StartUp Health

Unity Stoakes is co-founder and CEO of StartUp Health, a global health innovation ecosystem spanning thousands of stakeholders across 30+ countries focused on addressing major health challenges including Alzheimer's, diabetes, and aging. He operates as a technology investor and strategic advisor working at the intersection of AI, health, and emerging technologies, and maintains a private advisory practice called UNITAS X serving select family offices, investors, and institutions. Stoakes is also a writer and speaker; he publishes StartUp Health Magazine, co-hosts the StartUp Health NOW podcast, and serves on advisory boards for UC Berkeley's NeuroTech Collider Lab and UCSF's DOCSF.

Jennifer Hankin is Chief of Staff at StartUp Health. She brings 20 years of experience supporting executive teams in entrepreneurial settings, with expertise spanning program management, talent acquisition, strategic initiatives, operations, and board management. Her background also includes event planning, investor relations, and social media marketing.

Logan Plaster is Managing Director at StartUp Health, where he works at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship. With more than 20 years of experience spanning journalism, executive communications, and media strategy, he has served as a medical journal editor, built print and digital media brands, and hosted podcasts. His reporting has appeared in Quartz, The Atlantic's CityLab, and Runner's World, and has been recognized with a Sidney Award for long-form journalism; he has also taught as visiting faculty at Columbia Business School.

Nicole Kinsey is VP Content and Partner at StartUp Health. She has experience across marketing, writing, editing, social media, product management, project management, and front-end development. Kinsey is an endurance rider and cat rescuer.

Albert Tzeel serves as Regional Vice President of Health Services for Senior Products at Humana in the Florida region. He is a physician and healthcare executive with experience in managed care, population health, and analytics. His work focuses on resource efficiency, data analysis, and process improvement to support cost-effective care delivery.

Chuck Henderson serves as Chief Executive Officer of the American Diabetes Association. He brings over 20 years of senior executive experience in driving online growth, developing strategic partnerships, and executing business development initiatives across multiple sectors. His background includes expertise in sales, business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, operational restructuring, and market expansion.

An angel investor and chairman of EDventure Holdings focused on nurturing startups in health care, human capital and aerospace, Esther has invested in companies including Facebook, LinkedIn, 23andMe and Evernote and trained as a backup cosmonaut.

Gloria Caulfield serves as President of the Lake Nona Institute and Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Tavistock Development Company, where she develops partnerships supporting health, sustainability, and technology initiatives. She founded and directs the Lake Nona Impact Forum, a global health forum, and previously held the position of Executive Director of Community Development at AdventHealth, overseeing community health investments and employer relations in Central Florida. Caulfield has been involved in fundraising and awareness efforts for health-focused organizations including Shepherd's Hope, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association.

Jamey Edwards is co-founding partner at Alt+J Holdings, a family office investment firm focused on lower middle market companies in services, consumer, healthcare, and traditional industries. He spent his first decade in investment banking and private equity, participating in transactions totaling over $10 billion, followed by 20 years as an operator founding and leading healthcare technology and services companies including Cloudbreak Health, which merged with UpHealth and went public via SPAC in a $1.4 billion transaction. Edwards serves on multiple boards including the American Heart Association and Partners in Care Foundation, and holds degrees from Cornell University.

CEO of Integrated Media Co. and former CEO of AOL and IAC.

Katya Hancock is CEO and co-founder of Young Futures, a nonprofit focused on youth wellbeing and mental health in the digital age that distributes grants to nonprofits and grassroots organizations serving young people and families. Previously, she served as Chief Impact Officer at StartUp Health, where she was a founding team member and oversaw growth of the organization's portfolio to 500 companies across 30 countries working on health challenges including mental health and children's health. Her earlier career included roles at fintech startups that were acquired by Fortune 500 companies and at investment bank CIBC.

Kevin Cammack is the founder of Clickspring Collective and brings pharmaceutical industry experience in strategy and commercialization across product lifecycle, brand development, launch planning, and business development. His background encompasses portfolio analysis, product forecasting, alliance management, and digital product management, with expertise integrating data analytics into business decision-making.

Kim Fisher is Director of Programs at the Innovation Institute for Food & Health at UC Davis, where she oversees the commercialization of food and health research and founded Food and Health Angels, an investment network connecting executives and scientists to early-stage companies. She serves as Research Chair for the Northern California board of Breakthrough T1D and is a Principal at The Galima Group, which develops executive education programs in partnership with UC Berkeley. Fisher previously led The Women's Technology Cluster as Executive Director, founded and served as CEO of AudioBasket (later acquired by EMotion), and worked with the Agency for International Development in Lithuania.

Kimmi Grewal is Vice President of AI Ecosystem Partnerships at Microsoft, where she works with enterprise and startup clients on technology adoption and business strategy. Her role encompasses deal closure, ecosystem activation, and product-market alignment across AI and cloud initiatives. She also serves on advisory boards.

Marie Lotto is Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Insulet Corporation. She brings 20 years of medical device industry experience, with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, strategy development, and licensing. Her background includes leading strategy initiatives and managing enterprise growth through M&A activities.

Meryl Comer is a broadcast journalist and author who has served as co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer's and previously as president and CEO of the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer's Initiative from 2007 to 2019. Her work has focused on early diagnosis, assessment technologies, and disease research, including co-founding the 21st Century BrainTrust and serving as co-principal investigator for the PCORI Alzheimer's Patient/Caregiver Research Network. She is also the author of "Slow Dancing with a Stranger," a New York Times bestseller documenting her family's experience with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, with all proceeds directed to Alzheimer's research.

Peter Kash is Vice-Chairman at Cellergy Therapeutics and associated with Camelot BioCapital. He has held executive positions in venture capital and private equity, with expertise in business planning, medical devices, and life sciences. Kash holds a doctorate in education and has taught entrepreneurship and marketing as a professor for 25 years, while authoring three books, two of which achieved international bestseller status.

Ricco Mendes is a consultant at StartUp Health with over 8 years of experience in strategy, finance, and operations. He has built investment workflows and operational processes, with expertise in financial modeling across SaaS, marketplace, and valuation methodologies. His background includes team scaling and implementation of AI-leveraged operational systems across multiple asset classes.

Robert Gabbay is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and former Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the American Diabetes Association and Chief Medical Officer of Joslin Diabetes Center. He advises corporate boards, startups, and health systems on digital health innovation, primary care transformation, and chronic disease management. His work has been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, CNN, NPR, and The Washington Post.

Robert Oringer serves as Chairman of Locemia Solutions and Co-Chairman of AMG Medical. He is an angel investor focused on medical device and healthcare ventures, particularly those addressing diabetes and independent living, with expertise in strategic business development.

Roger Jansen is Board Chair at Exponential Health and holds a PhD in Psychology with a specialization in neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a licensed clinician with executive experience including CEO roles at early-stage healthcare companies, CHRO and Chief Strategy Officer positions at an $11 billion health system, and founder of two technology-based startups focused on neuropsychological diagnostics and behavioral medicine. His background encompasses strategy development, product innovation, and partnership development across healthcare, nonprofit investment, and clinical research sectors.

Stefano Bini is the Maria Manetti Shrem Endowed Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California San Francisco, where he specializes in hip and knee replacement and serves as the department's Chief Technology Officer and principal investigator of the Digital Orthopaedics Lab. He founded and chairs the Digital Orthopaedics Conference (DOCSF), co-founded the Personalized Arthroplasty Society, and is a board member at StartUp Health, having previously held leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente including Chief of Orthopedics and Surgical Services. He has authored over 90 papers and two books, serves as an editor for Arthroplasty Today and The Journal of Arthroplasty, and advises startups and multinational organizations on digital health strategy.

Sue Siegel has worked as a CEO, venture capitalist, and board member across private, public, and non-profit organizations. She previously served as GE's Chief Innovation Officer, CEO of GE Ventures & Licensing, and CEO of Healthymagination, and earlier was a General Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures focused on Life Sciences & Health. She also led Affymetrix, a genomics company, from a pre-revenue startup to a publicly listed company, and is a Senior Lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Toby Cosgrove is a physician who served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland Clinic and currently holds the position of Executive Advisor at the organization. He has appeared as a speaker and commentator in national media outlets and at forums including the World Economic Forum at Davos and the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Cosgrove has received numerous awards from Cleveland Clinic, been inducted into the Cleveland Medical Hall of Fame and Cleveland Business Hall of Fame, and has been recognized by organizations including Castle Connolly and Modern Healthcare.