NY Healthcare Innovation & Transformation

Mr. Pittman has accumulated 20 years of experience in strategy, innovation, transformation, and venture capital, with organizations such as the U.S. Department of Defense, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Innovation Enterprise, and GSC360. He is currently the founder of GSC360, a strategy organization focused on global healthcare innovation initiatives, and Chief Strategy Officer (Strategy, Innovation, Transformation, and Venture Capital) at Gender Fair. The mission of Global Strategic Connections-360 (GSC360) is to improve the community's health and the world by supporting global healthcare and wellness education, research, clinical care, innovative and transformation initiatives, and enhancing the health and wellness of international patients and communities.Gender Fair empowers consumers, employees, and investors to support companies that share their values for equality. Founded in 2014 as a public benefit corporation, Gender Fair developed a proprietary, independent, and expert-reviewed rating system designed to measure the impact of gender equality policies and inclusion programs at the nation's largest employers. Its approach is informed by the United Nations' Women's Empowerment Principles.

Elizabeth Velez She is the President of the Velez Organization, a second generation construction firm started in 1972 by her father, Andrew Velez. To her credit are hundreds of projects which have come to fruition under her direction, including over 600 units of housing made affordable by State and Federal grants in the Bronx and Harlem, and over ten billion dollars of significant educational, healthcare and large-scale projects throughout New York. Ms. Velez is the current Chairperson of the New York Building Congress, and the first person of color and second woman to serve as such in the Congress’ 99-year history. She is a Trustee of Boricua College; an accredited private institution serving primarily Latinas through three campuses in NY. She serves on the advisory boards of numerous NYC and NYS agencies, industry non-profits, and groups supporting mentorship and scholarships for youth. She is a member of the Board for Catholic Charities and the New York City Police Foundation. She is currently serving as a Commissioner of the New York City Property Tax Reform Commission. Following Hurricane Maria’s disastrous landfall, Elizabeth was appointed to Governor Cuomo’s NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery & Rebuilding Committee, the NY Memorial Commission for Hurricane Maria, and has spearheaded numerous workforce and economic development programs – including a satellite corporate office in Ponce Puerto Rico. On the international front, Ms. Velez is Co-Chair of Iran 180 – an organization that advocates for human rights and the end to Iran’s nuclear threat. She is a contributor to media outlets such as MSNBC Morning Joe, Matter of Fact TV with Soledad O’Brien, Fox News Latino, The Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, El Diario La Prensa, Hispanic Business, ENR, City & State, DowntownNY and Crain’s New York Business . She is an outspoken advocate for diversity and empowerment of women, and a sought after speaker on women’s leadership and work/family balance issues. In addition to numerous awards and recognition, Ms. Velez was recognized by City & State as one of the “Manhattan Power 50”. Ms. Velez holds a MBA from Hofstra University.

Sophie is a principal at EwingCole and provides quality design and service for projects of various scales. She enjoys seeking innovative solutions to new challenges on complex healthcare projects, from initial research and exploratory planning through design and construction. Sophie has a compassionate design approach and is committed to implementing the design vision. She believes that building consensus among all project stakeholders leads to uniquely detailed spatial solutions that positively impact the quality of people’s lives.

Karen Heidelberger is a Partner and Chief Partnership and Communications Officer at Deerfield and joined the Firm in 2002. She is responsible for relationships with investors, partner companies, academic institutions and other interested parties. Prior to this role, Ms. Heidelberger was a Trader at Deerfield for over a decade. Before Deerfield, Ms. Heidelberger was a Vice President in the Sales and Trading division of Merrill Lynch, and served as a Conflicts Coordinator in the Mergers and Acquisitions department. As Conflicts Coordinator, she was responsible for ensuring that Merrill Lynch was clear of legal and business conflicts of interest before the firm was able to accept an assignment. Ms. Heidelberger has approximately 17 years of experience in healthcare and 24 years of experience in finance. She is involved in Deerfield’s Break into the Boardroom and Women in Science programs, and currently serves on the Board of NewYorkBIO and the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. Ms. Heidelberger graduated from the Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration and earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.