Meet the Board of Directors
President
Risa Gold MD, DLFAPA is a board-certified Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. She graduated Cum Laude from Harvard, and earned her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Gold completed a residency in Psychiatry at Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital, Cornell and a Fellowship in Child Adolescence Psychiatry at North Shore University Hospital. After serving as the President of the Greater Long Island Psychiatric Society, Dr. Gold was awarded Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Gold has been in private practice since 1987. After her son returned from a medical service outreach trip in Sierra Leone, he alerted her to the pressing need for health care services in these remote and vulnerable villages. Dr. Gold started MOH USA, Inc to raise funds for a community-led project that would comprise a hospital complex and several small businesses to support it. She is married to Dr. Kenneth Gold & has raised four children.
Vice President
Amy Carr is a passionate advocate for hope, healing, and human connection. She is deeply committed to MOH’s mission to empower rural communities in Sierra Leone and beyond in forging sustainable solutions for medical, economic, and healthcare needs.
As seasoned publicist in corporate and agency arenas, Amy’s expertise extends to curating precision target marketing programs and niche events; training executive spokespersons to deliver clear, nuanced and compelling messages; and, as apropos, identifying and engaging venture capital sources.
Amy, who is dedicated to fostering meaningful relationships and uplifting those in need, is honored to apply her skills to empower MOH in garnering support for its partnerships with local communities to conceive actionable strategies that build brighter futures.
Treasurer
Lauren Piazza-Eliash is a retired educator who has worked on fundraising and financial statements for MOH this past year. She taught special education mathematics classes for seven years in public schools, as well as being a certified social studies teacher and Wilson reading specialist. Lauren is married to Mike and has five children. Lauren has lived in Huntington for almost 10 years and is an active member in the Huntington Lions Club which serves the Huntington New York community.
Secretary
Antonella Sturniolo, MPH, is the Founder and CEO of Upsilon Health, a new women’s health company committed to making reproductive healthcare equitable and accessible for all women. At Upsilon Health, Antonella leads the development of the first chemical-free IUD (no hormones, no copper). She is also a researcher for Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), advocating for greater investment in women’s health. Antonella also co-leads courses on health innovation and health leadership at Harvard Medical School. Previously, Antonella served as the Director of Programs & Family Planning for DKT International in Mexico and has also worked for the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and the United Nations.
Antonella received a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health focused on Women’s and Reproductive Health, Health Systems and Policy, and Health Leadership and Management. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania in Philosophy, Politics, Economics (PPE), and Music. She is also a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.
Corresponding Secretary
Stefanie Soichet has been the Director of the St. Vartan Preschool for 21 years. She attended Cornell University and graduated Cum Laude from Barnard College. Fluent in five languages, Stefanie has worked for the United Nations, and is also a co-founder of Upsilon Healthcare Technology. She had the honor of working with her father, Dr. Soichet, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation on the production of his historical IUD, and is now supporting her daughter to continue his legacy.
Social Media & Fundraising
Kirsten Benjamin is a native of Oyster Bay, New York. For the past ten years she has devoted her time to fundraising for several local non-profits — specifically, Old Westbury Gardens, Glen Cove Boys and Girls’ Club, and The Green Vale School. Most recently she was elected Vice President of Green Vale’s Parents’ Association where she was responsible for organizing all of their fundraising events, serving a two year term, from 2020-2022. Kirsten is a graduate of Colby College with a BA in French Studies. After graduating, she moved to Sydney, Australia where received a Master of Commerce with a concentration in marketing and branding from The University of Sydney. She worked in Auckland, New Zealand for Lowe Worldwide, an advertising agency where she was Account Manager for L’Oreal Paris. In 2007 she and her husband, Jay started a family and moved back State side. They now reside in Cove Neck with their three daughters and two dogs. In her spare time Kirsten is an avid tennis player and enjoys time with her family on the water.
Jon Hess is an award winning director, producer, and writer, having developed and co-produced the Academy Award nominated American History X, as well as directed films such as Watchers, Excessive Force and Legion. After taking a break from the film industry at the end of the 1990s, Jon has returned to feature filmmaking and corporate media production with GK Hess. Jon has an exceptional ability to integrate creativity and storytelling to produce captivating feature films and strategic media for his clients. Jon currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Thomas C. Card is an American artist based in New York. His deep rooted passion for agriculture has brought him to far flung locations around the world from the rice fields of Louisiana to the hydroponic green houses in the Jordan Valley of Israel, to the terraced irrigation of the Inca’s and the urban farms of Brooklyn. Thomas brings with him a wide range of understanding and deep rooted passion for the systems of farming that is ideal for addressing the holistic agricultural needs faced by the communities that MOH serves. Card has been featured in numerous international publications including American, German and French Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, the London Sunday Times, Vogue Gioiello and the New York Times Magazine.
In Memorium
Patti Moss Vernam was the MOH VP from 2018- 2025, and dedicated herself to, and championed, the wellbeing of the citizens of Sierra Leone, especially those living in the remote areas of Kailahun District that MOH serves.
She grew up in West Orange, NJ, and has a degree in dance from Bennington College. After being the sales manager of a wholesale natural foods company and dancing in NYC for several years, she worked for the FAA as an air traffic controller and Airspace and Procedures Specialist at the NY Terminal Radar Approach Facility for 32 years. She is married with two grown children, and lives on Long Island. She likes to organize information.
MOH Staff in Sierra Leone
Country Director
Musa Gangha, a Sierra Leonean, has extensive experience working in community-led development for
non-profit organizations. He holds a BS with Honors in Sociology from Njala University in Bo, Sierra
Leone. Currently living in Kenema, he is married with three children.
The rest of our staff is presently attending college, with the exception of Isata Juana.
Council
Russell Duncan is a trial attorney in private practice in Washington, DC. He graduated from Harvard College, Magna Cum Laude, with a degree in U. S. and East Asian history, and from Harvard Law School, Cum Laude. Russell has practiced law for more than forty-years and has twice served in the federal government, first as an Assistant U. S. Attorney and then as a trial lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is a partner in the Washington office of Clark Hill, a multinational law firm with twenty-eight office and more than six-hundred attorneys world-wide. Russell and his wife Jane live in Arlington, Virginia, and his two children and two grandchildren live nearby.
Having volunteered for us for a year, they are now paid staff with the following responsibilities:
Community Health Officer
Dr. Samuel Kugbai is a practicing clinician at our monthly pop-up clinics & leads our efforts to develop data collection tools and weekly and monthly activity plans, as well as leading all community facilitations.Finance and Administrative Officer
Lance Andrew-Ellie keeps the financial books and prepares reports and other required documents.Construction Technical Engineer
Jusu Andrew-Ellie organizes and monitors all technical compliance for MOH construction projects, ensuring consistency of design dimensions and developing risk mitigation strategies.Business Officer
Isata Juana oversees the MOH businesses, including all aspects of the restaurant. She has a certificate in restaurant management.Advisory Board
– Joshua French
Fundraising
– Bill Forrester
– Barbara R. Kirwin, Ph.D
– Nicole Hosseini-Ranjbar
– Shalini Shetty
International Program Coordinator
– Alexis Schafer
Medical
– Johanna Halfon, MD
– Dr. Kamilah Jackson
Medical Innovation
– Jay Pratap
Pediatrics
– Nancy Lippman Israeli, MD, FAAP
Publicity
– Fran Larose
Social Media
– Charlotte Robbins
Strategy
– Jana Koerner-Safrata
– David Miller
Youth Volunteers
– Alanna Schetty – Founder, MOH.
– Elise Schetty
– Madeline Scanlon
– Maia Gomis
– Nicholas Wernink
– Sam LaGamba
– Sophia Vardy