Tom Aiello is president of March Marketing , LLC. He is a West Point graduate and Army veteran living with spinal cord injury (SCI) from Wheaton, Illinois. He is currently president and founder of March Marketing, LLC., a leading agency specializing exclusively in strategy, consulting, marketing, recruiting, public relations, social media, and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeting military and veteran families. After graduating from West Point, Tom served in the 1st Cavalry Division with deployments to Kuwait, Panama, and Korea. Tom received his Master’s in business administration from the Kellogg Business School. His prior positions include division vice president of Marketing at Sears Holdings; general manager and vice president of Marketing at Monster Worldwide and vice president, account director at Leo Burnett Advertising. Throughout his career, he has assisted employers in hiring over 50,000 veterans and raised $118 million for community programs improving the quality of life for more than 110,000 military and veteran families. Tom was recognized by Kellogg Business School as a 2016 Young Social Impact Scholar for his social impact to better the lives of the military and veteran community.

Vincenzo Piscopo began his tenure as United Spinal’s president and CEO on November 16, 2020 replacing James Weisman, who retired after 40 years of service to the disability community as an advocate for disability rights and accessible transportation. Piscopo, a wheelchair-user who was paralyzed from a herniated disk in 2010, previously worked at The Coca-Cola Company for 25 years in a variety of strategic roles both in the US and internationally. In his most recent position as the Community and Stakeholder Relations Director at The Coca-Cola Company, Piscopo managed and cultivated company relationships with disability, veteran and Hispanic organizations and advocates for these communities. Piscopo has based much of his work on the belief that people with disabilities are assets for corporations because of their resilience, perseverance, and creative problem-solving skills. Piscopo is also the founder and board member of the Wheels of Happiness Foundation which helps people with motor disabilities in disadvantaged areas of the world, and a member of the board of directors of the organizations Respectability and Friends of the Disabled Adults and Children. Born in Venezuela of Italian immigrants, Piscopo currently resides with his wife and four children in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Masters in Creativity from Buffalo State College.

Joshua Basile is a trial attorney with the preeminent law firm of Jack H Olender & Associates in Washington DC. The law firm fights for the injured with a concentration on medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases. In 2004, Basile’s life was literally flipped upside down. While on a family vacation in Delaware, he was slammed headfirst into the ocean floor by a wave. His paralysis rendered him a C4-5 quadriplegic but it did not stop him from finding his voice and wheeling after his goals. Basile’s positive attitude and desire to help others motivated him to form the Determined2heal Foundation. For over 10 years, he has fought to simplify the difficult transition into life with paralysis for the newly injured. He went on to create the world’s largest paralysis video mentoring network — www.SPINALpedia.com. Basile’s paralysis limited what he could do physically but mentally the sky was the limit. He went on to strengthen his mind and voice by graduating cum laude from the University of Maryland in communication. Three years later, Basile graduated magna cum laude from law school, and soon after passed the Maryland and District of Columbia bars. In his free time, Basile takes those in the spinal cord injury community on rehabilitative adventures. He invented a sport called Slingshot Golf which allows anyone with a physical limitation to play golf competitively. He received two patents for his putting device called The Pendulum Putter. His other rehabilitative adventures include skiing, sailing, bowling, fishing, gliding and indoor skydiving. In May 2016, he brought a quadriplegic and paraplegic on a sailing adventure from Key West to Cuba and back over eight days. He believes that with the right attitude and adventure spirit most anything is possible. In order to truly experience the world, one must not be afraid to get their wheels a little dirty. No matter the surface — land, air or sea — the world can and should be experienced by all. Life is too short not to dream big!

Theresa Berner, MOT, OTR/L, ATP is an occupational therapist and Rehabilitation Clinical Manager at the OSU Wexner Medical. She has over 25 years’ experience in seating and positioning and adult rehabilitation.  Theresa has been certified by RESNA as an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP).  She is responsible for Assistive Technology center and is a clinical instructor at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at OSU where she is involved in teaching both in the OT and PT programs. Theresa is a member of the Clinician Task Force, AOTA, RESNA and Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals. Theresa has participated in presentations at the International Seating Symposiums, Congress on Spinal Cord injury Medicine, The Academy of PM&R, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), RESNA and Posture and Mobility Group in Glasgow Scotland. Theresa received the 2016 Academy of Spinal Cord Injury TLC Distinguished Clinical Award and the 2017 OSU Medical Center Values in Action Award. Theresa has served on multiple professional boards including The Ohio OT Association and The Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals.

Darren currently works as Senior Director of Direct Materials Procurement with Dairy Farmers of America. In that capacity, he successfully manages all commodity, ingredients, packaging, and co-manufacturing spend to drive value for the 14,000 member farmer-owners. Prior to working at DFA, Brehm led the North America Ingredients Procurement Team for KraftHeinz, and was also an Engagement Manager with McKinsey and Company. Brehm received his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 2007, graduating in top 10 percent of his class. In 2002, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from San Diego State University. Among his community accolades, Brehm served as peer ambassador at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to help individuals with spinal cord injuries transition back into their communities.

David M. Capozzi, from Gaithersburg, MD, was the Executive Director of the U.S. Access Board, the only Federal agency whose primary mission is accessibility for people with disabilities. He recently retired in June. Capozzi has over 35 years of experience directing programs focused on national accessibility policies in the Federal and non-profit sectors. He was a member of a nine-person legal team that helped craft sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. While at the Access Board, Capozzi managed complex rulemakings, regulatory assessments, contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. He was also responsible for the Access Board's Architectural Barriers Act enforcement program. Capozzi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Buffalo and a Law Degree from the University at Buffalo School of Law.

Ronald is a results-oriented leader with a strong record of directing organizations in the delivery of benefits and employment to service members and veterans with service-connected disabilities. Ronald specializes in helping veterans to reintegrate into their family and community after sustaining combat and other injuries or illnesses in the line of duty to their country. He also has strong connections to support services and other resources necessary to enhance the quality of life of the severely injured and extensive experience working in all programs and services for people with disabilities.

Andy is owner of Complex Rehab Technology Education, LLC, which provides continuing education for physical and occupational therapists in the US and Canada.

Kimberly Hill, MS, CTRS, CCT, brings a wealth of professional and personal experiences to her current position as the Executive Director of the Louisiana Chapter of United Spinal Association and the Brain Injury Association of Louisiana. Currently, she serves as the South-Central Regional Coordinator for United Spinal Association as well as the Louisiana Chapter Leader. She represents Louisiana as the state Affiliate Leader for the Brain Injury Association of America where she also sits on the Chapter Leaders’ Education committee. Kimberly‘s passion with her numerous roles and job duties stem from a deeper understanding and personal perspective as a result of being a mother of a child who sustained and recovered from a c5-c6 spinal cord injury and as a relative to a family member who sustained a traumatic brain injury. Drawing from these experiences, Kimberly feels compelled to share hope, compassion, and understanding with others who have experienced similar challenging situations in their lives. As a nationally Board-Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Certified Cognitive Therapist, Kimberly has over 20 years of experience working in various settings including inpatient, outpatient, and residential neurological rehabilitation. After completing her undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University, Kimberly received her Master of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of South Alabama. With her unwavering sense of passion, commitment, and desire to make a difference in the world by helping others, Kimberly and the Louisiana Chapter were awarded United Spinal Association’s 2019 Reggie Bennett Outstanding Community Leader Award and the 2019 Award of Excellence for Programs and Services by the Brain Injury Association of America.

Carina Ho is a New York native who now resides in Oakland, CA. She is a musical artist who performs around the country under the moniker ONIKHO. Previously, she danced professionally with AXIS Dance Company, a contemporary dance ensemble comprised of dancers both with and without disabilities. After touring with AXIS for several years, Carina moved to Uruguay as a Fulbright Fellowship recipient to teach dance at the national dance conservatory in Montevideo. She now works at Airbnb as an Accessibility Specialist in addition to continuing her artistic career. She is passionate about creating an accessible an inclusive world for people with disabilities. Photo credit AXIS Dance Company/David DeSilva  

Minna is a mixed medium artist. She’s a jewelry designer, a painter, ceramicist and a food artist. After retirement, she is giving back to the community that has been so generous to her life journey. She is committed to creating a community where all are welcome at the table: Delta’s Disability Advisory Board; Synergies Works Board member/teaching artist; (an organization supporting entrepreneurs with intellectual and physical disabilities); New Mobility Magazine, community partner; One Bread, community partner, food outreach program to end food scarcity in Atlanta. Prior to her recent retirement, she was the Spinal Cord Injury Peer Support Manager at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She was also a Board Member of Disability Resource Group and distribution committee member for Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund, Georgia.

Carmen has been an advocate within the disability community for more than 25 years. She is the CEO/President of the Solutions Marketing Group, a consulting firm that develops strategies for companies and government agencies to employ, market to and provide customer services to the Nation’s 56M people with disabilities. Carmen previously served as an appointee of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2016 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that capacity she served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary and developed new market opportunities for minority farmers in the rural south. Most recently, she served as the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. She was a part of the Board of Directors for the National Spinal Cord Injury Association from 1998 to 2006; and then joined the United Spinal Board in 2010.

Andraéa LaVant is founder and president of LaVant Consulting, Inc., a strategy and communications firm dedicated to fostering disability-inclusive cultures across all sectors. As a communications consultant and inclusion specialist, Andraéa has over a decade of experience working with programs that support youth and adults with disabilities and other underserved populations. Her professional roles and personal advocacy have presented her with a variety of notable opportunities to share messages and prompt change for people with disabilities across the globe. Andraéa’s work for non-profit and private sector organizations have included managing national initiatives that increase and support engagement of people with disabilities in mainstream programs, and coordinating and overseeing multiple federally funded technical assistance and training centers designed to prepare young people with disabilities to transition from school to employment. She is adept at researching, writing, and training on youth development and employer-focused curricula (including briefs, guides and reports). She also has substantial experience developing strategic partnerships and facilitating successful and innovative practices within the disability field, including creating media messaging. Andraéa is a strong advocate for exploring disability from an intersectional lens and offers a unique perspective on the initiatives that she supports.

Jenny Lieberman currently leads the wheelchair seating clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, NY and has been a practicing occupational therapist since 1996. Lieberman began her career at RUSK Rehabilitation Center at New York University where she worked on the rehabilitation unit, assisting in evaluating patients for their wheelchair seating and mobility needs. In 1998, she joined Bellevue Hospital in New York, NY and played an integral role in developing their wheelchair seating and outpatient brain injury programs. Lieberman also has over 20 years of experience advocating for people with spinal cord injury and greater access to complex rehabilitation technology or products designed to meet the medical, physical, and functional needs of people with disabilities. Lieberman holds a Doctoral Degree in Research in Occupational Therapy, from New York University; New York, NY and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Sargent College of Allied Health Professions, Boston University; Boston, MA.

Denise states: “I was asked to be one of the first women to join United Spinal Association. I wanted to again be involved in a national disability rights organization and I was encouraged to run for the board of United Spinal.” As staff and then executive director of the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, Denise had worked with on the passage of human rights legislation, NYC accessible building code, access to mass transit in New York City and then our country, with passage of the ADA. Denise worked for implementation of an accessible bus and subway system and the creation of a paratransit service in New York City, as Governor’s appointees to the NYC Transportation Disabled Committee from 1984 until 1992, when she resigned from the TDC to work in the ADA Compliance Office of MTA New York City transit. In this capacity, Denise continued to work with United Spinal and the disabled community on ADA implementation through joint educational efforts such as bringing buses to schools or other locations where people with disabilities could try boarding a bus. She also worked on Bus Operator Awards ceremonies that recognized operators who members of the disabled community nominated for their commitment to delivering accessible bus service.“ McQuade adds: “Being a member of United Spinal’s board affords me the opportunity to be involved in expanding its core services to an ever widening base of consumers with disabilities while keeping our commitment to veterans with disabilities.”

Chris O’Donoghue was an EMMY Award winning General Assignment Reporter and Investigative Producer for FOX Television’s WWOR-TV Channel 9’s Ten P.M. daily newscasts. Chris came from his native home of Ireland to the U.S. in 1965 to pursue a career as a professional soccer player. But soon after he arrived in New York, a sudden onset of an undetected spinal condition affected Chris’s legs and eventually led to paralysis and the use of a wheelchair by 1976. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in English at CCNY and a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology from NYU in 1981, Chris went on to manage and subsequently run his own rehabilitation consulting business. In addition to his on-air accomplishments, in 1993 Chris received the Henry Steiffel “Against All Odds” award for exceptional positive role modeling for people with disabilities. On December 3, 1998, Chris was the MC for the United Nations International Day of Disabled Persons held at Lincoln Center. Chris was appointed in 1996 as Adjunct Professor for the NYU Journalism Department’s Graduate and Undergraduate Television Reporting. O’Donoghue resides in Manhattan.

During the 1990s, Ronnie was involved in a case against a New York City Cooperative where she lived that revolved around creating a wheelchair accessible entrance. At that time, United Spinal offered to represent her legally. In 1999, she had a hearing at the New York City Human Rights Commission and prevailed. The Co-Op was instructed to build a ramp at the main entrance. Later, Ronnie became involved in United Spinal’s Women without Limits program that dealt with issues facing women with disabilities. Ronnie is also on the board of Concerts in Motion, a New York City-based nonprofit organization that reaches out to people who are homebound, veterans, people with disabilities, people who are homeless, and medical patients of all ages. Through United Spinal, Concerts in Motion has been connected with the VA hospitals in New York City and performs for the veterans monthly.

Reveca Torres was paralyzed in a car accident at the age of thirteen. After completing degrees in Fashion Design and Theatre Arts, Reveca worked as a costume designer and simultaneously worked with various organizations doing disability work in health/fitness, advocacy, recreation, and peer support. She started a nonprofit called BACKBONES after realizing that years of interaction and friendship with others living with spinal injuries (SCI) had made a significant impact in her life. Reveca wanted to ensure that others, especially those newly injured, had access to resources, information, and the same type of peer support she has had. She is co-director of ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago and has curated touring photography and art exhibitions that showcase the work of people with disabilities and bring awareness to disability rights. Reveca uses painting, illustration, photography, film, movement, and other media as a form of expression and as a tool for advocacy and social justice.

Dr. Tyree brings her personal life experiences, passion and determined spirit to the United Spinal team. Dr. Tyree is a native of Wisconsin and has since settled in Arizona after graduating from the University of Arizona. Dr. Tyree is a practicing pharmacist with more than 20 years of experience in hospital pharmacy management and leadership. In her current position, as West Regional Pharmacy Director for Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospitals, Dr. Tyree combines her pharmacy organizational and leadership skills with her clinical interests in the areas of physical medicine, spinal cord dysfunction and neurological conditions to create and support successful teams that deliver leading pharmaceutical care to rehabilitation patients. Dr. Tyree is a former elite Paralympic athlete, having competed in three Paralympic Games on three medal winning basketball teams. Since retiring from the sport of basketball, Renée enjoys spending her free time traveling, kayaking, reading and relaxing by the pool.