The NPF Board of Directors is composed of individuals with unique sets of skills and talents. They are committed to addressing the challenges and concerns of individuals whose lives are compromised by pain.
 

Giancarlo Barolat, MD	Mark Rasmussen
Scott Drees	Albert Ray, MD
David Hall	Marsha Stanton, RN, MS
Elliot Krames, MD	Richard Steig, MD, MHS
Mindy Marantz, MSPT, GCFP	Lynn Webster, MD
Bill McCarberg, MD

 

Giancarlo Barolat, MD, is the director of the Barolat Institute in Denver, where he specializes in neurostimulation for chronic pain management. He was born and raised in Torino, Italy. Dr. Barolat is board certified in neurological surgery by both the American and the Italian boards of neurosurgery, having completed neurosurgery residencies in each country. He was professor of neurosurgery and director of the division of functional neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia from 1985 to 2004. Dr. Barolat is one of the founding members of the American Neuromodulation Society. He was president of the International Neuromodulation Society for two consecutive terms. Dr. Barolat is on the board of the American Neuromodulation Society, on the editorial board of the journal Neuromodulation and director-at-large of the International Neuromodulation Society. He has been involved with neuro-implantable technologies for 32 years, spanning the whole range from pain, epilepsy spasticity and movement disorders. Dr. Barolat has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally.

Scott Drees, NPF Co-Chair, Program Development and NPF Secretary, has been a supporter and an active member of the National Pain Foundation since its inception. Mr. Drees is president and CEO of two private companies — Decaf Consulting, Inc., which provides a wide array of consulting services for medical device companies and start-ups and Decaf Inc., which is in the business of invention, intellectual property development and licensing of medical devices. Mr. Drees has worked in the implantable medical device business for 28 years. He was instrumental in the development of the fast growing neurostimulation market for pain while serving at Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc. from 1996 to 2007. While at ANS, Mr. Drees served as a corporate officer and as the executive vice president for worldwide sales and marketing. Before joining ANS, Mr. Drees was involved in the medical device industry with St. Jude Medical, Boston Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Drees holds a bachelor of science degree from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Mr. Drees and his family reside in Texas and Colorado.

David B. Hall, NPF Treasurer, is chairman of Titan Health and has had a long career as a health care innovator. He was president and chief executive officer of ASC Network, an ambulatory surgery center company that was acquired in 1997 by HealthSouth. Before this, he was an executive vice president at Medical Care America, then the largest operator of outpatient surgery centers in the country. The past president and CEO of two acute care hospital companies, David is currently a director of Cogent Healthcare, a hospitalist staffing company.

Elliot Krames, MD, NPF Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Operations, is the medical director of the Pacific Pain Treatment Centers, San Francisco, an organization of pain clinics dedicated to interdisciplinary pain medicine. He also serves as editor-in-chief of Neuromodulation, the journal of the International Neuromodulation Society and the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society. A pioneer in the field of intraspinal analgesia and a leader and educator in the field of neuromodulation for pain control, Dr. Krames has written extensively on implantable technologies for pain management and has conducted national and international symposia related to this topic. He is a founding member of the American Neuromodulation Society and has participated on its board as well as those of the International Neuromodulation Society, the World Institute of Pain, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Dr. Krames has published a book called Chronic Pain Management; Use of the Tools of the Trade.

Mindy S. Marantz, MSPT, GCFP, is the founder and director of Healthwell Physical Therapy Group, which has two clinics in San Francisco. Mindy received her master's degree in physical therapy at Columbia University, and augmented her education with extensive training in Feldenkrais neuromuscular movement reeducation. Mindy's practice focuses on chronic pain and neurological disorders as well as orthopedic and sports injuries. In the past, Mindy was the director of rehabilitation at the French Hospital in San Francisco, served as director of business development for a nationally based acute rehab hospital, and was consultant to Resonex Corporation for research and development of sine MRI. She was also co-founder and on the executive board for the Bay Area Orthopedic Physical Therapy Society for 10 years, and was appointed to serve on the insurance commission for the California chapter of the American Physical Therapy Society, where she's been an active member since 1986. Mindy most recently was on the board of directors of the French Foundation for Medical Research and Education in San Francisco.

Bill McCarberg, MD, is founder of the chronic pain management program for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, Calif. He is on the board of directors of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and was on the board of directors of the American Pain Society. He is president of the Western Pain Society and adjunct assistant clinical professor at the University of California at San Diego School Medicine. Dr. McCarberg is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, and the International Association for the Study of Pain. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Shilling Compassionate Care Award, the Elizabeth Narcessian award for leader in the field of pain education from the American Pain Society and in 2008 was Ambassador of the Year for the National Pain Foundation. Member appraisal of physician services at Kaiser Permanente has rated Dr. McCarberg in the top 10% every year since 1998. He has given more than 250 presentations on pain management issues and is the author or co-author of 78 articles, book chapters and books. He is board certified by the American College of Pain Medicine, the American Board of Family Practice and additionally certified in geriatrics. Dr. McCarberg received his degree in medicine from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. He completed a medical internship and residency in family practice at Highland Hospital in Rochester, NY.

Mark B. Rasmussen, NPF President and CEO, joined the organization in February 2007. Before working for the NPF, Mark spent several years as a consultant working with clients who were primarily in the nonprofit arena. Mark's prior nonprofit experience includes working for MOPS International and as a board member for the Lupus Foundation of Minnesota. He is a past president of the Denver & Northern Colorado Chapter of the Christian Management Association. Before his full time commitment to working in the nonprofit world, Mark spent more than 25 years in leadership positions in the private sector. His diverse background includes new product start-ups, including the first mini-muffin, the first "pre-fab" gingerbread house kit, Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups, and the Tennant ATLV (All Terrain Litter Vehicle). Mark previously held senior management positions in marketing, sales management, product management, and strategic planning with a number of market leaders including General Mills and GE Capital. He received his masters of business administration from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with distinction as a Baker Scholar.

Albert Ray, MD, NPF Chairman of the Board, is the medical director of Pain Medicine Solutions in Miami and a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami Medical School. In addition, he is the president of the Foundation for Pain Medicine and has been on the board of directors of the southeastern branch of the National Arthritis Foundation. Dr. Ray has been involved with the study and treatment of painful disorders for more than 30 years and has served as the medical director of two hospital-based pain programs. He is a past president of both the American Academy of Pain Medicine and the Southern Pain Society. Dr. Ray is a past director of the American Board of Pain Medicine and conceived and started the Public Information and Education Committee for the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He also has lectured nationally and internationally, co-edited the proceedings of a pain meeting in Austria, has coauthored a textbook chapter and has written other pain related publications. He is the recipient of the Nancy Reske Award for excellence in teaching medical students from the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Ray has been in Who's Who in 1995/96/2007, America's Top Doctors in 1996/97, and was listed in the Top 200 Doctors in South Florida in 2000. A graduate of the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Ray also completed his residency in psychiatry and served two years in the United States Air Force. He is board certified in pain medicine, psychiatry and neurology. Dr. Ray has done additional training in hypnosis, biofeedback, and neuroemotional technique.

Marsha Stanton, RN, MS, is the director of scientific communications for Alpharma Pharmaceuticals, LLC, where she is involved in medical education, grants, and compliance. She is directly responsible for all medical education programs and projects for Alpharma, all publications and is the chairperson of the Alpharma grant review committee. Ms. Stanton began her career as a clinical nurse in Salt Lake City. She has spent the past 22 years in the specialty of pain management. She was a founder of the Intermountain West Chapter of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses in 1988, and was elected president of the national ASPMN organization in 1997. She continued her involvement in medical education and pain management through her employment with the Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. from 1998 to 2000, and with Purdue Pharma LP as director of medical education until June 2005. Ms. Stanton was the deputy executive director of the American Academy of Pain Management in 2005. She is a frequent speaker at medical education conferences on the local and national level and has been an active member of many pain organizations, including the American Pain Society, American Academy of Pain Management, International Association for the Study of Pain, American Society of Pain Management Nurses, Oncology Nursing Society, and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. She is also a long-standing active member of the Alliance for CME.

Richard Stieg, MD, MHS, Editor-in-Chief of www.NationalPainFoundation.org, is the medical director of the Pain Medicine Center Clinic - Centennial Group, Denver. He is an associate clinical professor of neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Dr. Stieg created the first comprehensive multidisciplinary chronic pain treatment center in Colorado at Boulder Memorial Hospital and served as its first medical director. He also was the executive medical director for the pain rehabilitation program at the Center for Spine Rehabilitation and the Colorado Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Stieg served as the medical director of the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Institute at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 through 1989. He has served on numerous committees and boards, most notably the AMA President's Council in 1994, as treasurer of the American Pain Society in 1992, and as president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine in 1994. He was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Disability and has served on the editorial boards of the Clinical Journal of Pain and Pain Medicine. Dr. Stieg received the Phillip M. Lippe Award from the American Academy of Pain Medicine in 1997. Among his numerous publications, his most recent - Roadblocks to Effective Pain Treatment - explores the issues of accessibility of treatment options for the chronic pain patient. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1963.

Lynn R. Webster, MD, FACPM, FASAM, is cofounder and medical director of Lifetree Clinical Research in Salt Lake City and co-founder of LifeSource, a non-profit foundation established in 2006 to educate physicians, patients and communities on health issues, as well as fund and conduct research that will discover new solutions and hope for improved life. LifeSource's first project is the Zero Unintentional Deaths campaign, developed to educate physicians, chronic pain sufferers and communities about serious issue of unintentional overdose deaths related to methadone and other prescription medications. Dr. Webster is interested in working with industry to develop safer and more effective therapies for chronic pain and addiction and is a leading researcher exploring the relationship of medications and sleep. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska and completed his residency in anesthesiology at the University of Utah Medical. Dr. Webster is board certified in pain medicine and addiction medicine and has added qualifications in pain medicine from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He lectures extensively on the subject of preventing opioid abuse and criminal diversion in chronic pain patients and has written more than 100 scientific abstracts and journal articles. He recently published a book entitled Avoiding Opioid Abuse While Managing Pain: A Guide for Practitioners. Dr. Webster is currently on the board of directors for the American Academy of Pain Medicine and was instrumental in launching the Utah chapter of the organization. He is a co-editor of Pain Medicine's section on opioids, substance abuse and addiction and serves as a reviewer for numerous peer reviewed journals. He was the interventional therapies section editor for Practical Pain Management for 2006 and 2007.