Alex Montaldo is one of the co-founders of stoPD. He is a film and theater actor based in New York and Los Angeles, a Lee Strasberg Institute graduate, and has a master’s degree in clinical psychology.
Alex is a skilled athlete, a boxer, and a certified stage/film fighter. He is also a staunch supporter of animal rights and animal welfare, has participated in drama therapy programs for psychiatric patients.
Alex is an advocate for the importance of intense exercise in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and participated as an invited speaker in National Parkinson’s Foundation events in Los Angeles and Northern California, support groups and hospitals in New York and New Jersey. Alex is currently working with a team of experts at developing a theater program specifically designed for people with Parkinson’s.
Roberta Marongiu, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in Neurological Surgery. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Weill Cornell Brain and Mind Institute. In the laboratory, she has been assisting Dr. Michael G. Kaplitt in developing novel AAV gene therapy approaches for Parkinson’s disease and collaborating with researchers in Nobel Laureate Dr. Paul Greengard’s laboratory at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Marongiu earned her Ph.D. in Medical Genetics and Neuroscience from University of Rome “Sapienza” Italy, and the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Marongiu’s research focuses on the genetic causes of Parkinson’s disease and the development of new adeno-associated virus vector (AAV)-mediated brain gene therapies for Parkinson’s disease. She is currently studying drug therapy induced-motor complication and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. She is particularly interested in characterizing how sex-related differences influence the disease onset and progression.
Dr. Michael Baird is one of Directors of stoPD.
Full biography coming soon.
Bruce Silverglade has been busy over the last thirty years keeping one of boxing’s grandest traditions alive. He is the driving force behind Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, a boxing treasure since 1937, and a home to stoPD.
Silverglade lives in New York City. He graduated Gettysburg College in 1968 with a degree in economics. He also holds a master’s degree in the Sweet Science.
Bruce was inducted into the New York State Hall of Fame in 2015.
Mary Thomas has over 20 years of experience in international banking and institutional capital raising. Most recently, Mary was a Managing Director at Citi Capital Advisors where she raised capital from US institutional investors for a broad range of credit and equity hedge funds, in addition to private equity and infrastructure funds.
Prior to joining Citi Capital, Mary was the CFO of two successful private equity backed portfolio companies with international operations and equity capitalizations in excess of $350 million. She also acted as effective CEO over a period of 18 months during which she restructured both the financial and operational structure of a Caribbean based telecom company, and sold in a successful exit to the largest telecom operator in Mexico.
Additionally, Mary has over 20 years of international banking expertise. She held the title of Managing Director at Citigroup in the Corporate Finance Department, where she raised over $11 billion of capital for her international clients in the media, and telecommunications industries and executed global financial mandates from 1986 through 2000. Her responsibilities included internal credit approval, negotiation, and execution of debt restructuring and loan work-out mandates. Additionally, as Chief of Staff, she managed the Citibank North American Global Corporate Finance Department, handled management, staff, HR and administrative issues, the business and financial review process, and training for department staff totaling 300 and a revenue base of $1 Billion.
Mary graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. and is a C.P.A. She holds Series 7, and 63 registrations.
David Weinman attended Duke University and UCLA Law School and practiced business litigation for 25 years in Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2015, at the age of 52. Mr. Weinman has been participating in group boxing training for nearly 2 years and has experienced improvement in balance, strength, mood and muscle control.