James R. Berenson, MD,
Chief Executive Officer & President,
Medical & Scientific Director

Dr. Berenson is the founder of the
Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR) and has specialized in research related to myeloma and metastatic bone disease both in the basic and clinical areas for more than 20 years. He has been involved in many of the major breakthroughs that have brought new treatments for patients with these diseases resulting in both an improvement in the length and quality of their lives.

He serves as a member of the National Institutes of Health - Center for Scientific Review, Clinical Oncology Study Section. He is a member of the Scientific Boards of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the International Myeloma Foundation. He serves on both the Foundation and the Scientific Boards of the Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Society. He also works with many other groups known for their work in multiple myeloma and bone metastases.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science with Distinction from Stanford University, he earned his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of California at San Diego.
Dr. Berenson completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Utah Medical Center and fellowships in hematology/oncology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both internal medicine and medical oncology. He has been affiliated most recently with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and served as the Director of the Multiple Myeloma & Bone Metastasis Programs in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Berenson has performed research as a member of the Departments of Medicine and Biological Chemistry at the UCLA School of Medicine and has served as Chief of Medical Oncology and Cancer Research as well as Director of Research at the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare Systems. Dr. Berenson has authored and co-authored numerous books, articles, and abstracts in journals including Blood, Cancer, Cancer Research, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Clinical Oncology, New England Journal of Medicine, and Science.

In addition to his research interests in myeloma and metastatic bone disease, he also studies antibodies, T-cell receptors, cytokines, cancer genes, viruses and blood vessel development. Dr. Berenson has also conducted numerous clinical trials related to the treatment of multiple myeloma and metastatic bone disease. Because he is internationally known for his expertise and accomplishments in these areas, he has also been asked to give numerous lectures and organize many meetings both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Berenson has a private practice which specializes in the treatment of patients with myeloma and metastatic bone disease. He is also President and Chief Executive Officer of Oncotherapeutics, Inc., a corporation that conducts clinical trials related to myeloma and metastatic bone disease as well as other cancers throughout the United States.

Dr. Berenson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He is married to Debra and they have two children, Shira and Ariana.

Ronald J. Rogers, Vice President

Mr. Rogers is a founding Member of the Board of the IMBCR.

Ron Rogers is the founder and CEO of The Rogers Group, one of the largest public relations/public affairs and communications firms on the west coast. The firm services a diverse clientele of government and private sector clients. Over his career, Rogers has helped develop strategies and long-term marketing programs for many of the country’s Fortune 500 companies.

Founded in 1978, the agency has always embodied a deep commitment to the community. The Los Angeles native is the driving force behind the agency’s extensive pro-bono work for many non-profit organizations including IMBCR as well as the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles and the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica – UCLA Medical Center, on whose Board he has served for more than 30 years. In addition, he also serves on the Boards of CORO Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Foundation (founding Board member) and the USC Annenberg School of Communications.

Mr. Rogers is married to Lisa Specht, a prominent Los Angeles attorney. The couple divides their time between Los Angeles and their cattle ranch in Colorado.

Richard Brooke Brewer, Vice President, Development

Mr. Brewer is currently the CEO of Arca Discovery, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Denver, Colorado. He is a board member to one public biotech company and three private biotech enterprises including Stanford Research Institute. He is also Chairman of the Board of Dendreon Corporation, a leading public biotechnology company developing immunotherapeutic agents for the treatment of prostate and other cancers.

Mr. Brewer’s accomplishments include President and Chief Executive Officer of Scios Inc.,
Chief Operating Officer of Heartport, Inc. and
Senior Vice President of U.S. Marketing, Canada and Europe at Genentech, Inc.

Mr. Brewer received his BS degree in 1974 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He then went on to receive his MBA Degree in 1984 from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business.

Mr. Brewer is married to Julie Nicholson Brewer who is also involved in many charitable organizations; most notably the George Mark Children’s House, the first care facility in the United States for children with life threatening and end of
life stage illnesses.

James A.Tamkin, MD, Treasurer

Dr. Tamkin is a founding Board member of the IMBCR. He holds a Master's degree in Public Health and a Medical Degree from Temple University in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He served as Chief Resident at the UCLA-SFMP in 1976 and is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Endocrinology/Metabolism.

He has been ranked for the last five years as one of the top 15,000 physicians in America by his peers in the Guide to Top Doctors, Center for the Study of Services, Consumer's Check Book in Washington, D.C. He formerly practiced medicine in Redondo Beach, California for over twenty-three years.

Presently, he is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and a consulting physician on the staff of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Tamkin actively teaches in the endocrinology and diabetes sections. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a founding fellow of the American College of Clinical Endocrinology. He is an active member of the American Diabetes Association and an emeritus member of the Endocrine Society.

He serves in many leadership and board positions. These include past Chairman of the Medical Institute of Little Company of Mary Hospital, a Providence Hospital affiliate and a system board member of the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, California. He presently directs a clinical trials program for fifty physicians affiliated with the hospital and serves on their Institutional Review Board. Other past executive duties have included serving on the boards of Network Concepts in Middleton, Wisconsin, (a network based neurodiagnostic imaging software company), Allied Energy Corporation and Discovery Ventures Biomed Group, a venture capital corporation. He has served as a consultant to Summit Care Corporation (a national nursing home chain), Eli Lilly, Merck and Takeda Pharmaceutical companies. He has also served on multiple scientific advisory boards over the past two decades.

Dr. Tamkin has co-authored a book of ambulatory medicine and has published in the field of internal medicine and endocrinology. He has traveled extensively and visited or lectured in 97 countries.

Dr. Tamkin is married to Fern. They have 2 married children and 4 grandchildren.

George (Geo) Rynn Hartley, Esq, Secretary

Mr. Hartley is a founding Board member of the IMBCR.

Graduating from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a magna cum laude in history in May of 1971, he is Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. He then went on to Georgetown University Law Center where he received his Juris Doctor in May of 1974. At Georgetown, he was Phi Delta Phi, Law Review Editor and belonged to the Moot Court Team.

He is a member of the California Bar (1974) and the District of Columbia Bar (1984). He was a practicing attorney for Los Angeles, CA law firms (Musick, Peeler & Garrett; Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg & Manley).

In the California judicial system, he has been a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

Mr. Hartley has been Senior Counsel / Senior Vice President of Home Savings of America in Los Angeles, California.

A man of many talents, Mr. Hartley is also known for being the founder and artistic director of “Theatre Geo” in Los Angeles, California. Also in the film/television/theatre realm, he is known for being an acting and interview coach.

He has produced and/or directed 184 plays and musicals as well as being a playwright of 4 plays (“The Care and Custody of Barbara Moon,” “Un-Buttoned,” “Ghost Light” and the musical, “Twisted”).

Mr. Hartley wrote a regular column called “SightLines” for LA Stage Magazine. His credits also include Adjunct Professor of the University of Southern California (USC) College of Theatre.

Mr. Hartley currently resides in Washington, District of Columbia.

Alvin L. Dischler

Alvin L. Dischler started his professional career as an owner of a retail clothing store in his home state of Kentucky. After moving to Los Angeles, he became Vice President of May Department Stores. An established force in the business world, he has owned and operated a number of small and large businesses throughout Los Angeles including office buildings and industrial parks.

Alvin served on the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Western Region Board, on the Board of University Synagogue in Brentwood/Los Angeles and was Treasurer and President of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Los Angeles, California.

Mr. Dischler graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in accounting. He is married to Barbara and the couple has two children.

Roger Fischer

Roger Fischer is the founder of FischerHealth, a Porter Novelli Company, a member of Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC). Roger is a 25 year veteran in healthcare marketing and communications strategy with a primary focus on medical devices & diagnostics, health services and health information technology. FischerHealth has been named “Healthcare PR Firm of the Year” and “Creative Agency of the Year” by the Holmes Report.

Mr. Fischer is an associate member of AdvaMed, the world’s largest medical technology trade association, a member of the Medical Marketing Association, the Southern California Biomedical Council and the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development of the American Hospital Association. He is also an advisor to City of Hope and is active in the Public Relations Society of America at both the national and local chapter levels.

Roger received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jill Howell Kramer

Jill H. Kramer is President & CEO of The Kramer Family Foundation, a Trustee of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco; serves on the President's Advisory Council (PAC) of United Religions Initiative (URI), a global community engaging one million activists from 120 faith traditions in more than 280 communities in 59 countries to promote peace, justice and healing through grassroots cooperation circles; she founded "CLAW," in 1986, a group raising public awareness and support for the San Francisco SPCA; and, with her husband, sponsors a project to bring hearing amplification into public grammar school classrooms by providing microphones and speakers so that every child can hear as if in a front row seat and have the opportunity for public speaking into a microphone. It also saves teachers' voices and helps English as a Second Language children to hear nuances. Since in 1998, she has been a member of The National Academy of Sciences Presidents' Circle.

A veteran of non-profit organizational development, from 1977 to 2005 she served The ARCS Foundation, Inc. (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) in many capacities both on the National Board and as President of the Northern California Chapter. Other projects have included: development of a pilot program on career development for the Junior League of San Francisco and for San Francisco Community College; being on the development team for the Coro Foundation Pilot Project for Women Over 40 to be active in politics; and President of an auxiliary supporting child development at Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, now CPMC.

A native of Los Angeles, CA, Mrs. Kramer attended the University of Southern California, (USC), School of Music. In 1964, she married Dr. Bernard ("Buzz") Kramer, who is now a retired clinical professor of otorhinolaryngology (ENT), at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF). They live in San Francisco, California and the Napa Valley and have two married daughters and two grandchildren.

Michael F. Richman, MD

Dr. Richman is the Director of The Center for Cholesterol Management. He is a diplomate in the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians. In 2002-2003, he was listed by the Consumers' Research Council of America in the "Guide to America's Top Surgeons."

After completing his medical degree at Georgetown University, Dr. Richman moved to his native home of Los Angeles to complete his general surgery residency at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine. He then completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital at the University of Miami.

Having performed nearly one thousand cardiac bypass procedures throughout his career, Dr. Richman has always maintained a strong interest in the preventative aspect of cardiac care, namely cholesterol (lipid) management. As a long-standing member of the National Lipid Association, Dr. Richman’s work now focuses exclusively on preventative care and management for those who may be at
risk for heart disease.

Geoffrey M. Gee, Esq, Executive Director

Born in England, Mr. Gee practiced law first in London and then in Sydney, Australia. In Sydney, while engaged in his legal practice, he was also involved in the world of business and was active in the management of several corporations, including a medical facilities’ management company. Mr. Gee has spent a considerable amount of time engaged in charitable work both within and outside the Jewish community during and after his retirement from his legal practice and the business world.

In 1985, he relocated to Los Angeles, California. He has served on the Board of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, Western Region and worked with the American Society of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and United Jewish Appeal.

Mr. Gee is a past President of University Synagogue and served as President
of the Friends of Fox, a community-based organization that has helped to ensure
Twentieth Century Fox’s continued occupation of its Pico Boulevard studio lot. He also serves on several non-profit Boards and has volunteered as a ‘mentor’ at Shenandoah Elementary School.

Mr. Gee has previously worked with several non-profit organizations that have included Save the Children Fund, UCLA’s “Imagination Workshop”, The Wellness Community, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, HIV/AIDS Legal Services Alliance, Cure FD Foundation,
The Wall-Las Memorias Monument Project, Temple for the Arts and the Los Angeles County Library Foundation as well as many others. He has also helped raise funds for the Israel Humanitarian Foundation, an organization that undertakes humanitarian projects both in the United States and in Israel.

Mr. Gee is married to Steffanie, who was born in Los Angeles, California. He has
one married son, Adam, a daughter-in-law, Deborah, and two grandchildren, Hannah and Daniel, who all still live in Sydney, Australia.