Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally renowned organization with the mission of improving the lives of children, adolescents and adults with disorders and injuries of the nervous system, welcomed seven new members to the Institute Board of Directors in the past year. They are: Watchen Bruce, Daniel Koch, Stephanie Reel, Jay Salpekar, MD, Francie Spahn, David Sweiderk and Paul Thesiger, MD, all esteemed members of Maryland’s business and medical communities.
“We are thrilled to welcome this talented group to our Institute Board of Directors,” said Dr. Brad Schlaggar, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Kennedy Krieger. “Their expertise, passion and diverse backgrounds will undoubtedly make a positive impact on the lives of those we serve.”
Watchen Harris Bruce has over 35 years of experience in banking and economic development and is currently the president and CEO of Baltimore Community Lending (BCL). BCL provides loans and technical assistance to small businesses and affordable housing developers in underserved or lower income communities in the Baltimore area.
Ms. Bruce is pursuing a doctorate in organizational development and leadership through Grand Canyon University and holds a master’s in business management from Cambridge College in Massachusetts. In 2009, she co-founded B’More Clubhouse, a psychosocial rehabilitation program that offers employment, housing, and skills development for people with mental illness.
Daniel Koch is a retired attorney with more than 30 years of experience in private practice, with expertise in government and commercial contracts, advice and litigation. He also is a Kennedy Krieger patient who receives services through the Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury after a bicycle accident in 2013.
Mr. Koch received his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University.
Stephanie Reel has served as the chief information officer for all divisions of the Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System. In this role, she led the implementation of an IT master plan and operational redesign for all aspects of information services, including cyber security, network architecture and design. In 2019, she was appointed to the Board of the NIH Clinical Center and she served on the Health Information Technology Committee of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Ms. Reel holds an MBA from Loyola University Maryland.
Jay Salpekar, MD is a pediatric neuropsychiatrist and medical director of the Neuropsychiatry in Epilepsy Program at Kennedy Krieger Institute. He also serves as president of the Institute’s medical staff and is an associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Salpekar has an A.B. and doctorate in medicine from Washington University in St. Louis and completed an internship and residency in general psychiatry at Barnes Hospital. He then completed a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Yale University Child Study Center.
Francie Spahn is an attorney and owner of a boutique real estate practice that provides legal advice to sellers, purchasers, developers, landlords, and tenants. She previously worked as an associate at Saul Ewing LLP and was one of the first lawyers in Maryland to become LEED accredited.
Ms. Spahn holds a certificate in construction project management from Columbia University and a juris doctorate from University of Maryland Law School.
David Sweiderk is president and CEO of SECU. Mr. Sweiderk also is a current member of the Special Olympics Maryland Board of Directors, where he helps the organization provide year-round sports training and athletic competitions for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Active in the financial industry, Sweiderk is also a member of the MDDC Credit Union Association Board of Directors and serves on the board of directors for the Kennedy Krieger Foundation.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from James Madison University and an MBA from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Paul Thesiger, MD brings his background in medicine and his experience as a parent of a child with autism to the board, which he has said has given him a keen appreciation for the struggles that families of special needs children go through daily.
Dr. Thesiger has a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from the Johns Hopkins University as well as a doctorate in medicine from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed an internship at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York and then came to Washington D.C. where he studied general surgery at Howard University College of Medicine.
He later completed a residency in plastic surgery at University of Miami and was named a Jerome Webster Fellow in Pediatric Plastic Surgery by Interplast, Inc., a California-based philanthropic organization. Dr. Thesiger worked in a private practice outside of Cleveland, Ohio and in 2006, opened his own specialized center, Thesiger Plastic Surgery, in Washington, D.C
About Kennedy Krieger Institute:
Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally known nonprofit organization located in the greater Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region, transforms the lives of more than 27,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient medical, behavioral health and wellness therapies; home and community services; school-based programs; training and education for professionals; and advocacy. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children, adolescents and adults with diseases, disorders and injuries that impact the nervous system, ranging from mild to severe. The Institute is home to a team of investigators who contribute to the understanding of how disorders develop while at the same time pioneering new interventions and methods of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Visit KennedyKrieger.org for more information about Kennedy Krieger.
