Douglas F. Hager, Ph.D.

Douglas Hager was the Head of Project Management at Novartis Oncology, responsible for one of the largest cancer therapy portfolio and pipeline across the biopharmaceutical industry. He brings to CPI 35 years of experience in global project management, drug development and in-licensing.

Dr. Hager obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. After graduating, he worked at Procter and Gamble, where his research led to several patented innovations. Following studies on drug delivery systems at Alcon Laboratories, he joined Novartis (then Sandoz) as Director of Drug Delivery Research. One primary focus was the development of Sandostatin LAR, where his explorative approach across the traditional boundaries of disease disciplines – pioneering at the time – expanded the medical benefit of a therapy once intended for endocrine disorders to also become a breakthrough for patients with certain types of cancer. Quickly advancing through roles of increasing responsibilities, Dr. Hager was appointed Vice President and Global Head of Oncology Project Management. Under his leadership, Novartis’ cancer therapeutic pipeline more than tripled, and innovative products – including the hormonal breast cancer therapy Femara, the first targeted cancer therapy Glivec (Gleevec), and the supportive therapy Zometa – advanced reliably along the complex research and development process from basic research to health authority approval, benefitting millions of patients across the world, and defining new standards of medical care.

Dr. Hager’s achievements include building an integrated biopharmaceutical Research and Development Department at Novartis in Asia that created resource synergies of global drug development programs and accelerated broad patient access to important therapies across geographies, and beyond the Western Region. Furthermore, his ability to establish international medical research partnerships and licensing agreements allowed critical therapy candidates (such as JAK and MEK inhibitors) to be developed efficiently and faster, and accelerated their availability to patients in urgent medical need.

Jan Livingston-Mokhtari

Jan Livingston-Mokhtari is currently the Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director of Branded Entertainment at Fox Networks Group where she develops and produces original branded content for FNGs Channels, including Fox Broadcasting Company, FX, and The National Geographic Channels.

For over 20 years, she has led brand-building campaigns for companies like Target, Samsung, and Delta at some of the top agencies in the world, most recently at 72andSunny. In 2013, she was named one of the Most Creative Women in Advertising. In 2015, Ms. Livingston-Mokhtari became Partner and Executive Creative Director of Rec Room, a branded entertainment agency founded by Adam Sandler. There she created and produced content for Netflix, Warner Brothers, E! and Comedy Central.

Ms. Livingston-Mokhtari’s passion for writing original content garnered development deals in the entertainment world with Michael Bay, E!, and Comedy Central. In 2011, she won a storytelling award from Glamour Magazine for the story of her journey with BRCA, which was adapted into an award-winning short film directed by Eva Longoria.

Joi L. Morris, J.D.

Joi Morris brings to CPI legal and governance experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. A graduate of Vanderbilt law school, Ms. Morris began her career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles. Her career has included a commitment to pro bono work in underserved communities in Los Angeles and the cancer advocacy community. From 2007 – 2014, she served at FORCE, the national patient advocacy and support group for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, as an Outreach Coordinator, peer navigator and mentor. She also served on the FORCE Board of Directors, as Secretary and Vice President. Ms. Morris was a founding Steering Committee member of the ABOUT Network for the BRCA community and the PCORI Data Privacy Task Force. She is an Advocate in Science for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and has served as an advocate reviewer on research grant committees since 2009 as well as a mentor to young researchers focused on BRCA research.

When she found that she was a carrier of a BRCA2 mutation, she confronted difficult decisions about managing her high risk of cancer. She chose to reduce her breast and ovarian cancer risk through bilateral mastectomies and removal of her ovaries.

To provide guidance for others facing difficult cancer prevention decisions, Ms. Morris co-authored “Positive Results: Making the Best Decisions When You’re at High Risk for Breast or Ovarian Cancer,” together with Dr. Ora Gordon, Director of the GenRISK Adult Genetics Program at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ms. Morris received the Spirit of Empowerment Award from FORCE for Positive Results in 2012.

Kirk A. Patrick

Kirk A. Patrick is a retired partner of the international law firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Mr. Patrick was born and raised in the Midwest, attended Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota Law School where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Mr. Patrick was an editor of the Minnesota Law Review and Order of the Coif. After graduating in 1974, he joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles where he practiced for 40 years, specializing in commercial litigation, with a concentration in group and individual health insurance issues and class action litigation.

Theodora S. Ross, M.D., Ph.D.

Theodora Ross is a scientist, author, and medical oncologist with a passion for cancer genetics and cancer prevention. She is currently Vice President of Early Oncology Research and Development at AbbVie, Inc. and site head in San Francisco, CA.  Before to this she served as Vice President of Global Development and head of Precision Medicine at Amgen, Inc. In her first role in the pharma industry, she served as Vice President of Translational Medicine at Merck Research Laboratories. In all of these assignments, she has been helping lead the worldwide efforts to bring innovative medicines from laboratories to clinics.

Before her work in industry, for more than 8 years Dr. Ross was Professor of Internal Medicine in the Oncology Division and Director of the Cancer Genetics Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. In addition to her clinical role caring for patients with hereditary genetic abnormalities that place them at elevated risk for cancer, she led her laboratory, which investigated the biology of the BRCA1 gene. Dr. Ross maintains her affiliation with UT Southwestern as Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine.

Prior to UT Southwestern, Dr. Ross spent 12 years as a clinician and researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she cared for patients with breast cancer and her laboratory investigated the basic biology of cancer cells, the role of endocytosis in cancer and how leukemias respond to or resist targeted therapies.

Dr. Ross earned her M.D. and Ph.D. in 1993 from the Washington University Medical Scientist Training Program in St. Louis. She completed her medical residency in Boston at Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

In addition to her scholarly publications, Dr. Ross has written articles for the lay reader published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Psychology Today. She authored an award-winning book released in February 2016 by Penguin Random House/Avery, A Cancer in the Family: Take Control of Your Genetic Inheritance. Through patient stories, the book empowers readers to face their genetic heritage and make decisions that will keep them and their families healthy. 

Howard E. Janzen

Howard Janzen is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Janzen Ventures, Inc. He has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of several communications and energy companies. He was the Executive Chairman of Cool Planet Energy Systems, a company CNBC ranked as a “Top 25 Disruptor of 2014” alongside SpaceX and Uber, from December 2016 until January 2019, and previously served as its President and as Chief Executive Officer since May 2012. Mr. Janzen has served as Chief Executive Officer for One Communications, as President of Sprint Business Solutions, as President of Sprint’s Global Markets Group, and as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Williams Communications Group. Mr. Janzen also served in a number of leadership roles in Williams’ energy and natural gas pipeline businesses.

In addition to his service as Chairman of the CPI Board of Trustees, Mr. Janzen serves on the Board of Directors of GTT, Sonus Networks, Vocera Communications, Bye Aerospace, the Colorado School of Mines Foundation, and on the Governor’s Science and Technology Council for the State of Oklahoma. He is a Commissioner and Chairman Emeritus for GIIC, the Global Information Infrastructure Commission. Mr. Janzen is a graduate from the Colorado School of Mines.