Our passion is creating an organization that is focused on Stroke Rehabilitation—Reimagined.
Deb has successfully survived three strokes which drove our desire to give back and help survivors, families and friends find your inner hero to Champion the Challenges of Stroke.
Deb Shaw
President
Deb is a three-time stroke survivor and the leader of Champion the Challenges. She had an Ischemic Brain Stem Stroke in September 2016, which affected her right side. This was followed by another stroke, in December 2016, weakening her left hand and lowering her blood pressure. Then she suffered a third stroke in her retina in May 2019. She is an advocate for self-improvement by utilizing the latest tools that technology has to offer. Deb is a former Head of Global Customer Service for a technology company. She previously held executive positions, working with influential business and government leaders.
Bob Shaw
CFO
Bob is an advocate of motivational self-improvement, and a passionate technology leader. He is the proud husband of Deb for 33 years and her teammate in the start-up of Champion the Challenges. He is a former President and CEO of a private network and security access company that was successfully acquired in 2013. He is a keynote speaker and executive coach for start-ups and high growth public companies.
Advisory Board
Passionate, genuine, innovative, evolving, patient, and empathetic are the core attributes of our Board of Advisors. This talented team will help us achieve our mission to reimagine stroke rehabilitation for the world.
Joan Wrabetz
Joan is the COO of Fyusion, Inc. Her prior executive management roles include VP of Marketing for the datacenter systems business unit of Western Digital, CTO of Quali Systems, and CTO for the advanced technology division of EMC. Joan holds an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley, an MSEE from Stanford University, BSEE from Yale University.
Amir Rubin
Amir is an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in creating products that improve lives. Amir is the Founder and CEO of Sixense Enterprises Inc., a leading developer of immersive computing solutions across industries, including healthcare, training, and education.
Tom Ryan
Tom has spent his career building companies based on disruptive technology, serving in executive and advisory roles for both public companies and venture capital backed startups. For the last ten years, he has focused on data-drive applications and machine learning. Tom is also a stroke survivor and advocate since 2016.
Tom Laszewski
Tom Laszewski is an experienced executive consultant and product innovation architect who has built companies, advised hundreds of CxOs, and partnered with the world's most prominent Global Integrators, ISVs, and Private Equity firms. Specializing in technology transformation, new product development, and business development, Tom guides leadership teams from AI startups to Fortune 500 enterprises through complex business transformations, cultural and organizational change initiatives, and strategic growth programs that drive market differentiation and revenue growth. Tom's expertise spans senior technology leadership roles at HPE, SAP, Oracle, and Amazon Web Services, combined with entrepreneurial experience from his startup origins developing automotive applications. As coauthor of five technology books and hundreds of strategic playbooks, he brings both thought leadership and hands-on execution to executive consulting engagements. He holds a Master's degree in Computer Information Systems from Boston University.
Brendon Hale
Brendon is an executive who has professional experience, which includes tenures at corporations UnitedHealth Group and Penumbra, and with universities, which include Indiana University and Mississippi State University. During his career, he has utilized his academic training in Human Performance and Neuroscience to lead the science-based development of national and international health and wellness programs, the evaluation of digital therapeutic (DTx) and immersive healthcare solutions, and the commercial scale implementation of DTx and immersive healthcare solutions.
Dr. James C. Lu
Dr. James Lu uniquely understands the human body and its capacity to heal. He has over 25 years of medical expertise in acupuncture and physical therapy, and is regularly requested to conduct international lectures. He was also National Champion in Chen Taichi for 5 consecutive years in China and the United States. In addition to his clinics, Dr. Lu provides integrative acupuncture and rehabilitation to the inpatient rehabilitation unit of Good Samaritan Hospital, Mission Oak Campus in Los Gatos, CA.
Dr. Peter Nelson, MD
Dr. Peter Nelson, MD (Obstetrics & Gynecology) brings the experience of a physician who has suffered a career-ending ischemic stroke. He understands the patient and doctor’s perspective of the medical world. His journey includes not only having to retire from his profession but also navigating the early days of life after a stroke when there wasn’t a lot of post-stroke therapy or support. He is well-known in the stroke community and continues to give back to new stroke survivors and their families. We are honored to have him as a critical member of our advisory board.
Rezvan Moghaddam
Rezvan Moghaddam (mo-gaad-dam) served as the first full-time Executive Director of the Pacific Stroke Association (PSA) from 2003 to 2023; a non-profit organization with the focus on raising awareness about stroke through community-wide campaigns and providing support for stroke survivors and family caregivers in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to her work at PSA, Rezvan was the Development Director at the Sutter Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice Foundation for five years. Prior to joining the VNA & Hospice Foundation, Rezvan was with the United Way of the Bay Area as a Campaign Advisor. Rezvan started her career as a research fellow in the socio/economic department at SRI International in Menlo Park.
Michael Ham
Michael has served on 17 different nonprofit Board positions in the Ohio Miami Valley over his career. His vision, civic knowledge and strategic skills have given him the unique opportunity to provide guidance and direction across many local city projects and advise those twice his age, having graduated from Wright State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Affairs in 2013. He has been honored as Troy Outstanding Young Man of the Year 2015, Troy Board of Education, in addition to twelve more distinguished awards. Michael, has been honored at the civic, national and international levels, He certainly knows how to Champion the Challenges of life, as Michael has accomplished all his success while living with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy.
Gideon Marks
Gideon Marks brings more than 30 years of perspective from his successful track record, leading technology companies in financial, business and corporate development roles.
During his tenure he took three companies public on NASDAQ and led four other companies to successful acquisitions. He has also been involved in building numerous companies from scratch to various stages of maturity.
The Medical Professionals
Helping me champion the challenges of stroke.
Dr. Richard Dohn MD
| Specialty | Affiliations | Credentials and Education |
| Family Medicine | Good Samaritan Hospital | University of California Graduate Degree Hinsdale Hospital Residency |
Dr. Harmeet S. Sachdev MD
| Specialty | Affiliations | Credentials and Education |
| Neurology | Good Samaritan Hospital | Punjab University Graduate Degree Sinai Hospital Residency |
Dr. Anh-Quan Nguyễn MD
| Specialty | Affiliations | Credentials and Education |
| Cardiologist | Palo Alto Medical Foundation | University of California - Irvine, School of Medicine Graduate Degree Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency Baylor - Texas Heart Institute, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship |
Dr. Joselito Cabaccan MD
| Specialty | Affiliations | Credentials and Education |
| Endocrinologist, Diabetes & Metabolism | Regional Medical Center and Good Samaritan | University of Virginia Graduate Degree McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Residency Stanford University Fellowship |