Board of Directors

Members of Setting Scoliosis Straight’s board of directors are all uniquely connected to spinal deformities. This diverse group of individuals, volunteer their time, expertise, and energy, to ensure the foundation is successful in fulfilling its mission.

Suken A. Shah, M.D

Suken joined the Harms Study Group as a surgeon member in 2005 and has been an active participant in four prospective research studies....Read more

Firoz Miyanji, M.D.

Dr. Miyanji is a Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia, Department of Orthopedics whose clinical practice focuses on pediatric spinal deformity at British Columbia Children’s Hospital....Read more

Amer F. Samdani, M.D.

Amer is a surgeon member of the Harms Study Group and serves on the HSG Executive Committee. He joined the group in 2006 and is an active participant in four prospective research studies....Read more

Peter Newton, M.D.

Peter is a surgeon member of the Harms Study Group and serves on the HSG Executive Committee. He joined the Harms Study Group in 1998 and is an active participant in four prospective research studies....Read more

David Clements, M.D.

Dave is a surgeon member of the Harms Study Group and serves on the HSG Executive Committee. He is a founding member of the Harms Study Group and has been a participant since 1995....Read more

Robert Stone, CPA

Robert is active on the Board of Trustees for both Mount Sinai Medical Center and Mount Sinai Foundation. He has served on the Board of Trustees for Ransom Everglades School....Read more

Michelle C. Marks, PT, M.A.

Michelle is a member of the Executive Committee of the Harms Study Group. Her participation in the group began in 1999 as the San Diego Site Coordinator for Peter Newton. She is now the Research Director of the HSG research organization and the Executive Director of the Setting Scoliosis Straight Foundation....Read more

Randal R. Betz, M.D.

Randy is one of the founding surgeon members of the Harms Study Group and serves on the HSG Executive Committee. He is an active participant in four prospective research studies....Read more

Harry Shufflebarger, M.D.

Harry was an original surgeon member of the Harms Study Group in 1995 and reactivated his participation in 2003. He serves on the HSG Executive Committee and is an active participant in three prospective research studies....Read more

Baron Lonner, M.D.

Baron joined the Harms Study Group as a surgeon member in 2004 and has been an active participant in four prospective research studies....Read more

Tom Errico, M.D.

Tom is a currently Chief of Division of Spine at NYU Hospital for Joint Disease, as well as the Director of Spine Fellowship and Director of Spine Center for Musculoskeletal Care at NYU HJD....Read more

Kevin Sayar, Esq.

Kevin is co-founder and President at ebrary, the preferred e-book provider to institutions and researchers worldwide. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from California Western School of Law....Read more

Stacey Goldfarb, Esq.

Stacey Goldfarb has endured three surgeries during her adolescence and adulthood to correct her scoliosis. Although her path has not been seamless, Stacey is now a lawyer, a mother of two, and a Board Member on the Setting Scoliosis Straight Board of Directors....Read more

Lawrence Lenke, M.D.

I was interested in joining the board of SSS because of the multifaceted approach towards optimizing the care of children and teenagers with various spinal deformities. As a surgeon who has dedicated my 25 year career towards these same efforts, I'm honored to join such an esteemed group where the impact from this group is unparalleled and transformative for the field and also the patients....Read more

Ross Sylvia

Ross has spent 20 years as an executive within the healthcare industry - the majority of which has been related to spinal deformity, where he has led the development of some of the worlds leading implant systems, as well as supported numerous research, educational and patient advocacy initiatives....Read more

Theresa Chesnut

Theresa’s daughter, was diagnosed with scoliosis at a young age and had surgery in July of 2010. The surgery was performed by Dr. Peter Newton at Children’s Hospital in San Diego....Read more

Burt Yaszay, MD

Burt Yaszay, MD is the Chief of the Division of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.  He completed his residency at the University of Washington.  This was followed by a fellowship in Pediatric and Adult Spine at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases.  Dr. Yaszay is an active member of multiple professional societies including the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, and Scoliosis Research Society where he has…...Read more

Noelle Larson, MD

A. Noelle Larson, M.D., is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who helps children with spinal conditions such as scoliosis. She and her team use innovative techniques such as low-dose imaging and intraoperative computer-guided navigation to provide better options for pediatric patients....Read more

Dave Poley

Dave Poley joined the Setting Scoliosis Straight Foundation Board of Directors in January 2023 and is also a Board Member for The National Spine Health Foundation from June 2021 to the present day ....Read more

Our Infrastructure

Our staff is a reflection of the diverse patient population we serve; several of whom have been with the organization since its conception – almost twenty years!


There is nothing that brings us greater fulfillment than knowing the work we do will have a positive impact for children living with spinal deformity.

  • Michelle Marks

    Michelle has been with SSS since 1998.

  • Maty Petcharaporn

    Maty has been with SSS since 1999.

  • Harvey Ly

    Harvey has been with SSS since 2010.

  • Tracey Bastrom

    Tracey has been with SSS since 2000.

  • Kerry Betancourt

    Kerry has been with SSS since 2016.

  • Mary Dalupang

    Mary has been with SSS since 2016.

  • Monica Lee

    Monica joined the SSS team in 2019

  • Alan Sanchez

    Alan joined the SSS team in 2019.

Join Our Team!

Everyone has their own reasons for becoming a volunteer. People volunteer to meet new people, acquire new skills, gain workplace experience, boost their college applications, become more competitive in the job market, or embark on new career paths. Find your niche within our organization by signing up to be a volunteer today!

BECOME A VOLUNTEER!