Our Board of Directors

David Bruce McMahan, Ph.D.
Co-founder and Chairman

Dr. David Bruce McMahan is the co-founder and Chairman of the National Cristina Foundation and Chairman and founder of the McMahan Center-Abilities Activists (www.abilitiesactivists.bm). As Abilities Activists, the McMahan Center works to overcome conventional thinking about what people with differing abilities are able to achieve. Dr. McMahan additionally supports a number of philanthropic activities. Long active in the financial industry, he is the Chairman and Manager of the Centaur Performance Group.

Graduating from the University of Southern California in 1960, Dr. McMahan earned his Ph.D. in Labor Economics in 1992 from The Union Institute. The experience of raising a child with cerebral palsy (Cristina) born in 1970, led him to take his first serious steps into philanthropy in 1984 with the founding of the National Cristina Foundation.  Additional philanthropic activities by David Bruce McMahan and his family are described at www.mcmahan-philanthropy.com.

Yvette Marrin, Ph.D.
President and Co-founder

Dr. Yvette Marrin is the co-founder and President of the National Cristina Foundation and the President and principal program officer of The McMahan Center-Abilities Activists (www.abilitiesactivists.bm). Prior to becoming President of the National Cristina Foundation in 1984, Dr. Marrin was active over a long career assisting people with special needs and the underprivileged reach their potential through her work as a teacher, educational therapist, consultant, and administrator.  She earned a Ph.D in Organizational and Administrative Studies and Special Education from New York University in 1985.

As the Foundation's President, her leadership helped the National Cristina Foundation's work grow to partner with organizations in all 50 states and internationally and to develop important relationships with the computing industry.  Her belief that charities who believe in the productive and responsible reuse of previously used technology to help people in need who require this support has led to the creation and ongoing development of the Cristina Network.  The Foundation's innovative donation management system software is designed, through cloud computing, to significantly increase the number of participating partner organizations who can benefit from technology reuse. It will greatly expand  technology donation channels for potential donors to a broad range of communities in the United States and internationally.

As president of the McMahan Center-Abilities Activists Dr. Marrin oversees programs, largely internationally, that recognize that all people have abilities and as people with differing abilities they can use their unique range of abilities to develop fully in their own way.

 

 

Harry (Bud) Rizer, Ed.D.
Executive Director

Dr. Harry (Bud) Rizer has been involved in the disability and technology field for over twenty-five years. He has worked in clinical settings and has developed and directed assistive technology programs throughout the United States. In addition, Bud has been involved in research, the development of national training programs, and has taught at a number of universities throughout the country. Bud has served as a consultant in the development of disability and technology programs nationally and internationally, has presented at international conferences and published in textbooks and journals. Bud received his doctoral degree from The Johns Hopkins University.

David Peterson, Ph.D.
Board of Directors

Dr. David Peterson has served on the Board of Directors since the National Cristina Foundation’s inception in 1984. His areas of employment included both governmental and legal professional experience including The George Washington University - Adjunct Professor of Law, Washington, D.C. (1975-2000), and the U.S. Department of Commerce as Senior Policy Adviser to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Washington, D.C. (1975-2000), Active in the Mormon Church, he contributed community service by recently serving as mission president for The Hungary Budapest Mission (2000-2003), Stake President, Mount Vernon Virginia Stake, (1990-1999), and as Director of the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors' Center (2006-2007).

John Venator
Board of Directors

John Venator is the past President and Chief Executive Officer of the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) (now retired), a position he held for 19+ years, growing the organization into the leading trade association representing the business interests of the global information technology (IT) industry.

During Mr. Venator’s tenure as president and CEO, CompTIA grew to more than 22,000 member companies in over 100 countries around the world; and expanded from its headquarters in suburban Chicago to offices in sixteen countries across the world. Virtually all sectors of the technology industry are represented by CompTIA, including hardware and software product manufacturers, service providers, solution providers, system integrators, consultants, individual IT workers, and end users of technology, including major industry markets such as government, education, retail, and not-for-profits.

Sean Kenny
Board of Directors

Sean Kenny has recently retired from the Republic of Ireland's Department of Enterprise and Employment (FAS) as a senior employment officer. His employment history included that of Vocational Rehabilitation expert for the National Rehabilitation Board based in Dublin, Ireland and as an information technology coordinator where he tested uses of communication technology for people with disabilities, particularly with reference to distance learning and Telework. He has managed a number of European Union projects related to IT and people with disabilities and served for many years as the Irish national representative and expert on the management committee of TIDE (Telematic Initiatives for Elderly and Disabled) in Brussels. Mr. Kenny is an IT consultant to a number of rehabilitation organizations in Ireland, Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States.

Larry Acker
Board of Directors

In 1991 Mr.Acker Founded Advanced Conservation Technology Inc. a manufacturer of sustainable technologies, a company that has won several international awards. He is the founding partner of Affiliated International Management LLC, a specialized consulting company on sustainability that provides consulting through a team of affiliates in the United States and around the world focused on water-energy-greenhouse gas issues. His company provides consulting services to the building industry and training for international utilities on environmental concepts to develop sustainably sound buildings. He is a known international speaker on sustainability issues and a member of several Advisory Committees’ on the State, National, Federal and international level.

Mr. Acker is a Director of E-3 Energy, a mentoring group funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy. www.e3energy.org.

He earned a BA from University of California at California State University at Fresno with minors in Business and Geology. For sixteen years he was employed by Sunbeam Corporation and as a VP was involved in marketing and new product development. From 1980—1990 he was a marketing consultant for manufacturers in South Korea, China, Thailand and Japan.

Aaron L. Woods
Board of Directors

Aaron Woods has worked in IT Hardware Services for over 25 years. He is the Director of North America Resellers (NARS) Relationship Management and Partner Programs in the Services Partners and Alliances (SPA) Support group, a part of the Xerox Services (XS) organization.

Some of his primary responsibilities include relationship management between Xerox Services and the North America Resellers (NARS) organization, working with senior staff to assist in developing partner programs and as a certified Lean Six Sigma Sponsor and Green Belt, leading high-level process improvement projects.

Before joining Xerox in March 1996, Aaron held several key services management positions. In 1981 he was recruited by NEC Electronics as National Service Manager to create a network of dealer service providers to support the introduction of their personal computer into the U.S. Aaron has held subsequent service operations positions including Repair Operations Manager at Bell & Howell and as Director of National Service Programs and Training at Intelligent Electronics.

In addition to his responsibilities at Xerox, Aaron participates in several industry leadership roles at the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). As a member of the IT Services and Support (ITSS) Executive Committee, he contributes to helping develop key initiatives that provide value and innovative solutions to issues for all IT Service and Support organizations. He also Chairs the Printing and Document Imaging (PDI+) Certification Advisory Committee and is co-chair of the Ambassadors; a group of dedicated CompTIA members who focus on helping new and current members maximize their CompTIA membership.

An industry high for Aaron was his induction into the CompTIA IT Hall of Fame for his contribution in helping to develop A+ Certification, the first vendor-neutral IT Services Technician certification. Aaron has a BS in Business Management and an MBA from Marylhurst University in Lake Oswego Oregon.