THE BOARD
Governing Board
Board of Directors
William Zeltonoga, Esq.
Vice-Chair, Board of Directors
Legal Counsel, The Heart Touch Project
Private Legal Practice
Advisory Board
Eric Daar, M.D.
Medical Director, Division of HIV Medicine
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Professor
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Medical Advisor, The Heart Touch Project
Tony Optican, Esq.
Vice President, Freemantle Media North America
Development Advisor, The Heart Touch Project
Dan Oshiro, MA
Vice President for Administrative Affairs,
The J. David Gladstone Institutes
Grants and Funding Advisor,
The Heart Touch Project
Nirbhika Parsani-Moojani
Founder, Kamaya Fashions Pvt. Ltd
Marketing Advisor, The Heart Touch Project
Biographies – Governing Board
René Russo
In addition to being a successful model and actress, René Russo is well known for her philanthropic endeavors and as an advocate for many children’s causes. René is a founding Board Member and the Spokesperson for The Heart Touch Project. Back to photo
Zev Braun
A filmmaker for more than 30 years, Mr. Braun’s work has won the Golden Globe and New York Film Critics awards and has been nominated twice for an Academy Award. Mr. Braun is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, as well as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
His volunteer activities include serving on the Board of Directors for The American Foundation for AIDS Research and the Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute at Georgetown University. Mr. Braun has devoted his fundraising and organizational abilities along with his passion about AIDS-related issues to helping expand the work of Heart Touch. Back to photo
Juliana Bancroft
Juliana Bancroft, an MS in psychology form the University of Oregon, Ms. Bancroft spent 28 years in the hotel and restaurant business. She helped build Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group, Inc., a premier boutique hotel and restaurant company based in San Francisco and served in multiple capacities including Vice President, Corporate Secretary, member of the Board of Directors and Southern California Regional Director. From 1995 to 2006, Ms. Bancroft developed and operated her own hotel and restaurant properties in southern California, including Hotel La Jolla.
Juliana Bancroft was a founding member of the Board of Directors of The Heart Touch Project. Back to photo
Biographies – Board of Directors
Tania Nicholls, CPA
Tania Nicholls is a qualified chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers. She has served the insurance and banking industry as well as not-for-profit entities worldwide and has held positions in South Africa, London, Toronto, Vancouver, Houston, Chicago and now Los Angeles. Her expertise is in the areas of general management, financial accounting, risk assessment, information technology system analysis, and financial reporting. Back to photo
William Zeltonoga, Esq.
An attorney with a background in litigation, securities corporate, and entertainment law, Mr. Zeltonoga provides business and legal counsel to businesses that include Gold’s Gym and Golphology. Mr. Zeltonoga was a Rhodes Scholar and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Joint Staff Commendation Medal for his service in the Army Armor Corps. A strong believer in community service, Mr. Zeltonoga is a volunteer at the Union Rescue Mission and is pleased that Heart Touch can benefit from his legal and business expertise. Back to photo
Amber Sheikh Ginsberg
Amber, an BA in International Relations, has more than ten year’s experience in the nonprofit and public sectors, domestically and abroad. Currently she is the Development Officer at Marymount College. Previously Amber was employed as Development Manager for Children Today in Long Beach and was part of the Development Team at the Downtown Women’s Center. She also worked for the California Assembly in Sacramento; worked with an international economic development non-profit in Washington D.C; and lived in India working for a non-governmental organization that helps women open and sustain coop-style businesses. Back to photo
Judi Bloom, PsyD
Dr. Judi Bloom holds a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Ryokan College and is a Media Psychotherapist with sixteen years experience in private practice. Dr. Judi is an Adjunct Professor at Santa Monica College and the host of “Therapy Thursday,” KLLY-FM Bakersfield. Formerly she was a television news reporter and anchor in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami and New York.
Other community organizations which Dr. Bloom serves include the American Red Cross: Mental Health First Responder, Soldiers Project Mental Health, WLA Chamber of Commerce, Step-Up Women, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Back to photo
Ahmos Netanel, MBA
Ahmos Netanel is Chief Executive Officer of the California Massage Therapy Council and President of Lucrative Wellness Inc., an international spa consulting corporation, and past president of the American Massage Therapy Association. Ahmos received his MBA from USC where he was named Alumni Entrepreneur of the year. Mr. Netanel leads workshops for Business for Bodyworkers and is the former CEO of The Massage Therapy Center, one of the country’s first centers for therapeutic massage. Back to photo
Danielle Bialek Perry, MBA
With more than 13 years experience in marketing and competitive strategy, Ms. Bialek Perry served as a healthcare specialist for a prominent financial services firm. An MBA in International Marketing and Trade, Ms. Bialek Perry has been active as a volunteer for many organizations, including St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica and numerous international projects. She was co-creator of an international business plan on re-purposing biomass waste and has been active internationally in the Rotary Club, participating in a project to share best business practices in South America. Ms. Bialek Perry currently also serves as an altruism chairperson supporting a domestic violence charity in the South Bay. Back to photo
Shawnee Isaac Smith, MFA
Seeing the need for AIDS patients to be touched by the hands and hearts of others, Shawnee Isaac Smith founded The Heart Touch Project in 1994. Since then, she has helped the organization to evolve into an organization that provides compassionate touch to many patient populations that range in age from infants to the elderly. Most recently she has worked to expand Heart Touch internationally.
With a background in public administration and hospital administration, Ms. Isaac Smith has served as a consultant and administrator in a number of health care settings. She holds an MFA in Film from UCLA and is a retired Rolf Practitioner and continues to co-facilitate many of The Heart Touch Project’s training programs. Back to photo
Biographies – Advisory Board
Eric S. Daar, M.D
Dr. Daar is Medical Director, Division of HIV Medicine, at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. To his advisory and educational role with Heart Touch he brings an ongoing engagement in research for new AIDS treatments, wide experience in lecturing before a variety of community groups, and multiple honors for his teaching and warm bedside manner with patients. Dr. Daar was an early advocate of massage therapy to relieve the discomfort of his AIDS patients. Back to photo
Georgia Noble, Ed.D.
A licensed marriage and family therapist with a doctorate in counseling, Ms. Noble specializes in family systems and their impact on the individual. Using her experience in a range of group settings, Ms. Noble helped to design the Heart Touch curriculum and training programs to prepare future volunteers to address the emotional issues that arise in their work. She gains great satisfaction from helping volunteers and, by extension their clients, become connected to a very caring community. Back to photo
Tony Optican. Esq.
Tony Optican currently serves as Vice President of Freemantle Media North America and is in charge of all scripted programming. Prior to joining FMNA, Mr. Optican served as Senior Vice President for the SyFy Channel and as Vice President of Current Programming at Fox Broadcasting Company. Mr. Optican also served as Executive Director of Creative Affairs at MGM Worldwide Television Group where he worked in development and programming for a variety of series. He also launched and/or supervised a number of series, including Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits and The Magnificent Seven. Back to photo
Dan Oshiro, MA
Vice President for Administrative Affairs at the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Dan Oshiro previously served as Administrative Director of the Burns and Allen Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. As Vice President of Grants and Contracts at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, he set up that facility’s first grants and contracts office. Mr. Oshiro is a founding board member of The Heart Touch Project and he has been eager to use his professional experience to help find and develop funding opportunities as well as initiate groundbreaking research in the field of touch therapy. Back to photo
Nirbhika Parsani-Moorjani, MBA candidate
Nirbhika is completing her MBA at the Stern Business School at New York University. In her native India, she carved a niche for herself by leading Kimaya Fashions Pvt. Ltd. from a start-up to a marquee operating business. She launched retail stores in India, the United Arab Emirates and, most recently, in the United States. Today Kimaya is India’s largest multi-designer luxury and fashion house. Back to photo
