He was elected to the Board in 1993 and currently serves as President.

Bob has been a major supporter of bone marrow transplant recipients since the time of his own transplant in 1990. He created the Sports Legends Golf Classic in Delray Beach, Florida, to benefit the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation, raising over 2.5 million dollars for patients. When not advocating for the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation, Bob is a producer and director at CBS Sports. He has directed over a thousand network telecasts and many major championships where he has been responsible for “calling the shots”. He has numerous television recognitions for sports and entertainment, including 14 Emmys and three Directors Guild of America awards. Bob was also elected to the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2019.

Approaching her 35th year in the business of design, Charlotte Moss has received numerous honors, including the New York School of Interior Design’s Centennial Medal, Housing Works’ Groundbreaker’s Award, The Royal Oak BMCF’s Timeless Design award, and is named one of Elle Décor Grand Master List of Top Designers.

Charlotte has used her experience culled from thirty-four years of decorating homes to design collections of furniture and upholstery with Century Furniture, fabrics and trims for Fabricut, carpets and sisals for Stark Carpet, china for Pickard and clothing with IBU Movement. Last fall, Charlotte collaborated with PE Guerin to create a collection of cuff bracelets based on their archive of historical designs.

Charlotte lectures widely and is a prolific author, having published ten books to date. CHARLOTTE MOSS ENTERTAINS, is her most recent title (Rizzoli, 2018).  Of all her work, philanthropy plays an important role in her life.  Charlotte is a Trustee of Thomas Jefferson BMCF at Monticello, the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation, American Corporate Partners, The Madoo Conservancy, a member of the International Council of Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, and on the Advisory Board of The New York School of Interior Design where she holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree.

As Treasurer of the Board of Directors, Andy Robin plays an integral part in the efforts of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation. Managing Director at Goldman Sachs since 2011, Andy lives in New Jersey with his wife, Cheryl, and together they continue to be avid supporters of the BMCF.

Aimee serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors and has an extensive background in volunteer work.

Prior to living in New York, Aimee lived in San Francisco where she sat on the Board of the March of Dimes. She also served on various other philanthropic committees in the Bay Area.

Aimee also currently serves as a Board Member for the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club. Aimee lives in Muttontown, NY with her husband and four children.

Christina Merrill is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation.

Since beginning the BMCF in 1992, Christina has dedicated her life to improving the quality of life for cancer patients and bone marrow/Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplant patients and their families. While attending Columbia University School of Social Work, Christina interned at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in pediatrics and worked with adult cancer patients at Mount Sinai Hospital. These hands-on experiences changed her life, and she knew she wanted to provide patients and their families the necessary financial, emotional and educational support to navigate their cancer journey. Her passion for patient support and advocacy lead to founding the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation.

Jonathan Alter is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, as well as television producer. Since 1996, he has been an analyst and contributing correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. Along with his dedication to reporting and writing, which has been published for acclaimed sources like the New York Times, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair to name a few, Jonathan has been a valuable and dedicated member of the Board of Trustees. He is based out of New York, NY.

Paul Assaiante graduated from Springield College in 1974 and received a MS from LIU. Paul has been a teacher and a coach for over 5 decades and has always believed that his purpose was to teach people to become better adults in society through the vehicle of sport. He served as the USA National Squash Coach for over two decades and is currently the National Coach Emeritus. In addition, his work as a college coach has afforded him the honor of being inducted into four Hall of Fames and is titled as “the winningest coach in NCAA History”. This as a result of the Trinity College team going undefeated for 13 straight years and amassing a 252 consecutive win streak. This against perennial powers, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Penn to mention just a few. Paul’s core belief is the need to embrace fear in order to remove obstacles blocking success. He shares his experience and lessons on building teams of champions in his book, Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear.

Paul comes to the Bone Marrow and Cancer Foundation with an intense desire to “give back”

Peggy has served on many committees including the Buckley School, Phillips Academy Andover and St. James Church. She is also on the board of trustees at Mount Educate and on the UNC Shuford Entrepreneurship Board and a member of the INC Women’s Leadership Council. Peggy graduated from UNC and the School of Law at Wake Forest University. She was in-house counsel for Revlon and later Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Peggy is the owner of Notti Toffee in North Carolina. She lives between NYC and North Carolina with her husband and three sons.

Meg Braff is an interior designer and antiques dealer based in Locust Valley, NY. She embarked on her interior design career after attending Vanderbilt University and the prestigious Parsons School of Design. Beginning as an associate at Ellen McCloskey Associates, she later worked with Jeff Lincoln before launching her eponymous firm in 1994.

A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, Meg is married to Douglas Braff and is the mother of four boys. When she is not traveling for clients she crisscrosses the country to cheer on her boys at squash competitions; she also sits on the board of The Decorator’s Club. Her work has been appeared in Veranda, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Coastal Living, Southern Living, and Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, among others. Her first book, The Decorated Home: Living with Style and Joy, was published by Rizzoli in April 2017.

Lisa Eastman serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. As well as focusing her philanthropic efforts on the Bone Marrow BMCF, Lisa has been serving her community on the North Shore of Long Island as well in Manhattan for 25 years. She is based out of Locust Valley, NY.

Vasilianna Fakiris serves on the Board of Trustees and gives to her community as a philanthropist and also a social worker. In addition to her position at the BMCF, Vasilianna is also an Advisor for St. Catherine’s Philoptochos Society, a women's philanthropic organization. Vasilianna also serves on the Board of the North Shore Sheltering Program, a men's homeless shelter in Glen Cove, NY. She currently resides in Flower Hill, NY with her husband and two children.

Dr. Sergio Giralt serves as trustee of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Medical Advisory Board. In 2010 he joined the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he leads as Chief of Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Services.

Dr. Giralt has focused his clinical research efforts in developing safer and more effective ways of conducting Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplantation in patients with myeloid leukemias or myeloma. He was one of the first to pioneer the use of reducedintensity conditioning regimens to allow older and more debilitated patients to undergo Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplants from related and unrelated donors. This seminal work has resulted in a significant increase in the number of patients over the age of 60 who have been able to benefit from the curative potential of allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplantation. Dr. Giralt has occupied many of the most important leadership positions in his field and, in February 2014, he took the position of President of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplant.

Dr. Steven Fruchtman is the President and Chief Medical Officer at Onconova Therapeutics. Onconova is a biotech company focusing on discovering small compounds to target cancer, with a major focus on myelodysplastic syndromes. Before joining Onconova, he was the Chief Medical Officer of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, where he led the clinical development of entinostat for breast cancer. Dr. Fruchtman previously held senior positions at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Allos Therapeutics, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Ortho Biotech.

Prior to his time in industry, Dr. Fruchtman served as the Director of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) Transplantation and Myeloproliferative Disorder Programs at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. His commitment to the areas of hematology/oncology and myeloproliferative disorders are exemplified by his service as an external reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Experimental Hematology, European Journal of Haematology, Leukemia, and his role as a member of the editorial board of The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine. Dr. Fruchtman is an author of more than 170 lectures, presentations, books, chapters, and abstracts. He received his Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Cornell University, and his medical degree from New York Medical College with the distinction of membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical fraternity.

Board of Trustees member Evan Handler is widely known as one of the stars of the TV series “Sex and the City,” “Californication,” and dozens of other film and stage appearances. Evan was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 24. In 1988 he underwent a bone marrow transplant, and has been dedicated to helping others seek second chances. His medical journey inspired him to write two books, “Time on Fire” and “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and Bad News of Being Alive”. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.

Oliver Israel graduated from Boston University as a History major with a minor in Real Estate in 2018, and acquired his master’s of Science in Construction Administration from Columbia University in 2020.  He currently works for his family’s construction company, Rael Automatic Sprinkler as a Project Manager. Oliver is also an avid hockey player and die hard New York Rangers fan. He loves backgammon, and interested in modern and contemporary art, and will always be a history buff.

Oliver is also an Acute Lymphocytic (ALL) Leukemia Philadelphia positive Chromosome survivor. His treatment concluded on March 31, 2016 when he was given a bone marrow transplant, and has been in remission ever since. He can proudly say he was discharged faster than any Memorial Sloan Kettering bone marrow transplant patient. Oliver chose to take online courses while undergoing treatment, and was able to return to BU for his junior and senior years, allowing Oliver to graduate BU on time, alongside his friends and peers.

Oliver has tried to do as much as he can to give back to support those currently diagnosed with cancer, he frequently speaks to patients undergoing treatment, as well as initiating an annual donor recruiting events.

Dr. Stephen Nimer serves as trustee of the Board of Directors. Dr. Nimer is a hematologist, molecular biologist, bone marrow transplant physician. Since 2012, he serves as the Director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. He was at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for nearly 20 years where he held the Alfred P. Sloan Chair and served as Head of the Division of Hematologic Oncology, Vice Chairman for Faculty Development, and Chief of the Hematology Service. Over the years, Dr. Nimer has conducted extensive research on topics such as leukemia and bone marrow failure states and exploring ways to improve the treatment of blood based cancers. He has served on the BMCF’s Medical Advisory Board since its inception.