Board of Directors

Dr. Gordon graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University College of Medicine after completing her undergraduate studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. She has experience in internal medicine, emergency room medicine, occupational medicine and rehabilitative medicine and is board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Since 1988, Dr. Gordon has served as Medical Director of Rehabilitation Services at Memorial Hospital of Union County in Marysville, Ohio. Her special interest is with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) since she has experienced TBI recovery both as a physician and as a patient.
In 2008, Dr. Gordon was called to action. Her one year “tour of duty” (2008-2009) included a part-time position at the Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Columbus, Ohio, where she performed second-level screening for the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suspected with traumatic brain injuries. Her experiences with young heroes affected by TBI led to the production of a documentary to educate the military world about the signs and symptoms of the injury and to educate the civilian world about the difficulties with reintegration our heroes were experiencing as a result of their service.

Her documentary entitled, Operation Resurrection, was completed by Patton Productions in February 2013. Benjamin Patton serves as narrator for the film which demonstrates solutions for health care, education, and employment for our returning 450,000 Veterans with TBI. In 2012, Dr. Gordon founded The Resurrecting Lives Foundation which attained 501 (c) (3) status in July, 2012. This non-profit follows through with the solutions set forth in the documentary, promoting collaborative efforts between military and VA resources, and the civilian community. Resurrecting Lives Foundation continues to serve as a voice for our heroes with TBI and the families who struggle to care for them.

Her primary goal in establishing the foundation was to provide educational, vocational and employment opportunities for the more than 60,000 veterans of the OIF/OEF conflicts currently living in Ohio. However the goal has now expanded to providing a national networking community to assist the nearly 450,000 veterans currently affected by TBI.

Christopher Brown, MD, MPH, received his M.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – School of Medicine. He completed his residency and internship at the Ohio State University Medical Center and completed a fellowship in Nephrology at Ohio State. Dr. Brown is board certified in internal medicine with a specialty in disorders of the kidney and hypertension. Prior to receiving his medical degree, Dr. Brown completed a Master of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Public Health Leadership Program with a concentration in health care and prevention.

Dr. Brown is the son of a Vietnam veteran and is a North Carolina native. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio and has a strong history of giving back to the community. His experience with a relative’s battle with traumatic brain injury fuels his desire to support returning veterans with their transition back into civilian life. Dr. Brown’s background and experiences promote his strong sense of patriotism.

Paul Carlson has over 10 years of IT Project Management experience and over 8 years of experience in entrepreneurship in business startups. From 2000 to 2016, he worked for the City of Columbus. He was the city’s first Information Technology Project Manager and facilitated Columbus becoming recognized as the 2015 Most Intelligent Community in the World by the Intelligent Community Foundation. He has a proven track record of completing IT quality projects on time and under budget as a PMP. He also facilitated the 2015 NIST OSU/CAR Global City Team Challenge Autonomous Vehicle pilot and participated in the first phase of the winning proposal for the $40M USDOT “Smart City Challenge”.

One of Paul’s current passions is on “Smart Cities and Sustainability” and he has participated on panel discussions at universities and in Washington DC on topics related to Artificial Intelligence and smart transportation. His leadership roles included positions as President, Vice President, Assistant Director and Director of several successful organizations. At the State of Ohio Treasurer’s Office he researched and executed a surplus optimization strategy for the $2 billion State Lottery Fund where he built up a $100 million surplus. He was an expert on Arbitrage Rebate, helped advise several Ohio municipalities on their fixed income portfolios and he researched and helped to implement Ohio’s investment pool, STAR Ohio.

Paul earned a BA in Political Science (1976) and a MA in History (1978) from Youngstown State University. Paul also pursued an Engineering degree at the US Naval Academy (1969-1971).

Captain Seth Freshly, Ohio Army National Guard, and IT Supervisor at Cardinal Health, joined the RLF Board of Directors in November, 2018, taking on the role of Treasurer. Originally from Northeast Ohio, Seth joined the Army through the United States Military Academy Preparatory School and attended the United States Military Academy. He served with the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan and the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, GA. In 2014, Seth left active duty and relocated his family to the Columbus, Ohio area, where he lives in Gahanna with his wife and four children. Captain Freshly has earned numerous awards, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

At Cardinal, Seth has managed teams to deliver projects and manage IT assets. He volunteers with the Cardinal Health Veterans and Military Advocates employee resource group, and has worked on hiring, retention, and recognition initiatives within the group. Prior to Cardinal, he was an IT project manager at Fast Switch, Ltd.

As Army National Guard Captain, Seth was Battery Commander for Alpha Battery, a field unit of over 100 soldiers based in Delaware, Ohio. His unit, Alpha Battery, participated in the Republican National Convention in July 2016 and in Operation Northern Strike in August 2017. He is currently serving at the Joint Force Headquarters as a guard emergency liaison officer.

Rory Riley Topping is the founder of Riley-Topping Consulting. She provides strategic, innovative and actionable solutions to her clients by utilizing her extensive knowledge of veterans issues, communications strategy, law, and policy from serving in all three branches of government and a national nonprofit. In addition, she also currently serves as a legal and political analyst for Spectrum News 1 Ohio and an opinion contributor for The Hill.
Previously, Rory served as a litigation staff attorney for the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), where she represented veterans and their survivors before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. She also served as Staff Director and Counsel for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs for Chairman Jeff Miller, where she played a pivotal role in helping the Committee investigate and uncover the appointment wait-time scandal in 2014. She also clerked for Chief Judge Lawrence B. Hagel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and served as an Associate Counsel to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans’ Appeals. She also previously served two terms on the Board of Directors for Veterans Bridge Home, a North Carolina-based non-profit that assists veterans in successfully transitioning home after military service, from 2014 to 2019.
In recent years, she has been invited to speak at the National Association of Veterans Program Administrators Annual Conference; The American Legion National Convention; the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association; and the American University Law Review Symposium on the 30th Anniversary of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is also the two-time winner of the Paralyzed Veterans of America National Legal Writing Contest, has published academic articles in several law reviews and journals, and has written opinion pieces for several widely-read newspapers. Rory is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross (B.A., History, 2004), and Quinnipiac University School of Law (J.D., 2007). She is admitted to practice before the U.S Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and is a member of the Massachusetts and New York Bars.
In her spare time, Rory enjoys giving back to her community. She coaches gymnastics for Special Olympics, including as a Team USA World and National Games coach. Rory currently lives in Oakwood, OH, with her husband Richard, who is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served as both an infantry officer and JAG officer, and their two rescued Dobermans, Griffin and Boston.

Jon Giacomin is the chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Segment of Cardinal Health which delivers approximately 25 percent of all medications prescribed in the U.S. each day. The $80.1 billion Pharmaceutical Segment is comprised of 16 businesses that offer a range of services across the entire healthcare supply chain. At the core, these businesses ensure that branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals are delivered to retail pharmacies, hospitals, mail-order facilities, physician offices, surgery centers and long-term and other alternate care facilities. Additionally, these businesses provide a range of critical services such as inventory management, marketing, nuclear compounding, drug manufacturing, reimbursement consulting, FDA consulting, clinical pathways programs and third-party logistics allowing customers to focus on what matters most – patients.

Prior to his current role, Giacomin was the president of U.S. Pharmaceutical Distribution, where he was responsible for the business consolidating pharmaceuticals from hundreds of manufacturers into site-specific deliveries to health care points of care. Previously, Giacomin was the executive vice president of Pharmaceutical Operations, where he was responsible for efficient and responsive warehouse operations at 22 distribution centers and pharmaceutical repackaging operations. He also held the role of senior vice president of inventory management for the Healthcare Supply Chain Services segment, a role he assumed after his tenure as regional vice president and general manager for the Pacific Northwest region of the company’s Pharmaceutical Distribution business. Giacomin joined Cardinal Health in 2001 as vice president and general manager of its Pharmaceutical Repackaging business.

Prior to joining Cardinal Health, Giacomin held engineering roles with Griffith Micro Science, Sterigenics and the
U.S. Navy.

Giacomin currently serves on the Cardinal Health Foundation Board and as the executive sponsor of the Cardinal Health Veterans and Military Advocates employee resource group and the Cardinal Health University of Notre Dame College Relations recruiting program. He is a member of the executive committee and serves on the board of directors for the Healthcare Distribution Management Association and serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a master of business administration from the University of Chicago.

Skylar Burgess is a Managing Director for Strategic clients in Deloitte’s Central region. He serves as the Lead Client Relationship Partner for Eli Lilly and Cardinal Health, responsible for representing the Deloitte firm to these two strategic clients and the services delivered globally. He has over 30 years of experience in consulting, sales, sales management and business development, and proven experience consulting with CXOs of fortune 500 companies. Skylar is responsible for building business relationships with Deloitte’s top national clients and delivering the firm’s resources to meet client’s diverse business needs and strategic initiatives.

In addition to serving as he Lead Client Service Partner, he also serves Deloitte clients including The Ohio State University, Ashland Chemical, Greif, Inc., Cummins, Inc., and Worthington Industries. He is active in professional activities including being Deloitte’s Women’s Initiative Member and is a Board Member of Junior Achievement of Central Ohio

He served nearly 30 years in the USAF and USAF Reserve, retiring as a colonel. He served in a variety of roles with increasing responsibility culminating as the Inspector General for the 911th Air Wing, Pittsburgh IAP, PA.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Southern Illinois University

Stan Crader was born and raised in Bollinger County Missouri. Coming of age in rural Missouri provided him the material for many of the rich characters in his books. He credits the variety of jobs and the people with which he has worked for providing him his creative foundation. While growing up, his jobs included paper routes, mowing lawns, grocery store carry out, farm equipment set-up, sawmills, and janitor. One learns a great deal about people when they see what groceries they purchase.

After graduating from high school he attended the University of Missouri, where he fully realized the uniqueness of his hometown. He met his wife Debbie at a Missouri / Nebraska football game, in which Missouri won. Stan and Debbie live in the Bollinger County area where they raised three boys and a golden retriever.

Stan is known for the unusual. He once caught a bat at a Cardinal baseball game, he and his wife were invited to the home of Stan and Lillian Musial, he flew the Atlantic in a Cessna, and his grandfather filmed him jumping a creek on a motorcycle.
He’s President of a small family business that sells Stihl chainsaws and power tools. He was once elected city councilman of Marble Hill, the town where he came of age. In that capacity he gained a new respect for those that serve as volunteers in small towns. The mayor he served as councilman was also his former elementary school music teacher, which made for an interesting dynamic.

Proceeds from Stan’s books have always been donated to charitable organizations. Through a mutual friend, Stan was introduced to Chrisanne Gordon and Resurrecting Lives. Moments into his first conversation with Chrisanne, hearing the passion in her voice, and learning of RLF’s prodigious mission on behalf of America’s warriors, the decision to support Resurrecting Lives seemed providential.