Dr. Nik Rashid, M.D.
Bio Coming Soon….
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Dr. Susanna Sorrentino
Dr. Susanna Sorrentino, ME, FACMGG, FAAP
Dr. Sorrentino is a graduate of Ross University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at New York University Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, NY and her fellowship in clinical genetics at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY. Dr. Sorrentino is board certified in both clinical genetics and pediatrics.
Jennifer Millet
Jennifer Millet, MSN, RN
Jennifer Millet is the Director of Medical Surgical Services at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. She has been at UMC for 8 years, and has been in Las Vegas for 13 years. Prior to moving to Las Vegas, she lived in Cleveland Ohio and worked at the Cleveland Clinic and at the University Hospitals of Cleveland as a Registered Nurse and as part of the Administration team.
In her current role, she oversees five Medical Surgical units with an approximate total staff count of 300 with a range of diagnoses including General Medical Surgical issues, Orthopedic procedures, Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Gender Reassignment and transition surgeries, Behavioral Health and Mental Health concerns as well as Sickle Cell Crisis and Cystic Fibrosis patients and their families.
She is no stranger to rare diseases, and feels very strongly that these patients, families, and physicians need a place to gather information, gain resources, and be able to ask questions when needed. Her goal, which she hopes to accomplish through participation in the NVRDAC is to assist in developing areas for our most vulnerable and offer connections for the people who need it the most. She plans on utilizing her years of experience as a Registered Nurse as well as my administrative background to help find the best solution for our community.
Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer is President of PN LLC, a management consulting firm, where he provides expertise by advising executives and investors on commercial and technical due diligence matters as well as growth and value-oriented strategies. Paul has spent more than 20 years as an executive, entrepreneur, and advisor with high-tech, digital media, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, leading teams in product, business development, finance, and operations. In 2019, Paul pivoted to the medical field. While he still is actively involved in PN LLC and client matters, he is continuing his education and plans to spend the rest of his career engaged in, and serving as an advocate for, medical research specializing in chronic, idiopathic, and rare diseases. Paul holds a BSc from the Haas School of Business, BA in Economics from UC Berkeley, and an MSC in Computer Science from Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
Christina Thielst
Christina Thielst
Christina has been actively advocating for consumers of healthcare services for 45 years. She began working in hospitals as a teenager, obtained a Masters in Health Administration from Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and served in hospital leadership throughout her career… twice as chief operating officer. Her efforts to improve the quality and safety of care lead to envisioning opportunities to leverage technologies for sharing health information and teaching new generations of healthcare professionals.
In 2017, her work became more personal when she experienced mysterious symptoms that limited her functional abilities to perform even simple tasks. Not being satisfied with a diagnosis of idiopathic peripheral neuropathy, she advocated for herself to rule out potential diagnoses and find a doctor who understood. After seven and a half months, she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and then Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP).
She continues to bring awareness to the challenges faced by those with her condition and other complex or rare diseases. This includes the creation of a diagnostic guide for Guillain-Barre Syndrome and related variants for neurologists and other physicians.
In addition to her advocacy work on behalf of the state of Nevada, she is also a patient ambassador for the Chronic Disease Coalition and member of the Rare Action Network of the National Organization of Rare Disease. She is also a Life Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Valerie Porter
Valerie Porter, DNP, RN, AG-ACNP-BC
Valerie is an RN with 34 years of combined experience in multiple areas including, adult and pediatric ICU, and geriatrics. She received her DNP from the University of Nevada, Reno in May of 2019 with a focus on adult and geriatric acute care. She returned to school after her younger sister was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiform in 2015 and passed away in 2017. Her diagnosis inspired her to increase her knowledge and ability level in the practice of caring for the adult/geriatric population. Currently, Valerie serves as an AG-ACNP hospitalist for the Internal Medicine Inpatient Service at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System and felt that being an active member of the council would increase her knowledge and contribute to her personal growth as a practicing NP. Additionally, with the unique population that is served at the VA, she felt that we could offer a different perspective to the council in regard to the adult and geriatric population’s rare diseases. Lastly, she wanted to contribute to the state of Nevada and to our great Nation, thank you for the opportunity to be a member of this council.
Annette Logan-Parker
Annette Logan-Parker (Chair)
Annette Logan-Parker, a former nurse, educated at the University of Maryland’s Global campus in West Germany is the Founder & CEO of Cure 4 The Kids Foundation (C4K), Nevada’s premier tax-exempt childhood cancer and rare disease center. Logan-Parker, 54, oversees the strategic direction of the Las Vegas-based non-profit. She is known for pioneering and directing her efforts to transform the way children with cancer and rare diseases in Nevada receive care by creating the original mission of C4K in 2006.
Under Annette’s leadership, C4K has transformed into one of the most successful healthcare businesses in Nevada. She leads one team with one vision and one mission centered around clinical excellence and compassionate care. She is committed to creating a new kind of healthcare organization; one that blends the best of what corporate healthcare, education, and research have to offer with the generosity and spirit of charity. Annette’s efforts over the past 16 years have rewritten how specialized pediatric medical treatment is delivered in southern Nevada. As a seasoned healthcare executive, Logan-
Parker brings the ability to balance strategic decisions and financial discipline with a hands-on approach to leadership – resulting in a strong employee, patient, and physician satisfaction.
Logan-Parker is known as an intentional disrupter, inspiring her organization and her community to be more innovative. She pushes for extreme creativity and thrives in what others consider impossible. She challenges her team to be excellent by focusing on the difference between what is and what should be. Under Annette’s leadership, C4K obtained the Gold Standard of accreditation from The Joint Commission for its clinical operation.
Logan-Parker is dedicated to improving the healthcare delivery system in Nevada for both patients and the healthcare professionals who care for them. She is an active chair of the Nevada Rare Disease Advisory Council promoting system-wide policy change to benefit the children in the state and also participating on the Advisory Committee for the iRest Institute promoting health & wellness throughout our national healthcare system.
Naja Bagner
Naja Bagner
Naja Bagner is a patient with Sickle Cell Disease born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. Naja relocated to Las Vegas for better healthcare. In relocating, Naja has experience the highs and lows of SCD medical treatment in Nevada. Through her experience and desire to get better connected with the SCD community in Las Vegas to give and receive support, Naja became connected with Dreamsickle Kids Foundation. Naja has recently become the Chair of the Community Health committee with Dreamsickle Kids where her experience as a SCD patient and advocate along with being a certified Phlebotomist and soon to be Community Health Worker will allow her skills to be utilized by providing rapid Sickle Cell Trait testing to the community. Naja is an integral part of the NV SCD College Tour created by Dreamsickle Kids to educate future medical and public health students on SCD and the experience of patients in the healthcare system in effort to promote more quality and equitable treatment of people with SCD. As a RDAC member, Naja hopes to bring her experience and insight in relation to SCD which is one of the 7,000 Rare Diseases in effort to promote the implementation of better resources and healthcare for the Rare Disease community in Nevada.
Craig Vincze
Craig Vincze
Craig Vincze, PhD is the president of the Max Vincze Foundation. With a PhD in biomedical engineering, Craig has built a career working in the drug-discovery industry serving top researchers around the globe. Today, Dr. Vincze is co-founder of a company providing innovative drug, cell, and gene therapy manufacturing equipment and software to biotechnology to pharmaceutical and cell and gene therapy companies. Craig’s experience in research and drug discovery puts him in the unique position of identifying and communicating with teams on the cutting edge of cancer research.