Who we are

David is the Founder and CEO at SHEPHERD.  He is an ardent champion of patient rights and a defiantly human approach to healthcare.  He founded SHEPHERD with vision and a mandate- to build something that would give freedom, power, and a defiant hope back to patients when they had had none, and give them options when they had nowhere left to turn.  David was diagnosed at 27 with a rare form of head and neck cancer, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, while a graduate student at Harvard University. He had recently completed officer selection for special operations int he U.S. military and had previously worked in Southeast Asia against human trafficking and the sexual enslavement of children.  He leveraged the same commitment to working for systemic change and to help those who suffer to build SHEPHERD alongside are markable team of people equally passionate about saving patients lives.  David is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Aspen Institute Spotlight Health Scholar, and Charles River Research Models in Drug Discovery Award Recipient.  He is a graduate of Harvard University, St. John’s College, and Transylvania University and is also the founder of The Billion Life Project, which seeks to create market-driven solutions to humanity’s greatest suffering; and Rage to LIVE, which seeks to inspire others to overcome their own limitations to do the impossible - on behalf of others.

Katherine Arline leads the development of SHEPHERD’s products. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she studied economics, quantitative analysis, molecular and cellular biology, and bioinformatics. Prior to her work at SHEPHERD, Katherine spent fifteen years working in technology. She was running a big data startup in the Harvard Innovation Lab when a close family member was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. Katherine and David met one month later and she asked to join the company to leverage her background in technology, data, and entrepreneurship to benefit high-need cancer patients.

Dr. Flaherty is Director of Clinical Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. As described in the more than 300 peer reviewed primary research reports he has authored or co-authored, Dr. Flaherty and his colleagues made several seminal observations that have defined the treatment of melanoma when they established the efficacy of BRAF, MEK and combined BRAF/MEK inhibition in patients with metastatic melanoma in a series of New England Journal of Medicine articles for which Dr. Flaherty was the first or senior author. He is the principal investigator of the NCI MATCH trial, the first NCI-sponsored trial assigning patients to targeted therapy independent of tumor type on the basis of DNA sequencing detection of oncogenes. Dr. Flaherty joined the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors in 2018 and AACR Board of Directors in 2019. He serves as editor-in-chief of Clinical Cancer Research. Dr. Flaherty co-founded Loxo Oncology in 2013 and served on the board of directors through the acquisition by Eli Lilly in 2019. He co-founded X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR) and privately held Strata Oncology (2015), Apricity Oncology (2017), C-Reveal (2020). He serves on the boards of directors for Clovis Oncology, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, Kinnate BioPharma, and Scorpion Therapeutics.

Rachel Ravens serves as the interim Chief Operating Officer at SHEPHERD. Rachel also serves as the Managing Partner at 46Health, where she leverages nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences to transform global healthcare companies by placing the patient at the center of design thinking. She holds degrees in biomedical engineering and molecular biology from Stony Brook University and a master’s in healthcare management from Columbia University.

Prior to 46Health, Rachel served as Head of Strategy for tools and diagnostics companies where she was responsible for elevating the diagnostic experience for providers, patients, payers, and partners through strategic relationships and entering new markets by articulating the commercial opportunity and unmet need.

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Dr. Howard McLeod is a highly esteemed physician and leader in the field of personalized medicine and pharmacogenomics. With over three decades of experience, Dr. McLeod has made significant contributions to the advancement of cancer treatment and precision medicine. As the Executive Clinical Director of Precision Health at Intermountain Healthcare and Medical Director of the DeBartolo Family Personalized Medicine Institute at the Moffitt Cancer Center, he spearheads groundbreaking research and clinical initiatives that aim to improve patient outcomes through the use of genetic and genomic information.

Dr. McLeod is recognized for his expertise in pharmacogenomics, which involves studying how an individual's genetic makeup influences their response to medications. He has been in leadership positions in the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the FDA, NIH, Cancer & Leukemia Group B/Alliance, and Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative. His pioneering work in this field has helped shape the development of personalized treatment strategies, enabling physicians to tailor drug regimens to individual patients based on their genetic profiles. Through his extensive research, publications, and collaborations, Dr. McLeod has played a vital role in advancing the field of pharmacogenomics and has been instrumental in translating scientific discoveries into clinical practice. His dedication to improving patient care through precision medicine has earned him international recognition, and he continues to be a driving force in the quest for more effective and personalized cancer treatments.

Dr. Jordan earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Texas Christian University, then his MD from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. During that time he performed basic science and translational research on brain tumor immunology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  He then completed his neurology residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he served as chief resident.  He trained in the neuro-oncology fellowship at the joint program of Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. In his second year of fellowship, he concentrated on the neurofibromatosis and allied disorders, and he simultaneously completed a Masters of Public Health degree program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He joined the clinical faculty of the Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology and the Family Center for Neurofibromatosis in February 2015, and became Clinical Director of the MGH Brain Tumor Center in July 2017 and additionally became the Director of the Family Center for Neurofibromatosis in 2020.

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Dr. Jordan's clinical interests are in primary nervous system tumors and in neurofibromatosis 1, neurofibromatosis 2, and schwannomatosis.  His research interests are in the genetics of tumor development within these tumor predisposition syndromes, as well as therapeutic clinical trials for malignant brain tumors.  He is also involved in clinical process improvement for brain tumor care at MGH, and contributes to patient care quality measurement development within the American Academy of Neurology and the Society for Neuro-Oncology.

Dr. Patricio C. Gargollo is a highly accomplished physician specializing in pediatric urology at Mayo Clinic. With a passion for providing the best care for children with urologic conditions, Dr. Gargollo has become a renowned expert in his field. He is committed to advancing pediatric urology through his clinical expertise, research endeavors, and dedication to educating the next generation of physicians.

As an associate professor of urology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Dr. Gargollo actively participates in training medical students, residents, and fellows. He also leads numerous research projects focused on pediatric urologic conditions, with a particular emphasis on disorders affecting the urinary tract, bladder, and kidneys.

Dr. Gargollo's innovative work has contributed to the development of new surgical techniques and treatment approaches for children with complex urologic issues. His commitment to compassionate care, combined with his expertise in pediatric urology and dedication to advancing the field, has earned him a well-deserved reputation as a trusted and respected physician within the medical community and among his patients and their families.

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Eugene Williams is a former SVP at Genzyme, with senior roles integrating commercialization, drug development, and deal making. He is also an entrepreneur, as the founder and director of Adheris, which became the largest company in the patient adherence area. He was previously a strategy consultant at Bain and Corporate Decisions Inc. (a Bain Spin off, now part of Oliver Wyman), where he was co-Head of Healthcare and spent extensive time on speeding and improving the drug development process and on commercialization strategies. Mr. Williams was most recently the CEO of Dart Therapeutics, an Orphan Disease drug development company. Mr. Williams holds a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

John Hopper is the Founding Co-Chair of the GI Cancers Alliance, Founding Co-Chair of NORD (National Organization Rare Disorders) Rare Cancer Coalition, Executive Board Director of SARC (Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration) ,President Emeritus of the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation, member of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)Rare as One Network ,Former Executive Board Director of the National Pancreas Foundation and Board Advisor for CNN’s Larry King Cardiac Foundation. Prior to his focus on health care foundations, John created and led multibillion dollar revenue centers as well as start-ups and turn-arounds across numerous industry verticals with emphasis in health/wellness, digital/interactive, consumer goods, environment, and technology both nationally and internationally. John launched profitable divisions and products for such companies as the WPP Group, Interpublic (IPG), Unilever, P&G and Publicis and spearheaded complex international cross-discipline management teams. He has held various board positions within digital companies as well as co-founding wellness venture capital and renewable energy mobilization firms. His experience also includes: Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern Graduate School of Business, US Department of Defense – Pancreatic Cancer Research Advisory Board; National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) Small Business Advisor Board and MyPART; State of Connecticut Business Health Council- Office of Secretary of State; University of Connecticut – Environmental Health Academic Internship leader

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Hopper is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, and the Unilever/Oxford Executive MBA program. Believing in a purposeful life, in 2020 John and his three children launched the Hopper-Belmont Foundation which annually recognizes exceptional early career cancer investigators with their Inspiration Award.

Dr. Johanne Kaplan is a former VP of Research at Sanofi Genzyme. Over the course of her 23-year career at Genzyme, Dr. Kaplan directed pioneering research leading to the implementation of multiple clinical trials in the fields of gene therapy, cancer immunotherapy and autoimmunity. Most recently, as VP of Neuroimmunology Research, Dr. Kaplan led the contribution of the Genzyme science team supporting the approval of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Aubagio (teriflunomide) for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. She also established partnerships for the development of novel therapies for neuroinflammatory disorders. Prior to joining Genzyme, Dr. Kaplan was an Associate Immunopathologist at SmithKline Beecham where she established an Immunotoxicology program. Her work has resulted in over 70 scientific publications and multiple patents. Dr. Kaplan holds a PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and conducted post studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA.

BrandiLee is the Director of Patient Advocacy at SHEPHERD. She worked in the non-profit world previous to becoming a mother, but her life-calling after her youngest son Finn died from an aggressive cancer is changing the cancer space to make cancer survivable for all cancer patients. Finn was diagnosed with rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma after doctors found a large tumor inside his bladder at the young age of one and a half. After over two years of aggressive treatment, Finn was out of options and out of time.

BrandiLee is a self-taught “momcologist”. In addition to helping advance treatment options for rhabdomyosarcoma, she loves connecting patients to treatment options and educating them on molecular diagnostics. BrandiLee also advocates for recent federal cancer legislation named in honor of Finn, titled the Finn Sawyer Access to Cancer Testing Act, which will provide molecular diagnostics at the time of diagnosis for all cancer patients.