President and CEO
As President and CEO of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Maggie leads the only national paralysis-focused organization centered around a dual mission – Today’s Care. Tomorrow’s Cure®. Maggie has served with the Foundation for more than 20 years, helping drive its mission to cure spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.
The Foundation’s mission is extremely personal for Maggie, who experienced a C2 injury at 16 years old. Thankfully, she fully recovered, but it set her on a mission-driven career path to work on behalf of the paralysis community.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Maggie joined the Reeve Foundation in 2000 and has held numerous leadership roles during her tenure. She recently served as Chief Operating Officer, providing the leadership, management, and vision to grow the organization. Before that, Maggie served as Vice President of Policy and Programs, which included overseeing the Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center. She has also served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Maggie started her career in Washington D.C., working for Witeck Combs Communications, Feld Entertainment and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter.
Chief Development Officer
Denise Andersen has joined the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and looks forward to leading the development team to fund impact ensuring funding for the mission to cure spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis. Denise has a proven record of success leading, managing, and raising philanthropic funds to support mission impact.
Denise joins us after serving as Executive Director for Table to Table, the first fresh food rescue program in New Jersey. Before that Denise held several leadership roles: She led the Northeast Region of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) overseeing offices in Connecticut, Greater NY, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Upstate NY, and New England. Her role included talent management, income development, capacity building, volunteer engagement, corporate worksite engagement, and advocacy. At the American Diabetes Association, she oversaw New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware as Regional Vice President and at the American Cancer Society she held a variety of roles as Director of Special Events, Senior Director of Income Development, Director of Leadership Gifts, Executive Director, and Regional Vice President. She began her career with roles at the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Inez Weinstein Special Events, and the American Red Cross.
Denise is a graduate of Queens College, CUNY with a degree in communications living in New Jersey with her husband and the proud parent of two daughters.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Marco Baptista leads the Foundation’s mission to advance cures for spinal cord injury and paralysis. He provides oversight of our research portfolio and a collaborative approach to accelerating the field toward meaningful treatments.
Prior to joining the Reeve Foundation, Dr. Baptista served as Vice President, Research Programs at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. In this role, he was closely linked to the Parkinson’s community as he worked to develop an aggressive and innovative agenda for accelerating research and drug development for Parkinson’s disease, focusing on understanding LRRK2, a major genetic form of parkinsonism.
Previously, Dr. Baptista was an Associate Principal Scientist at Merck, leading a preclinical Parkinson’s program that helped develop field-enabling resources that were key to better understanding the genetic causes of Parkinson’s disease.
Dr. Baptista earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from McMaster University, Canada. After completing his postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Marco spent more than five years in the pharmaceutical industry leading a preclinical Parkinson’s program.
Marco lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children. Marco’s children have a keen interest in science and have helped him conduct two Parkinson’s experiments on the International Space Station.
Senior Director, Public Policy
As Director of Public Policy, Kim works to advance the Foundation’s legislative and advocacy agenda on Capitol Hill and federal agencies. Kim’s work focuses on increasing awareness of paralysis issues, advocating for federal funding for the National Paralysis Resource Center; and ensuring access to care for those impacted by paralysis.
Before joining the Reeve Foundation, Kim served as Director of Public Policy at Susan G. Komen; Director, Advocacy at the Arthritis Foundation; and Assistant Director of Federal Affairs at the American Academy of Physician Assistants. She also worked as Senior Legislative Assistant for Governor Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rico, and as Legislative Assistant for Congressman Luis G. Fortuño
Chief Program and Policy Officer
As the Chief Program and Policy Officer, Regina oversees operations of the National Paralysis Resource Center by developing and delivering programs that provide the critical services and resources that help people build healthy, independent lives.
Regina sustained a C6-C7 spinal cord injury at the age of 10. She brings over two decades of disability policy and advocacy experience, making the move to Reeve to work more directly with people living with spinal cord injury and paralysis.
Prior to starting with Reeve, she led the Independent Living Services program at the Administration for Community Living (ACL), monitoring compliance with the Rehabilitation Act and overseeing 155 federal grantees. Before that, as executive director of the Texas State Independent Living Council, she expanded independent living initiatives across the state. Her work has affected thousands of individuals and families living with disabilities and was recognized by President Barack Obama with a 2011 appointment to the United States Access Board, serving as Vice-Chair.
Regina earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications Studies at West Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
Vice President, Operations
As the Vice President of Operations, Michele cultivates employment engagement opportunities, manages Human Resources functions including administering benefits, acts as a bridge between both the finance and development teams working within both departments and oversees all office operations. Additionally, she works as a liaison for the Board of Directors and the leadership team and is a member of various committees within the organization.
A graduate of Montclair State University, Michele has been a Reeve Foundation team member since 2000. She began her career with Reeve soon after graduation as an administrative assistant and grew into roles of greater responsibility over the last 20 years.
Senior Director, Marketing and Communications
As the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Olivia oversees the Reeve Foundation’s brand, building its visibility and positioning as the preeminent resource for the paralysis community. She directs the voice of the Foundation, advancing our mission through a multi-channel communications/marketing strategy while deepening connections with community members.
Olivia brings more than 20 years of experience providing public relations counsel spanning an array of health and societal issues. Prior to joining the Reeve Foundation, Olivia served as a partner in the healthcare practice of global public relations agency Finn Partners, and as vice president of gabbegroup, a full-service public relations and marketing agency specializing in health, education and philanthropy. She has led communications support across the spectrum of care, from medical breakthroughs and clinical research advances to preventive care for such organizations as The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Let’s Win! Pancreatic Cancer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and others.
