Who We Are
Get to know our Team and Board of Directors
Care Team
Barbara Beach, M.D., Medical Director
As a pediatric oncologist with Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland for more than 25 years, Barbara is a longtime advocate of children's palliative and end of life issues and care. In addition to serving as co-founder and medical director to George Mark, Barbara also serves as medical adviser to the Bay Area's Comfort for Kids home care program. She earned a B.A. with honors in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.D. from the University of Southern California. She did her pediatric internship at the University of California, San Diego, and her pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital in Oakland. Her education also includes a two-month rotation at NIH-NCI.
Kathy Nicholson Hull, Psy.D, Co-founder and Vice President of the Board
Kathy is the founder of George Mark Children's House and president of the George Mark Board of Directors. Prior to George Mark, in addition to her role as George Mark Chief Psychologist, Kathy was formerly on the staff of Children's Hospital Oakland, where she was part of an interdisciplinary team that treats young oncology patients and their families. She is also an adjunct staff member at the Ann Martin Children's Center, a local non-profit organization that offers low-fee counseling services to the culturally diverse Oakland community. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the Northern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and the Association of Transpersonal Psychology. She earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.A. in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from Santa Clara University, and a Psy.D. from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.
Laurie Jones, RN, BSN, Clinical Program Director
Laurie assumed the job of Clinical Program Director in June 2009 after serving as our Night Charge Nurse. She comes to George Mark with over 20 years of pediatric nursing management experience including time at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, OR, the Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, MN and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. Laurie graduated from Washington State University 1984 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing.
Rebecca Simonitsch, MA, CCLS, Child Life Specialist
Rebecca is the Child Life Specialist at George Mark and provides recreational and therapeutic activities for children and their siblings. She joined the team at George Mark after working at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and additional experience in palliative care, child life and early childhood education. Rebecca received her BS from the College of Charleston, MA from Mills College and is certified by the Child Life Council. Rebecca facilitates legacy building for families, sibling support, special trips and events, and weekly programming.
Diane Malek, MSW, LCSW, Psychosocial Manager
Diane has worked in health care for over twenty years, beginning her career as behavioral science faculty in a UC Davis Family Practice Residency Program. She then worked at Children's Hospital Oakland for twelve years in oncology, the intensive care nursery, and the emergency room. For three years she worked in the Kaiser healthcare system as a social work manager and in the development of palliative care services. She also held a clinical volunteer faculty position at UCSF within the Department of Family Medicine. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Rev. Jeffrey A. Ishmael, M. Div., Spiritual Care Coordinator & Bereavement Coordinator
Rev. Jeffrey Ishmael originally hails from Kentucky and is now on his second tour of duty living in the Bay Area. Jeffrey went to Seminary at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley and graduated with an M.Div. in 2000 and was ordained as a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) that same summer. Jeffrey’s focus in ministry has always been in some form of chaplaincy. He has worked with homeless, runaway and incarcerated youth and eventually moved into pediatric chaplaincy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, serving in the psychiatry, NICU, cystic fibrosis and bone marrow transplant units during his time there. Jeffrey has been back in the Bay Area for a little over two years, and before arriving at George Mark, he served as Hospital Chaplain at Kaiser Hospital, Walnut Creek, CA.
Administrative Team
Katherine M. Bella, CFRE, Interim Director of Advancement
Kathy serves as Principal of The Bella Group, a firm providing philanthropic counsel to nonprofit organizations in the Bay area. With 30 years experience in the non-profit sector, Kathy is working with George Mark Children’s House to oversee and expand its fundraising efforts from private sources and strengthen the organization’s plans for long-term sustainability and growth. Kathy has worked with more than 80 nonprofit organizations during her consulting career as well as has led development efforts at a variety of nonprofits in the health care field. An active volunteer, she also serves on the Board and Executive Committees of the Association of Philanthropic Counsel and the Craigslist Foundation.
Janet Smith, BS, Controller
Janet joined the George Mark team in 2004, and brings over 20 years of accounting experience to her role as Controller. She earned her BS in Business and Computer Information Systems at California State University, East Bay. She is also an artist, a Buddhist, and is passionate about social justice issues. She lives with Tashi, one of several George Mark dogs.
Andrew Dunlop, Human Resources Manager
Prior to coming to GMCH, Andrew was the HR Director for a large building maintenance firm on the Peninsula, and HR Manager for Absinthe Brasserie/Mad Will’s Food Company in San Francisco. Within the field of HR, his specialties are policies and procedures, employee relations and benefits administration. In other roles, Andrew has been a staff writer for print and online media outlets, including Associated Content and the Biscayne Times, Senior Staff Writer for Novica.com, and a Guest Services Supervisor for the San Francisco Giants. A Bay Area native, Andrew has lived in various points around the globe, including Mexico City, Brighton, England and Miami, Florida. He has a BA in Sociology from the University of Oregon and a MA in History from the University of Sussex.
Tami Blaj, B.S., Manager of Volunteer Services
Over twenty years in volunteer management, child/family welfare and end of life issues brought Tami through the doors of George Mark Children’s House. She spent 14 of her first 18 years outside the U.S. in England, Brazil and Israel, where she learned to value and respect cultural diversity. Tami returned to the States to earn a degree in Human Rehabilitative Services at the University of Northern Colorado. Her career path started with work at a group home for troubled youth, and with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Tami discovered her true passion for the field of end of life care first as a volunteer then as a long-time employee with Sutter VNA & Hospice.
Board of Directors
Julie Nicholson Brewer, Executive Director
Julie had a 25-year career in human resources before returning to Santa Clara University to pursue a master’s degree in counseling and psychology (currently in progress). She has served as the vice president of human resources at Scios (a Johnson & Johnson company), Heartport, GEC Plessey Semiconductors and Skyway Freight Systems. In addition, Julie has volunteered with a variety of non-profit organizations. Her community service activities included serving on the board of directors of the United Way of Santa Cruz and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Julie also served as chairman of the board for Future Families Foster Care and Adoption Services from 1995 to 2005. Julie was a hospice volunteer for the Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz for two years before joining the board of George Mark Children’s House. Julie is married to Dick Brewer and together they have three sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.
Adam J. Cohen, President of the Board
Adam currently is the CEO of GoPlay Network; a sports focused virtual goods company. Prior to GoPlay, he was Executive Vice President of Sonic Focus and President of AJC Venture Consulting. As a founding member of The Angels’ Forum, Adam has over 12 years of experience investing and working with early stage companies at the board and executive levels. Earlier in his career he was a licensee with McDonald’s Corporation operating multiple locations in the Bay Area. During his tenure with McDonald’s he served on the Board and later as the President of the Ronald McDonald House of San Francisco. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder and resides in Oakland with his wife and son.
Kathy Nicholson Hull, Psy.D, M.A., Co-founder and Vice President of the Board
Kathy has been active in clinical psychology for more than 25 years. For the last ten years, her professional life has been focused on the development of the George Mark Children's House, the first freestanding pediatric facility of its kind in the U.S. She is the Staff Psychologist and Vice President of the Board of Directors. Kathy is an adjunct staff member of Children's Hospital Oakland, where she spent several years as part of an interdisciplinary team that treated young oncology patients and their families. She has also been a staff member at the Ann Martin Children's Center, a local non-profit organization that offers low-fee counseling services to the culturally diverse Oakland community. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the Northern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and the Association of Transpersonal Psychology. She earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.A. in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from Santa Clara University, and a Psy.D. from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. Kathy is married to Bill Gisvold. Together they have seven daughters, one son, and eight grandchildren. She enjoys travel, hiking, bike riding, reading, and the camaraderie of family and friends.
Joseph E. Addiego III, Secretary of the Board
Joe is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in San Francisco, focusing principally in the areas of technology, healthcare, energy, and commercial litigation. Joe attended Pomona College, earning a B.A. in Anthropology, and then received his J.D. from the University of Santa Clara School of Law. Joe's prior volunteer activities include serving on the California State Bar Committee on Federal Courts for five years and as Chair in 2007. Joe is a life-long Bay Area resident.
Christopher Henry,CPA, Treasurer of the Board
Christopher Henry attained his Bachelor of Science Degree from California State University East Bay in September of 1995 in Business Administration with an Accounting emphasis. He worked in Public Accounting for 4 years during which he was certified as a Certified Public Accountant.
Chris joined Washington Hospital as the Director of Accounting in May 2000. In December 2003 he took the position of Controller. Since October 2006 Chris has served as Washington Township Health Care District’s Chief Financial Officer.
Chris is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA), California Hospital Association (CHA), Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), and California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. Chris also serves on CHA’s CFO Advisory Committee.
Peter Hillan, Board Member
Peter Hillan, Senior Vice President of Fleishman Hillard, San Francisco offers his clients a constructive voice, deriving business and political benefits for clients through salient counsel and clear communications. He runs the corporate practice group for the San Francisco office, which specializes in public affairs, crises, health-care and corporate issues.
His current clients include the San Francisco 49ers, Redwood City (Ca.) Industrial Saltworks, a 1,400-acre proposed housing development, Allied Waste, VMware and Bayer Kogenate. In addition, he is actively involved with the Bay Area Council, George Mark Children’s House and MediaTile.
He brings more than 25 years of media and political relationships to bear for his clients. His most notable clients have included Oracle Corp., Visa Inc., Union Bank of California and Marvell.
Hillan spent two decades as a journalist, developing and training some of today's most influential reporters during his eight-year tenure as Executive Business Editor of the San Jose Mercury News through 2000. His former journalistic colleagues now oversee many of the California’s strongest media outlets. His relationships and business knowledge extend into the academic world, where he has taught economics and finance programs at Stanford University, New York University and the University of Minnesota.
Prior to joining Fleishman Hillard, Hillan was senior vice president for the Zeno Group and FitzGerald Communications, where he directed work on behalf of emerging technology companies. He was owner/editor of Government West - a government trade magazine - a board member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and business program director of the Foundation for American Communications.
Andrew G.M. Pitcairn, Board Member
A senior sales director in the internet technology sector, Andrew joined the George Mark Children’s House Board as a representative of client families. The Pitcairn’s daughter received end-of-life care at the House in 2006. Prior to this, Andrew and his wife Alex had considerable experience advocating for their daughter to insure that she received therapy, education, and medical care appropriate to her disability. Andrew was educated and spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom, and has spent the last 25 years in sales and marketing positions in Bay Area technology companies. Outside of his profession, Andrew is a self-described people person and family man. He travels extensively for business and pleasure and enjoys skiing, hiking and sailing.
Peter A. Farber-Szekrenyi, Dr. P.H., M.P.H., M.B.A., Board Member
Peter is a healthcare executive with a successful track record of accomplishment in managing companies from $5 million to $2.5 billion in annual revenues in a variety of ownership structures including governmental, not for profit, for profit, and a New York Stock Exchange company. He has over 20 years of CEO experience in administration, finance and turn-around management in the health care industry and has been a teacher and lecturer at the University of California. As founding principal of Szekrenyi Consulting Inc., Peter has been providing administrative/operational and consulting services in the Bay area since 1995 to such institutions as Alameda County Medical Center, Alameda Healthcare Services Agency, Marin Healthcare District Board, Contra Costa Healthcare District, and San Joaquin Healthcare Services Agency. He has also been Governor Schwarzenegger’s appointee to the Federal Courts regarding the delivery of healthcare in the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. Peter is married to Nancy Farber, the CEO of Washington Hospital Healthcare System. Together they have five children, four grandchildren, two dogs, two cats, a bird and both are passionate about fly fishing.
Community Partners
Art for Life
Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition
Hospice of the East Bay
Moment by Moment Photography
Sonrise Equestrian Foundation
Washington Hospital Healthcare System
