NMDP Executives

The management team of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) provides the vision, expertise and experience necessary to successfully operate the NMDP and guide us into the future.

Chief Executive Officer

Jeffrey W. Chell, M.D.

Dr. Jeffrey W. Chell, a native of Minnesota and a University of Minnesota graduate, came to the NMDP from Allina Health System where he most recently served as president and chairman of the board of the Allina Medical Clinic, a medical practice of more than 600 health care providers with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. He also served concurrently as the system vice president for clinical services of the Allina Health System.

Chell graduated cum laude from the University of Miami (Florida) with degrees in science and privileged studies. He earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Minnesota and performed his internship and residency at the University of Wisconsin. He earned his boards in internal medicine in 1982. Prior to his roles at Allina, he practiced internal medicine with the United States Air Force and in private practice in the Twin Cities.

Strategic Development Officer

Michael Boo, J.D.

Michael Boo was appointed to the newly created position of strategic development officer in October 2001. He is responsible for identifying and pursuing cellular transplant therapies business activities and developing new relationships within the extensive NMDP Network of national and international partners.

Boo earned a Juris Doctor at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. He is the former vice president of strategic and corporate development for Allina Health System. Prior to a 17-year career at Allina, he worked as general counsel for a real estate development company and as an attorney for a specialty law firm in Minneapolis.

Chief Financial Officer

Gordon C. Bryan

Gordon C. Bryan has been with the NMDP since 1991. He served first as controller and was promoted to chief financial officer in 1994. Bryan is responsible for all financial aspects of the NMDP, including planning and allocation of available resources and overseeing of government contracts compliance. He also manages the finance, contracts, human resources and administrative services departments.

Chief Medical Officer

Dennis L. Confer, M.D.

Dr. Dennis L. Confer began a consulting role with the NMDP as interim medical director in 1991. His title changed to medical director in 1993, and in 1996, he began a full-time appointment with the NMDP. He was promoted to the position of chief medical officer in 1999.

Confer was the director of marrow transplantation at the University of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1996. Currently, in addition to his work at the NMDP, he is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota. He attended medical school and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and performed his fellowship training in hematology and oncology at the University of Minnesota.

Chief Recruitment and Marketing Officer

Claudio Garcia, MBA

Claudio Garcia was appointed to the newly created position of chief marketing and recruitment officer in April 2007. He is directly responsible for overseeing overall corporate marketing activity and donor recruitment efforts.

Before joining the NMDP, Garcia served as the chief marketing officer of Pure Fishing LLC. Prior to that, he held senior marketing management positions with Nestle, Diageo and The Pillsbury Company. During Garcia’s more than 20 years of management experience, he has lived and worked in Europe, the Far East and Latin America. Garcia holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.

Chief Information Officer

Michael Jones, MBA

Michael Jones was appointed to the newly created position of chief information officer in April 2007. He is responsible for leading the information technology department, which is responsible for all systems that support the NMDP’s unique business and technology needs.

Prior to joining the NMDP, Jones served as the chief technology officer of Express Scripts and as the chief information officer of Cigna Behavioral Health. Earlier in his career, he worked as a consultant for several years at Deloitte Consulting. Jones holds an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University, Ames.

President, The Marrow Foundation

Mitchell R. Stoller

Mitch Stoller began working with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) in May 2007 as president of The Marrow Foundation, the fund-raising partner of NMDP. Stoller brings 25 years of nonprofit management and fund-raising experience to the organization.

Prior to joining The Marrow Foundation, Stoller served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), where he established long-range goals and strategic plans to fulfill LAF’s mission: to inspire and empower people affected by the physical, emotional and practical challenges of cancer through advocacy, public health and research programs.

Stoller also served as president and CEO of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Alliance (SIDS), and on the boards of the CJ Foundation for SIDS, Temple Har Shalom, Ridge Sports Foundation and the National Health Council. Stoller holds a B.S. degree from Frostburg State University and M.A. in Philanthropy and Development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.