Board of Directors

Howard Forman (President)

Mr. Forman started as a studio musician at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios where he learned the fine points of collaboration, communication and people thinking in lockstep to create something greater than any one participant. Moving to production and consulting for multinational companies and broadcasters, he seasoned his skills in direct, thoughtful communication through technology and media. For the past twenty-five years, Mr. Forman has been the Owner of Visual Music GKI and has been the creative producer of multimillion-dollar international marketing campaigns. He is also a two-time Genie (Canadian Academy Award) nominee. Giving back, serving the CLL community in any way is now his passion.

Howard Soroka, MS (Chairman)

Mr. Soroka received a bachelor’s degree in music and a Master of Science in Computer Science from North Texas State University. Formerly he was the Director of Product Development for Philips Media and the Vice President of Media Technology for Universal Music Group. Currently, he is the founder, President and CEO of Little Engines Group, Inc., an Internet startup developing new communication paradigms for Internet-based knowledge exchange. Mr. Soroka shares a personal interest in ensuring that patients with major health challenges are given the best information and opportunities.

William L. Cunningham-Corso (Treasurer)

Mr. Cunningham-Corso is the President of Cunningham Development Company, Inc. (CDC), a Los Angeles based, family owned real estate development and property management company known for its focus on federal government agency projects and overall value creation. The company has offices in San Mateo, Palos Verdes, Spokane and Dallas.

Founded in 1988, CDC has been the lead investor, developer and operator in numerous multi-million dollar projects and has a successful track record in urban development and government agency buildings. Mr. Cunningham-Corso has significant Build-to-Suit (“ground–up”) development experience especially with user- oriented projects with complex tenant improvement requirements.

Mr. Cunningham-Corso entered the real estate business in 1979 after obtaining his California Real Estate License and has been actively involved in real estate and related businesses ever since. The company has had successful dealings with retailers such as Starbucks, Burger King, Subway and Wells Fargo Bank. He is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and a member of ULI and ICSC. He has served on numerous non-profit Boards and is married with two children. Mr. Cunningham-Corso resides in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. He enjoys bike riding and living near the ocean and spending time with his family.

Sandy Bihlmeyer, MEd

Ms. Bihlmeyer received her Master of Education in Community Counseling from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She worked the first 13 years of her career in mental health and social services in a variety of settings and organizations including those serving victims of domestic violence, adults with mental illness, and children with varying needs. She then moved into the area of continuing medical education (CME) for primary care and family medicine healthcare providers and has spent the last 20 years in this field. She is currently the Senior Project Manager at the National Association for Continuing Education (NACE), an accredited provider of continuing medical education. Ms. Bihlmeyer is originally from Ohio, has lived on both the east and west coasts, and is happily back in the Midwest. In her free time, she likes to cook and invent recipes, and Midwest weather allowing, she likes to garden, camp, and be outdoors.

Steven Bloom

Steven Bloom is a seasoned executive with 35 years of experience across multiple health care business models. Steve started his career at Eli Lilly and Company where he worked in many senior level roles including PROZAC USA Marketing Leader and Executive Lead in Corporate Affairs which included patient advocacy and allied development. Steve left Lilly to help start up companies Inflexxion (addiction services) and Pharmetrics (health outcomes and patient level analytics) build and scale their business models as the executive responsible for Commercial Planning, Corporate Development and Corporate Strategy. Pharmetrics was subsequently acquired by IMS Health in 2005. Steve joined ZIOPHARM Oncology (ZIOP) as SVP of Corporate Development and Commercial Planning and led the effort to build a business in both the sarcoma and lymphoma disease areas. Most recently Steve served as Chief Strategy Officer at VERASTEM Oncology (VSTM) where his team led the effort to acquire duvelisib which was approved by FDA in September 2018 for CLL and FL. He led the early buildout of the company with a laser like focus on creating a world class medical affairs and patient advocacy team. Steve is currently advising two early stage oncology companies (VAVOTAR Life Sciences and Vigeo Therapeutics) with strategic planning and development. Steve graduated from Northeastern University College of Pharmacy in 1984 and has been an American Cancer Society Road to Recovery driver since 2008.

Robert Levis

Mr. Levis is a graduate of Grove City College (BS ’73) and the University of Illinois (MS ’75). His professional career includes 32 years with Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., including 22 years on overseas assignments in Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore where he was VP/GM of the company’s largest division in Asia. Following retirement from Air Products, Mr. Levis also worked for ABEC (bioreactor manufacturer) as director of business development in Asia and now consults for Asia & Brazil Connections, LLC.

Mr. Levis was diagnosed with chronic lymphocyctic leukemia (CLL) while on his executive business assignment in Singapore in 2002. Following several years of treatments through remissions and relapses, Bob’s CLL became more aggressive. Without any other treatment options, he enrolled as one of the early experimental CAR T patients in 2013 at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. The first CAR T procedure put Mr. Levis’ CLL into complete remission for three and a half years. He had a second CAR T while on ibrutinib at Penn Medicine in 2017 and his CLL is now minimum residual disease and stable on ibrutinib.

In addition to his board commitment to the CLL Society, Mr. Levis is on the Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Leadership Council at Penn Medicine. He is also active with the biopharma industry and university research hospitals on patient advocacy initiatives and new CAR T science business development.

John Pagel, MD, PhD

Dr. Pagel is Chief of Hematologic Malignancies and the Director of Stem Cell Transplantation at Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Pagel earned his BA in biology and his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics from the University of California. He then received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine where he graduated magna cum laude. Following his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, he went on to do his oncology fellowship at the University of Washington.

He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award, the Lymphoma Research Foundation Career Development Award, the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award and the American Society of Clinical Oncology Career Development Award. He has been the Principal Investigator on multiple awarded NIH grants including a K08, four RO1 grants and two R21 awards. Moreover, he has led projects on three major NIH Program Project grants for over a decade and serves as a Core Principal Investigator on two other Program Project Grants.

Dr. Pagel’s research interests include the development and discovery of novel therapeutics for the treatment of blood cancers, including lymphomas and leukemias, and his research has resulted in over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Keith J. Watson, PhD

Dr. Watson is the founder of Practivist Investors, LLC.

Previously he served as vice president for Core R&D at Dow Chemical Company. He oversaw a broad portfolio of corporate research programs and world leading innovation capabilities that enable technology development across multiple key market segments.

Dr. Watson’s passion for CLL derives from his role as patient advocate for his family member, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2014. He brings a unique mix of scientific and financial background to the CLL Society.

Dr. Watson was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada, and received a BSc degree in chemistry from Mount Allison University in 1997. He moved to the US to attend graduate school and received MS and PhD degrees in chemistry from Northwestern University in 1998 and 2001, respectively. He received the prestigious CFA charter in 2011.

Brian Koffman, MDCM, DCFP, FCFP, DABFP, MSEd (Member at Large)

Dr. Koffman, a well-known doctor, educator and clinical professor turned patient has dedicated himself to teaching and helping the CLL community since his diagnosis in 2005. Dr. Koffman believes that his dual status as a physician and patient provides a unique experience and understanding which allows him to provide clear explanations of complex issues and to advocate for his fellow patients and inform his fellow healthcare providers. This is especially important in view of the rapidly changing therapeutic landscape. Besides his medical degree, Dr. Koffman has a Master of Science in Medical Education. Dr. Koffman is also a retired family doctor, a retired clinical professor in family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, USC, and the former medical director of the nonprofit medical educational organization, Primary Care Network. Dr. Koffman co-founded and serves as the Chief Medical Officer and EVP of the CLL Society Inc.