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Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors guides the Foundation's mission, sets policies, monitors progress of NF research, and provides oversight and direction.

Board of Directors

Annette Bakker, PhD

Chair

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Sabine Moravi

Vice Chair

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Samia Arslane

Director

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Magda Chlebus

Director

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Nikola Gazdov

Director

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Richard Horvitz

Director

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Simone Manso

Director

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Stuart Match Suna

Director

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Sissy Windisch

Director

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Annette Bakker, PhD
Vice Chair
New York, NY
212-344-7029

Annette Bakker, the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s President, holds a PhD in cell biology from the University of Antwerp. Her past experience includes serving as Oncology Group Leader at Janssen Pharmaceutica, and postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and La Salpetriere, Paris.

Before joining the Children’s Tumor Foundation, Dr. Bakker served as head of the Oncology R&D department for a biotech company in Siena, Tuscany. While there, she designed and created a neuro-oncology department from the ground up, and managed large oncology research initiatives both nationally (Italian networks) and internationally (European and Asian networks).

Dr. Bakker’s research has been internationally recognized by more than 30 peer-reviewed papers, patents, and awards, and she has extensive experience liaising and negotiating with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

In her role at the Children’s Tumor Foundation, Annette and her team will continue to build a strong NF community, design and execute innovative business models to accelerate the path from basic discovery to clinical benefit for NF patients, develop partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech industries, and attract new scientists and funders to the NF field.

Annette is originally from Belgium, and speaks four languages (English, French, Dutch, and Italian). She lives happily in Westchester, NY with her family.

Sabine Moravi
Vice Chair
Samia Arslane
Director

Born in France, Samia moved to California in the late nineties to study Graphic Design. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communications in Fine Arts, her passion for fashion led her to GENLUX Magazine. In 2005, she was part of the team that launched GENLUX, where she initially served as its fashion editor. Then in 2008, she took on the role of the magazine’s Editor in Chief.

In 2021, Samia decided to be closer to her parents. She is now splitting her time between Los Angeles and Luxembourg, where her parents reside. She also joined her father’s real estate company, Immodun.

Samia’s connection with the Children’s Tumor Foundation is her little brother, Mehdi, who was diagnosed with NF1 when he was a child. Sadly, Mehdi passed away in 2018 after suffering from cancer, a direct result of NF. After his passing, she promised herself to keep his memory alive by spreading awareness on NF.

Magda Chlebus
Director
– Brussels, Belgium

Magda Chlebus is Executive Director Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), representing the R&D-based pharmaceutical industry in Europe.

Magda and her team are in charge of following policy and legislative developments that influence the research and regulatory environments for the healthcare industry in Europe. This includes public private collaborations (inter alia the Innovative Medicines Initiative), enabling and sensitive technologies and the interface between new science and technology and regulation.

She joined EFPIA in 1995. Her experience covers public and government affairs mainly at EU level, on a range of legislative and non-legislative files in the area of research, development and access to medicines and enabling technologies.

Magda, a Polish national, holds a Master Degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warsaw.

Nikola Gazdov
Director

Nikola was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. He studied at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, Germany and at The University of Birmingham in UK. His professional experience in the field of renewable power has led him to do business in many European countries. Nikola is Executive Director at Enery Element GmbH, an Austrian company developing utility scale solar and storage projects in the region of Southeast Europe. He is also the owner and CEO of Renergy, an engineering company with more than 10 000 MW of renewable power projects designed worldwide.

For more than a decade Nikola has been a member at SolarPower Europe – the Brussels based business association of the solar industry in Europe. Currently he is a member of the Strategy Committee and of several task forces at SolarPower Europe. In 2009 Nikola co-founded the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association and served as its first Chairman for a four-year tenure. In 2019 he co-founded the Association for Production, Storage and Trading of Electricity and currently servs as Chairman of the Board. In addition to his professional activities, Nikola is also a Board member at CSKA 1948 – a top-tier professional football club from Sofia, owned and managed by its supporters.

Nikola is a strong believer that we can end NF. He is passionate about supporting CTF in achieving its goal to provide the best scientists, researchers, and clinicians with the support they need, in order to find a cure against NF.

Richard Horvitz
Director

Richard Horvitz is Chairman of Moreland Management Company, a closely-held private family investment office. An attorney by training, Mr. Horvitz worked at Baker & Hostetler’s Cleveland office before joining his family’s operating businesses, since sold.

He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Tumor Foundation since 1996. He was recently named as a director to Cupid Charities, Inc.

Richard was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his AB with honors in Economics from Princeton University in 1975, and received his JD from Duke University School of Law in 1978. He is a member of both the Florida and Ohio bars.

In addition to his work with the Children’s Tumor Foundation, Mr. Horvitz serves as an officer and a trustee of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland; as a Life Trustee of the Board of University School (an independent country day school in Cleveland where he also serves on the Investment Committee); and as a member of the University Hospitals Emeritus Leadership Council after serving for 16 years on the Board of Directors of University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Medical Center. Mr. Horvitz is a life member of the Board of Visitors of Duke University School of Law.

Mr. Horvitz is married to Erica Hartman-Horvitz. He has two children, Danielle and Matthew, from his marriage to his late wife, Marcy Rochelle Horvitz, a step-daughter, Ashley, a granddaughter, Arabella Juliet Weiner, as well as another granddaughter on the way.

Simone Manso
Director
Zurich, Switzerland

Simone is passionate about advancing treatments for NF and he is actively involved in various research initiatives. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of both CTF and CTF Europe.

Simone is an Italian citizen living in Zurich, Switzerland, where he works as Head of Neurofibromatosis Therapy Development at Healx, an AI-powered biotech company accelerating the discovery and development of treatments for rare diseases. He previously held various senior HR positions in the financial and biotech sectors.

Simone grew up in Italy and has lived in Portugal, Ireland, and, for the last 12 years, in Switzerland. He is a psychologist by education and he has an Executive M.B.S. in Human Resource Strategies from DCU College in Dublin.

Simone and his wife, Giovanna, have three kids: Diego, Elisa and Emma.

Stuart Match Suna
Director
Sissy Windisch
Director