BOARD MEMBERS

Stuart Kaplan, President and Founder

Stuart is the President and Founder of Bright Spirit Children's Foundation. Mr. Kaplan has spent the last 25+ years working with charities supporting seriously-ill children and their families. Stuart was formerly a board member of Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation and worked with the organization for over two years. In addition, Stuart also spent over 20 years as a Vice President for My One Wish, a wish-granting organization to seriously-ill and terminally-ill children in New England.

Stuart formerly worked as a Senior Vice President, Sales for Paya. Stuart was responsible for running the Insurance and Healthcare vertical markets focused on the growth & expansion of the digital payments business. Previously, Stuart was Vice President, Sales for Insurity. He is responsible for expanding the national footprint as a market leader and strategic technology partner in the insurance industry. He leads a senior team of sales executives, account managers, and business development reps to grow the business in the Carrier and MGA markets.

Prior to Insurity, Mr. Kaplan spent 10+ years at Vertafore as the Vice President, Strategic Markets. He worked with the largest brokers, MGAs, and carriers to grow Vertafore's presence in the large account market.

Before Vertafore, Stuart was the Executive Vice President, Global Sales for The Advisory Council (TAC), providing expert advisory, consulting, and leadership services tailored to the information technology marketplace. He was responsible for managing and growing client relationships across all industries and vertical markets globally.

Previously, Mr. Kaplan was a Global Account Manager for Gartner, the largest IT research, advisory, and consulting firm in the world. Prior to Gartner, Mr. Kaplan spent eight years in sales and sales management working for CompuCom, a multi-billion dollar systems integrator.

Mr. Kaplan has been married to his wife for 29 years and has three children, Jess 26, Jake 24, and Alli 24.

Steven Spitz, Vice President

Steven is a Charter Board Member of Bright Spirit Children's Foundation. Dr. Spitz is a prosthodontist and the founder of Smileboston Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry; a Boston-based dental office specializing in full-mouth dental care. He is the founder of Smileboston Dental Implant Continuum, teaching surgical implant placement to dentists throughout the country.

Dr. Spitz received his Prosthodontic Certificate through the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, a general practice residency through Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital and his DMD at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He currently serves as clinical professor of prosthodontics in the post-graduate prosthodontic depart at Harvard, and is involved in research at Tufts studying bond strengths of laser treated tissues.

Dr. Spitz currently serves as the president of the Boston alumni chapter of Alpha Omega Dental Organization and is completing a five-year program working with other members of AO in the creation of DASH, Dental Assistance for Survivors of the Holocaust, a program that pairs Boston's local dentists with local holocaust survivors who cannot afford dental care.

In 2005, Dr. Spitz was the prosthodontist for the Benjamin Franklin Tooth Restoration project, is one of few dentists to be accepted into the MIT/Birthing of Giants® program, and supports the Jordan Boys and Girls Club in Chelsea, Massachusetts, conducting annual dental screenings on the school age members and caring for many of the students who are need of extreme dental care. He has served as a sponsor for My One Wish, the Starlight/Starbright Children's Foundation, and served 10 years as a volunteer dentist with the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans.

Dr. Spitz has been married to his wife, Laurie, for 31 years and has three children, Hayden 27, Jocelyn 24 and Kayla 21. His family and dental practice are in the Boston area.

Jonathan Epstein

Jonathan Epstein currently a Director of Products and Strategy at Health Scholars focuses on virtual training for the healthcare industry. Previously, he served as the Senior Director for Science and Content Development at the American Red Cross within the Preparedness, Health and Safety Services Division. Epstein lends his extensive clinical, education and training expertise to the development of Red Cross learning and development products and materials for health care and public safety professionals.

Epstein is an emeritus member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council, one of the country’s foremost independent panels on first aid, resuscitation, emergency preparedness and safety. The Council guides the Red Cross on emergency and safety treatments and practices that align with the latest evidence-based scientific and medical knowledge. Epstein served on the Council for 14 years as one of its original members.

Epstein served for 17 years at Northeast Emergency Medical Services, Inc., the Massachusetts Region III EMS Council, and 15 years as its Executive Director. The nonprofit organization is responsible for coordinating the EMS system for the 49 towns and cities northeast of the City of Boston. A nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician for 21 years, Epstein received a Master’s Degree in Emergency Medical Services from the Hahnemann University School of Graduate Studies.

Epstein currently is the Vice Chair of International Trauma Life Support (ITLS), a nonprofit dedicated to the education of managing out-of-hospital trauma patients. The organization globally trains emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses and physicians. In addition, he is a CPR and Safety Instructor for Isis Parenting, whose community-based centers provide education, products, and support for parents.

Carolyn Kurker Gallagher, Secretary

Carolyn is a Charter Board Member of Bright Spirit Children's Foundation. Carolyn has spent over 18 years working with charities supporting seriously-ill children and their families. Most recently, Carolyn was a board member of Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, working with the organization for over five years.

Carolyn is a Certified Child Life Specialist and has over 20 years of clinical experience working in hospitals with children. She diligently advocated to develop a Parent in the OR Program during her tenure at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and successfully began a Child Life program in the Pediatric Emergency Department at Boston Medical Center. Currently, Carolyn continues to instruct students at Wheelock College who are pursuing careers as child life specialists.

Carolyn graduated from Wheelock College with a Bachelors Degree in Child Life and Education and received a Masters Degree in Child Development from the same institution. Carolyn's proudest accomplishment is her role as mother to three amazing and, luckily, healthy children.

Mike Farrell, Treasurer

Michael is a Charter Board Member of Bright Spirit Children's Foundation and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Green Leads.

Mike has 30+ years of sales, marketing and business leadership experience he brings to Green Leads. He led the growth of BAO, Inc for 15 years as Chief Operating Officer. His ‘commander style’ of positive leadership helped BAO grow to a category leader as an outsourced Sales Development services helping to scale Technology and SaaS businesses. Prior positions include SVP and VP of Sales role at PC Connection (NASDAQ: CNXN), where he led the transformation to a B2B sales model doubling revenue from $700M to $1.4B in his tenure; he joined CompuCom Systems as VP of Sales of Public Sector after its acquisition of CIC System where he was VP of Sales, Marketing & Professional Services for the national IT Solutions provider; he held numerous sales leadership positions at CIC and Copley Systems where he was the integration specialist folding in the acquisitions of two firms to create the national footprint.

He holds a BS in Business Administration from Merrimack College. He is a member of AA-ISP, past President of the Hopkinton HS Athletic Booster Association. He and his wife of 30+ years, Kathleen, live in Hopkinton MA and

have four adult children.

Ilan Schwartz

Ilan is a Charter Board Member of Bright Spirit Children's Foundation. Mr. Schwartz is currently employed as a Pediatric Emergency Physician at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA. Prior to joining Newton Wellesley Hospital, Mr. Schwartz worked at Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and General Pediatrics for 7 years. As a Pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, he co-founded the first Pediatric Latino clinic in Massachusetts.

Mr. Schwartz received his MD degree from Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City, Mexico, and moved to Massachusetts in 1994. He completed his Internship at Boston City Hospital, and his Residency in Pediatrics, and Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center. Mr. Schwartz has published a number of papers in the topics of Injury Prevention and Disparities in Health Care and is a fellow member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Jason Silberman

Jason Silberman is the owner of Camp Matoaka for Girls in Smithfield, Maine.

He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Syracuse University. Jason has sat on the New England Board of Directors, chaired the public outreach committee, and led the website task force initiative for the New England section of ACA. He is also a lead visitor for the American Camp Association, assisting in the accreditation of other camps around New England and is an active member with the Maine Youth Camp Foundation and Association of Independent Camps.

Jason married his wife Leslie in 2004 after they met at a camp social at Matoaka during staff orientation. He currently resides in Needham, Massachusetts during the winter months. In December 2007, they welcomed their first child, Brett Matthew, into their family, and in December 2009 they welcomed their second child, Carly Rose into their family.

Jake Kaplan

Jake Kaplan is an Advisor for NFP Corporate Services.

He currently works for NFP as a producer helping companies solve complex insurance problems around the globe. In his free time, he plays D2 Rugby for the Boston Irish Wolfhounds at the Irish Cultural Center. Jake currently resides in South Boston.

Jake earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics & Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020.