Category: Council Members

Craig Vincze

Posted on by Amber Williams

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. 

Naja Bagner

Posted on by Amber Williams

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. 

 

Annette Logan-Parker

Posted on by Amber Williams

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 and Chief Advocacy & Innovation Officer of Cure 4 The Kids Foundation (C4K), Nevada’s first and only outpatient pediatric cancer and rare disease treatment center. Her son’s complicated medical experience nearly 20 years ago opened her eyes to how broken healthcare was in Las Vegas—and became the catalyst for founding C4K in 2006.
 
What started at her kitchen table is now a $72 million organization with 188 team members serving more than 9,000 patients annually. Under her leadership, C4K has maintained industry-leading financial stewardship, with 94.6% of expenses going directly to program services. The organization holds the Gold Standard of accreditation from The Joint Commission and laboratory accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Since inception, C4K has cared for over 70,000 patients, and not one child has been turned away for their family’s inability to pay.
 
After serving as CEO for 17 years, Logan-Parker transitioned to her current role in 2023—not to slow down, but to double down on the systemic challenges that still leave too many children with rare diseases underserved. As Chair of the Nevada Rare Disease Advisory Council, she developed the council’s strategic plan and advocates for system-wide policy changes at the state and federal levels to improve access, diagnosis, and treatment for Nevada’s rare disease community. She collaborates with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and other rare disease organizations to advance shared priorities and ensure Nevada’s voice is represented in national policy conversations.
 
Her advocacy work extends nationally and globally. Logan-Parker serves on the board of the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), the largest consortium of childhood cancer nonprofits in North America, and is a member of the North American Committee for Childhood Cancer International (CCI), contributing to global efforts to improve survival rates and quality of care for children with cancer and rare diseases worldwide.
 
Logan-Parker is an intentional disrupter who thrives on challenging the status quo. She’s fighting for policy changes that will help kids she’ll never meet. For her, that’s not a career move—it’s a calling.

Resource Links

NVRDAC Resources:
Division of Public & Behavioral Health

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