Leadership Team
Exceptional leadership; demonstrated success.
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David Patrick Nixon
Rebecca Sutphen, M.D., FACMG
Norma Nixon
Lee Essner
Stephen M. Mengert
Kelle Steenblock, M.S., CGC
Amber Trivedi, M.S., CGC
Kelly J. Hall, MBA
Vilia Corvison, CCIE
Jana Pruski-Clark, MPH, MS, CGC
Marie Schuetzle MS, CGC
Tricia See, ScM, CGC
Karmen Trzupek MS, CGC
Whitney Ducaine MGC, CGC
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As a pioneer in the communications industry, David Nixon created innovative ways to showcase emerging trends in healthcare. Prior to joining Informed, he founded The Nixon Group, a health communications marketing firm with more than 40 employees in three U.S. offices. Clients included the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the Public Health Foundation, and Partnership for Prevention. Nixon and his team created entirely new marketing models leveraging activism and peer-to-peer communications. Under David's guidance, The Nixon Group co-created the Truth® campaign, which resulted in the most dramatic declines ever seen in teen smoking and earned the Gold "Creativity in Public Relations Award." David now applies his creativity and visionary leadership to translate family history and genetics into personalized healthcare.
Dr. Sutphen has broad clinical and molecular genetics expertise in conditions affecting both adults and children. She is one of a handful of individuals certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics in Clinical Genetics, Molecular Genetics and Cytogenetics. Dr. Sutphen has served as Director of Clinical Genetics for Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. She is also an experienced researcher in genomics & proteomics and has been funded by the American Cancer Society, the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Sutphen has received numerous awards and honors, including being named to "Florida's Super Doctors," "America's Top Doctors for Cancer," and "Best Doctors in America," as well as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines Panel which sets the standard-of-care for Genetics and Familial Cancer Screening.
Norma Nixon, Colonel, U.S. Army Retired, has more than 20 years of leadership and management experience in Human Resources, Program Management and Distance Learning. Norma obtained Master's degrees in Education and National Security Strategy. During her distinguished 25-year military career, Norma served in several high-level U.S. Army Human Resources positions and on the leadership team for the Army's human resources transformation initiatives, developing innovative strategies to solve time, distance and financial challenges. Norma has extensive experience in the integration of cutting-edge technology to create and deploy distance education and individualized telephone-based counseling.
Lee was founder and CEO of Inherited Health, which was acquired by Informed Medical Decisions in April, 2011. Prior to launching the genetic information and family health history company, Lee served as Executive Vice President at WeddingChannel.com, Inc., a media and e-commerce company that was successfully sold to The Knot, Inc. in September 2006. Lee joined WeddingChannel in early 1999 as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, and quickly grew to hold a variety of other senior management positions at the Company. Prior to joining WeddingChannel, Lee served as Assistant General Counsel of Mattel, Inc., a $6 Billion Fortune 500 consumer toy company, which he joined in September 1998. He was also an Associate in the Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a leading international corporate law firm, which he joined in September 1993. Lee has a degree in Economics and Business from the University of California at Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center. He has served on the boards of several private companies.
Mr. Mengert has been a Senior healthcare financial executive for over twenty years, and thirteen years as a public company chief financial officer. Mr. Mengert served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Medsolutions from 2006 to 2011. Before joining MedSolutions, Mr. Mengert served as the CFO for Matria Healthcare, a publicly traded disease management services company. He was also formerly a partner with Tatum CFO Partners, LLP, and served as Chief Financial Officer of Tatum client companies in the technology and healthcare sectors from 2000 to 2002. Prior to his association with Tatum, Mr. Mengert served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Pediatric Services of America from 1996 to 1999 and Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Rehability Corp. from 1990 to 1995. Prior thereto, Mr. Mengert was associated with Charter Medical Corp. from 1983 to 1990, serving in numerous financial management positions including Executive Director of Corporate Acquisitions from 1988 to 1990. Mr. Mengert earned a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a specialty in finance from Georgia State University in 1975 and a bachelor's degree in business administration with a specialty in finance from Georgia State University in 1972. He is a member of the Financial Executives Institute. In 2010, he was Tennessee’s finalist for CFO of the year.
Kelle Steenblock provides the oversight and management for all of Informed's clinical specialty teams. Kelle works very closely with each of the specialty team leaders to ensure that quality standards in clinical practice are met and consistently performed. Kelle has experience in the areas of cancer, neurogenetics, reproductive genetics and had worked for several years as an embryologist before earning her Master's degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University. Kelle also worked at the Mayo Clinic Molecular Genetics Lab where she was involved in clinical process development, colon cancer research, appropriateness of testing and development of the preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) program. Kelle also works with several non-profit organizations that advocate for breast cancer support and research.
Amber Trivedi manages InformedDNA's client relationship and business development programs, which are committed to providing independent and unbiased genetics expertise with effortless implementation. Amber also leads InformedDNA's genetics educational initiatives for physicians and patients. She comes to InformedDNA from the Northwestern Ovarian Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Program and the Division of Reproductive Genetics at Northwestern University, and she was formerly a breast cancer researcher at UCLA and Northwestern University. Amber earned her Bachelor's degree in Behavioral Biology from the Johns Hopkins University and her Master's degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University. She serves on the Expert Panel for Bright Pink, a national non-profit organization that provides support to young women who are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
Kelly Hall works exclusively with InformedDNA’s Oncology partners to implement a turnkey solution for providing risk assessment and genetics counseling in a cost effective and compliant manner. Prior to joining InformedDNA, Kelly was a member of the Senior leadership team at several Cancer Centers and Oncology Programs around the country including 14 years at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. Kelly received her MBA from the prestigious George Washington University and has extensive experience in strategic planning, financial analysis and program implementation focused in the Oncology setting.
Vilia Corvison's vast experience in Network and Systems Engineering at Cisco Systems and in Information Technology at IBM enhances Informed's technical capabilities. Vilia is focused on applying state-of-the-art technology to improve patient care and increase access to board-certified genetics experts. She has achieved technical certifications, including Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) and Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), as well as being a Microsoft Certified Professional. Vilia's extensive knowledge and leadership skills serve as a strategic corporate asset to consistently ensure optimization of our clinical and business informatics systems.
Jana Pruski-Clark leads the Cancer Genetic Counseling team. Jana comes to Informed from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. She earned a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of Washington and a Master of Science degree in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College. Jana is also on the faculty of the Public Health Genetics certificate program at Sarah Lawrence College.
Marie Schuetzle leads the Reproductive Genetic Counseling team. She began her genetic counseling career at Mayo Clinic's Molecular Genetics Lab after earning her Master's degree in Genetic Counseling from Indiana University. Her interest in reproductive genetic counseling and program development continues from her past involvement in Maternal Fetal Medicine and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinics. She has experience as a Reproductive Medical Advisory Board member and Instructor in Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.
Tricia leads the Neurogenetics Genetic Counseling Team. Prior to joining Informed, she was a member of both the clinical and research teams at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Her responsibilities included counseling individuals about neurodegenerative disease, community education, and facilitating cutting edge research. Tricia earned a Bachelor’s degree in biology with a genetics concentration from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in genetic counseling from the Johns Hopkins University/National Human Genome Research Institute Genetic Counseling Training Program. Additionally, Tricia established an ongoing support group for adult children of patients with frontotemporal dementia.
Karmen Trzupek leads the Ocular Genetic Counseling team. Karmen has been working in the field of ophthalmic genetics since 1997. Working first in a genetics lab at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon, she was part of the team that identified the first gene associated with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. After earning her Genetic Counseling degree from Northwestern University, Karmen returned to the Casey Eye Institute, specializing in inherited retinal and macular diseases and retinoblastoma. She has a longstanding interest in Usher syndrome, and serves on the Board of Directors of both the Hear See Hope Foundation and the Coalition for Usher Syndrome Research.
Whitney Ducaine assists in leading the Cancer Genetic Counseling team. She earned her masters degree in genetic counseling from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Prior to joining InformedDNA, Whitney developed a Cancer Genetics Program and BRCA+ support group at a large community hospital in Michigan. She was also involved in the identification efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina by coordinating DNA samples from family members with those of missing individuals to identify a victim’s remains. Whitney is actively involved with projects through the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and its Access and Service Delivery committee, which aims to increase access to genetic counselors across the country and overcome billing and reimbursement barriers. Whitney also served on the Michigan Association of Genetic Counselors’ Board of Directors from 2011-2012 as the Professional Development Chair; this organization is leading efforts for genetic counselor licensure in Michigan.
