Board of Advisors

Advisory Board:

  • Gene Barduson, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, PerfectServe Inc
  • Margaret Dohnalek, Global Head of Technology Scouting, PepsiCo Inc
  • Andy Donner,  Partner, Physic Ventures LLC
  • John D. Doyle, Executive Vice President, Ascension Health Alliance; President and CEO, Ascension Health Holdings
  • Michael Farrell, President, Americas; ResMed
  • Igor Gershfang, Senior Director, Emerging Technology Solutions, Walgreen Company
  • Chris Hoffmann, Senior Director, Triple Tree LLC
  • Donald Jones, WLSA Chairman and Vice President, Qualcomm Life
  • Margaret Laws, MPP, Director of Innovations for the Underserved, California Healthcare Foundation
  • Bruno Leroy, Vice President, Head of Global Access Strategies, Sanofi
  • Chris Penrose, Senior Vice President, Emerging Devices, AT&T
  • Leslie A. Saxon, Chief Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine at USC; Executive Director, USC Center for Body Computing
  • Thomas Schwieterman, Medical Director, Midmark Cooperation
  • Eric Topol, Director, Scripps Translational Science Institute; Chief Academic Officer, Scripps Health; Professor of Genomics, The Scripps Research Institute

Ex Officio Members: WLSA Board of Directors

Special Advisors:

 

Advisory Board:

Gene Barduson

Gene Barduson is Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for Perfect Serve and is an information technology industry expert with a proven, 30-year track record of producing increased sales and profitability in large company, start-up and turnaround situations. Gene started his career with IBM and later became involved in three start-ups during the early stages of the CAD/CAM industry. In 1989, he took an executive position with Shared Medical Systems, Inc. (SMS), now part of Siemens, AG where he served as Senior Vice President for the Western Region and all national accounts. After SMS, Gene was recruited to serve as president and CEO of EDiX Corporation where he guided a turnaround and grew revenue from $14 million to more than $100 million over a five-year period. During that time he led the successful sale of EDiX to IDX — and positioned EDiX as the market-leading technology-based medical transcription company in the country.

Gene left IDX to serve as chairman and CEO of Apexion Technologies Inc., a start-up technology company providing health care supply and surgical instrument tracking applications which was acquired by Lawson Software. Prior to Perfect Serve, Gene served as president and CEO of Alteer Corporation, a software service provider to medical practices. While at Alteer, he raised $20 million of venture capital and engineered a successful turnaround and sale to American Health.

Gene holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from St. Cloud State University and Master of Mathematics from the University of Northern Iowa.

Gene presently serves on the Board of Independa. Gene also serves on the Board of Trustees at Western University of Health Sciences.

Margaret Dohnalek

Margaret H. Dohnalek, PhD holds the current role of Global Head of Technology Scouting, Corporate R&D Operations, for PepsiCo.  This corporate role was formed in the fall of 2010 to better insure the vitality and sustainability of PepsiCo’s innovation efforts and drive business growth thru product innovation and acquisitions.

In this newly-created role, Dr. Dohnalek is responsible for building and managing a global diverse, multi-disciplined technical team directed to scouting technology worldwide from a variety of industrial, academic and private sectors; for open innovation and long term research strategy; and for building technology platforms that form the basis for innovation and consumer benefit with existing PepsiCo products. Dr. Dohnalek also leads PepsiCo’s research foresights activities and is the R&D lead with PepsiCo’s investment in Physic Ventures.  Just prior to joining PepsiCo, Dr. Dohnalek was Assistant Vice President – Global Nutritional Sciences with Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (PCH), where she developed innovation strategies and led innovation teams in the launch of new dietary supplement brands around the world, and led the development of technology platforms that served as the basis for defining pathways to optimize science into PCH global dietary supplement franchise.  Before joining PCH, Dr. Dohnalek worked in various R&D and Business Development roles within Abbott Laboratories, completing her 18.5 yr career with Abbott by leading the Discovery Technology group for Abbott’s globalized Nutrition business.  Dr. Dohnalek started her professional career in upstate New York working for Nestle R&D in confectionary research.

A multi-disciplined research professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical, and in the academic arena, Dr. Dohnalek holds her MS and PhD degrees in Protein Chemistry/Food Toxicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BS degree in Food Science and Chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA.

Andy Donner

Andy Donner is a Partner with Physic Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm which provides capital and expertise to science-based, consumer-driven health and sustainable living companies.  Mr. Donner has 15 years of investment and management experience in the information technology, healthcare and consumer product industries. At Physic Ventures, Mr. Donner focuses on investments in the Connected Health sector which includes digital media, health monitoring technologies, innovative health delivery, wellness and condition management programs.  Prior to joining Physic, Andy was a Senior Associate with Great Spirit Ventures, where he focused on consumer health investments.  Before Great Spirit Ventures, Andy held various operating roles in high-tech companies, serving as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer with atMadison.com, Director of the Product Marketing at Entopia and head of new business opportunities for LeapFrog Enterprises in the healthcare industry.  From 1997-1999, Mr. Donner was a member of Wasserstein Perella’s Technology M&A Group.  Mr. Donner began his career working for VISTA, the “domestic Peace Corps,” where his leadership of a state-wide public health program was honored at the Presidential Summit for America’s Future.  Andy graduated with honors from Duke University’s pre-med program and earned his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley.

John Doyle

John D. Doyle serves as serves as Executive Vice President, Ascension Health Alliance, the parent organization of Ascension Health. He is also President and Chief Executive Officer of AH Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance.

He has responsibility for a portfolio of companies designed to add value to the organization by providing services to the Health Ministries of Ascension Health as well as other health systems in the United States and internationally. Mr. Doyle’s, along with other executives, oversees incubation of transformational solutions and innovative relationships that have the potential to accelerate accomplishment of Ascension Health’s Strategic Direction. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of TriMedx, a subsidiary of AH Holdings that provides clinical engineering services to healthcare organizations throughout the United States and internationally. He serves on the Board Trimedx International, a joint venture currently providing clinical engineering services in India.

Mr. Doyle previously served as Ascension Health’s Chief Strategy Officer and General Manager, Transformational Development. Earlier he was Senior Vice President, Strategic Business Development & Innovation for Ascension Health. Before joining Ascension Health’s System Office, he was Executive Vice President for Strategic Development for St. Vincent Hospitals and Health Services, Indianapolis, overseeing strategic planning, network development, managed care, marketing, corporate communications and government affairs.

Mr. Doyle is a former Vice President of Marketing, Public Affairs and Product Line Management for MacNeal Health Network in Chicago and served as director of marketing and public relations for the Educational Services Unit of ITT Corp. He began his career with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Mr. Doyle earned a bachelor’s degree from Butler University, Indianapolis, and a master’s degree from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Mick Farrell

Michael “Mick” Farrell is currently President, Americas at ResMed; he joined ResMed (San Diego, CA – NYSE: RMD) in September 2000. Mick has responsibility for sales, clinical education, customer service, channel marketing, and all commercial activities for North America, Central America, and South America. He previously held roles running a global business unit for ResMed’s therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices for sleep apnea, as well as prior roles with responsibility for marketing and business development at the company.  Before joining ResMed, Mr. Farrell worked in management consulting and biotechnology, as well as in chemicals and steel manufacturing at Arthur D. Little, Genzyme Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Vale and BHP Billiton. Mr. Farrell sits on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Homecare. Mr. Farrell holds a Bachelor of Engineering, with first-class honors, from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Igor Gershfang

Igor Gershfang is Senior Director, Emerging Technology Solutions as part of Business Innovation group at Walgreens. In this role he is responsible for the ideation, research, validation, investments, strategy, and development of new business and technology solutions that focus on both healthcare and retail use cases and interconnected markets overall. Igor is leading the mHealth journey at Walgreens, and his other current focus areas include mobile CRM, analytics at scale, internet of things, behavioral change solutions, consumerization and retailization of health. As part of Emerging Technologies and R&D function, Igor evaluates trends and early stage innovation covering 1-10 year horizon.

Overall, Igor Gershfang specializes in leading complex innovation and transformation initiatives at the enterprise level. Igor’s previous endeavors included entrepreneurial undertakings, strategy consulting, business development, R&D, brand positioning, IT solutions and strategic technology advisory.

Igor earned a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Old Dominion University and a M.S. degree in Communication from Northwestern University.

Chris Hoffmann

Chris Hoffmann is a Senior Director, focused on leading the firm’s research, marketing and executive programs. As the author and editor of numerous research publications, his specialization spans across all of the sectors covered by the firm. He offers significant experience as an operating executive, analyst, and entrepreneur in the technology industry.

Prior to TripleTree, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Tier1 Research, an independent sell-side research firm where he led the firm to an acquisition by The 451 Group. Before Tier1 Research, he held executive positions at Gartner, GE Capital Consulting, IBM Global Services, and a consulting firm which he founded. He is a frequent presenter at industry events and has been quoted in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and CNN Money.

Chris earned a B.B.A. degree in Marketing from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In addition, he has completed advanced studies at the University of Minnesota and Michigan State University.

Donald Jones

Don serves as vice president of business development and global strategy and market development for Qualcomm Life. He is responsible for Qualcomm’s development of wireless technologies and platforms in the health, fitness and life sciences markets, and is recognized as a leader in the field. In 2005, he founded and is chairman of the Wireless Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA), a 501c(6) trade organization that works with both the wireless and health industries to enable new business models, new businesses and clinical process improvements in all sectors, including consumer health, fitness, healthcare services, healthcare IT, pharmaceutical and medical devices. Don is also a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Digital Health.  He is on the boards of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation and the American Telemedicine Association, and was a founding board member of the West Health Institute. In 2010, Don was named to the Consumer Products Innovations Board at Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Don holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.  He holds multiple issued and pending patents in the use of mobile phones in incentive reward programs and in asynchronous media communications. 

Margaret Laws

Margaret Laws is director of the Innovations for the Underserved program at the California HealthCare Foundation.  In this role she oversees the Foundation’s work to reduce barriers to efficient, affordable care for the underserved.  She also created and manages the CHCF Health Innovation Fund, a mission-focused fund  investing in companies that improve access to and reduce cost of health care.

Ms. Laws joined the Foundation in 1998 after serving as staff to the state of California’s Managed Care Improvement Task Force.  Prior to that she was a manager with Accenture, where she worked in both the government and health care strategy practices with state health and human service agencies and payer and provider organizations.  Margaret has also worked as a consultant with the Francois Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, and for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, providing technical assistance for non-profits in developing countries.  Earlier professional positions include consultant for the World Health Organization’s Global Programme on AIDS and caseworker and analyst for the Commonwealth of MA Department of Public Welfare.

Ms. Laws holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and an A.B. in English Literature from Princeton University.

Bruno Leroy

Bruno Leroy is Vice-President Global Access Strategies in Integrated Patient-centered Solutions at sanofi. He is an MD, and was previously Assistant Professor in Pediatric Nephrology in Paris before joining the Pharmaceutical Industry in 1993. He has been directly involved in virtually all phases of compound life cycle in R&D and commercial operation, from dose selection to approval, market access and launch phases.

In its current role, his team mandate is to accelerate incorporation of efficient access strategies and innovative customer solutions at sanofi, looking to deliver new sources of value with a patient centric approach. To develop integrated patient-centered solutions, several dimensions of patients’ needs are to be considered, including primary cause and symptoms of the disease, its associated symptoms and comorbidities, patient care pathways and disease continuum steps, lifestyle and social impact.  This requires in depth, multifaceted insight and mapping of most important and under-addressed patients struggles, as well as evaluation of the health and cost burden of these care deficiencies. The extent of possible care offers should go beyond drugs, and include various services among which digital solutions.  Rapidity of innovation and prototyping, identification of new funding and business model, scalability, and joint efforts of several actors in the health care value chain will be key to move from product to patient centric offers.

Chris Penrose

Chris Penrose is Senior Vice President of AT&T’s Emerging Devices Organization. Penrose leads a team that is responsible for connecting AT&T’s wireless network to consumer electronics including tablets, computers, tracking devices, eReaders, mHealth and portable navigation.

With more than two decades of experience with AT&T and its predecessor companies, Penrose has expertise in strategic planning, new product development, sales, marketing, distribution planning and customer service.

Prior to this role, Penrose was Vice President/General Manager of AT&T’s South Texas Market, where he had complete P&L responsibility for both wireline and wireless products. He held a similar position with AT&T in Virginia and West Virginia.

Penrose earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Masters in Business Administration from Indiana University. He is active in the community, having served on the boards of directors of Junior Achievement, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the North Texas Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Sports Foundation.

Leslie Saxon

Leslie Saxon, M.D., is a Professor of clinical medicine at the USC Keck School of Medicine, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias in patients with congestive heart failure. After serving as the director of the electrophysiology laboratory and implantable device services at UC San Francisco, Dr. Saxon was recruited to serve as the Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at USC.

In addition to using state-of-the-art resynchronization devices in patients with arrhythmias, such as modified pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, Dr. Saxon also collaborates with medical device companies to evaluate the latest, most innovative interventional gadgets for patients with difficult-to-treat heart failure.

Dr. Saxon has completed over 75 publications in various medical journals and is an active member of a multitude of organizations, including the American College of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society, The American Heart Association, and the Heart Failure Society of America.

In 2002, Dr. Saxon co-chaired the first Heart Rhythm Society Conference in Cardiac Resynchronization. On October 26, 2007, Dr. Saxon was proud to host the First Annual USC Body Computing Conference, which brought together leading authors and futurists as well as leaders from the fields of medicine, design, entertainment, the FDA, investment banking, and pharmaceuticals for a day of intense discussions about the nascent but exciting field of wireless physiologic monitoring.

Tom Schwieterman

Dr. Thomas (Tom) Schwieterman is the Medical Director for Midmark Corporation – the most trusted name in  medical, dental and veterinary examination and procedure room equipment, dedicated to helping healthcare providers deliver the most efficient and effective patient care.  In this position, “Dr. Tom” supports Midmark’s focus on potential breakthrough technologies and trends as they look toward future markets. His specific focus is on the optimal ways health information technology can improve provider efficiency and patient outcomes.

In his work with SleepView®, Midmark’s innovative solution for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), Dr. Tom has provided expert opinion in the field of OSA and home sleep testing.  Dr. Tom’s advocacy activities for advancing sleep medicine include appearances on morning news broadcasts discussing the importance of good sleep, participation in panel discussions, interviews for articles published in industry magazines and research in primary care enabled diagnostics.

Prior to joining Midmark in 2007, Dr. Tom studied family medicine at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan, attaining the role of chief resident and president of the hospital resident staff.  After residency, he operated a successful private practice in rural Ohio. Seeing inefficiencies in his workflow, Dr. Tom created a medical software product called “Chartscribe.” This product made a significant impact on the way he practiced medicine. Microsoft Corporation recognized Dr. Tom as a leading innovator in health information technology in 2003.

Dr. Tom holds a Bachelor of Science in software engineering from Miami University, Ohio and a Doctor of Medicine degree from The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He remains board certified in family practice, serving as a member of the board of trustees for Compassionate Care of Shelby County (CCSC) and providing direct patient medical care there as a volunteer.

Dr. Tom and his wife, Maria, enjoy three children. He also takes pleasure in classical music, travel and participates on the board for the Miami Valley Council – Boy Scouts of America.

Eric Topol

Cardiologist, Eric Topol, MD, believes that patients should be fully empowered. He ensures this by sharing information completely and building a partnership with his patients. Dr. Topol is also a believer that each patient is unique and therefore requires a specific care plan tailored to their individual needs. He uses the latest innovations in heart care to treat his patients and only turns to medication when absolutely necessary.

Dr. Topol was voted as the number one Most Influential Physician Executive in the United States in a 2012 national poll conducted by Modern Healthcare. A practicing cardiologist at Scripps Health, Dr. Topol has done much to expand our understanding of how genetics can determine a person’s health risks, particularly their risk for a heart attack. He has been a spearhead in the discovery of multiple genes that increase susceptibility for heart attack and continues his research in this area with the Scripps Translational Science Institute. Here, physicians and scientist work together to discover and define the genes that may influence disease. In his productive career as a physician-scientist, he has built an international reputation for his ground-breaking research and expertise. He also started a medical school, with the goal of training future generations of physician-scientists. In addition, he ran the Cleveland Clinic heart program for 14 years, and brought it to the number one ranking by U.S. News and World Report for over 10 years consecutively.

Of special interest to Dr. Topol are genomics, wireless sensors, preventative cardiology (including heart attack prevention), coronary artery disease and preventative medicine. The research that Dr. Topol has done on genomic and wireless digital technologies continues to reshape the future of medicine. Despite his in depth research focus, he continues to see patients at Scripps Clinic, as he believes that research is only as good as what it can do to help others.

Ex Officio Members:

Jeffrey K. Belk

Jeffrey Belk is Managing Director of ICT168 Capital, LLC, focused on developing and guiding global growth opportunities in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology space). Formerly, Belk spent almost 14 years at Qualcomm, where prior to his departure in early 2008, he was Qualcomm’s senior vice president of strategy and market development, focused on examining changes in the wireless ecosystem and formulating approaches to help accelerate mobile broadband adoption and growth.

From 2000 until 2006, Belk was senior vice president, global marketing, leading a team responsible of all facets of the company’s corporate messaging, communications, and marketing worldwide. In 1999-2000, Belk was SVP & GM of Qualcomm Eudora Products, Qualcomm’s award winning email client. In 1997, Belk was named VP, marketing of Qualcomm Consumer Products, and initiated the company’s global branding and communications efforts.  Prior to Qualcomm, Belk spent ten years in the early growth years of the PC industry, primarily with Proxima Corporation. Belk  joined the company in 1983, when the company was less than 25 employees, and was with the company through its IPO in the early 90’s in several key distribution, product management, and international roles.

Belk is on the Board of Directors of Peregrine Semiconductors, InterDigital Corporation, as well as the Board of the Wireless Life Sciences Alliance. He has a BA in Economics from University of California, San Diego, and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine. He is known globally as a commentator and writer on wireless, mobile broadband, and technology evolution.

M. Wainright Fishburn, Jr.

Wain Fishburn is a founding partner of Cooley LLP’s San Diego office and represents high growth technology and life sciences corporations ranging from start-up to public. Mr. Fishburn is an active community leader and has shaped many industry organizations. He is a founding board member of the Corporate Directors Forum, as well as BIOCOM, where he currently serves as Vice Chair of the BIOCOM Board of Directors. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee of the Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Critical Path Institute, an independent institute created in part by the FDA, dedicated to improving the regulatory path for innovative medical therapies. Mr. Fishburn is a founder of two public companies and prior to law school, worked in the corporate environment assisting with the divestiture of a group of 12 operating companies.

He received his J.D. degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and has served as President of the Hastings Board of Governors.

Sharon Henry

Sharon Henry currently directs wireless initiatives for Emergency Medical Services Corporation (EMSC), the nation’s leading provider of ambulance and outsourced physician services. American Medical Response provides the nation’s largest emergency and non-emergency ambulance service, while EMCARE is the leading provider of outsourced physician services to hospital emergency departments, inpatient physician services, inpatient radiology management programs and anesthesiology services. EMSC also provides air ambulance service and offshore medical services to oil platforms in the Gulf. EMSC provides services each year to more than 10 million patients in more than 2,000 communities nationwide. Sharon’s background in market application and implementation allows EMSC to move further into wireless digital medicine.

Sharon has been in the ambulance service business for thirty years, ten of which were in mergers and acquisitions during the roll-up of ambulance companies to large providers in the late 1990s. She co-founded MedicWest Ambulance in Las Vegas, Nevada which grew from a start-up to becoming a large provider in all of Clark County, including the famous Las Vegas Strip.MedicWest was sold to EMSC in 2007, and is now the sole provider of service in the Las Vegas market. Sharon has managed large national performance based ambulance contracts and 911 emergency call centers.

She has a B.S. Degree from Oregon State University and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.

Special Advisors:

Tim Sexton

Los Angeles-based Sexton has benefited from close working relationships with leading figures in business, finance, entertainment, government, and non-profits.  Tim is an Emmy Award winning producer who has served as an executive, advisor and consultant to film studios, recorded music companies, technology concerns, investment banks, Nobel Laureates, live events, pro sports franchises, Fortune 100 firms, non-profit organizations, and rock stars.

Tim was a senior creative executive or creative consultant to Columbia Tri-Star Pictures, Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal, Disney, and Intermedia.  He founded Magstripe Entertainment, which for more than a decade was a leading producer of music for films.  He is credited in nearly 100 major motion pictures including many box-office hits, #1 records, and Grammy awards.  Sexton also founded and ran two successful boutique record labels in partnership Warner Records and Universal Music Group respectively.  Later, Tim was EVP of Alliance Entertainment Corp, one of the country’s largest home entertainment distribution and supply-chain management firms.  He also President of Digital On-Demand, a retail services technology company.

In 2006, Tim was Executive Producer of Live 8, the largest music event in history viewed by 3 billion people worldwide (garnering an Emmy).  In 2007, he was an Executive Producer of American Idol’s historic groundbreaking and Emmy winning charity event – Idol Gives Back.

Sexton is a member of Board of Trustees of the Alliance for Climate Education and of Seven Arrows School.  He is a member of the Environmental Media Association’s Corporate Board and of Liberty Hill Foundation’s Advisory Board, Board.  He is also an advisor to USC’s Center for Body Computing.  Tim created the groundbreaking Feel the Power campaign with MTV – the precursor to Rock the Vote, where he later served as a Director and corporate officer.  He is also the southern California co-founder of Environmental Entrepreneurs – the business voice of the Natural Resources Defense Council.  Tim lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Ralph Simon

Ralph Simon is acknowledged as one of the founders of the modern mobile entertainment industry. Over the last 15 years, he has been a prominent global mobile trailblazer and innovator, helping grow the mobile entertainment and content industry, and playing a central role in its impact and presence worldwide.

Simon heads the London-based Mobilium International, which provides high-level strategic advice and guidance to mobile handset makers, telco operators, technology companies, media companies, movie studio & TV networks, global music artists, ad agency groups, brands, and platform providers around the world. Specifically, Simon recommends unique, practical ways to expand a company’s mobile business and achieve profitability by growing revenues and maximizing impact from the use and distribution of mobile entertainment content, mobile music, messaging, mobile media technology and applications.

Currently, he serves on the boards of several companies, including Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, India’s major mobile content producer, and also mobile games maker Tunewiki.com. In addition, Simon works closely with the GSM Association, the global governing body of the mobile phone industry, providing expert advice on the future of mobile use and mobile entertainment. He also has served for the past three years on the Visionary Committee for MIDEM, the international record industry’s annual convention that helps shape the global music industry’s best practices for use of intellectual property and music.

Ralph Simon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the UK, where his “Future of Media” lecture series is popular, and he is a member of the Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the US.