Board of Directors

Marvin J. Slepian, MD

Marvin J. Slepian, M.D. is Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Director of Interventional Cardiology and Director of the Tissue Engineering Lab at the University of Arizona. Dr. Slepian has founded numerous medical device companies, including Focal (NASDAQ-traded, acquired by Genzyme), Endotex, Angiotrax and Hansen Medical, and has served as acting CEO and Board Member of several medical device startups. Additionally, Dr. Slepian has conducted extensive research, development and pre-clinical investigation of novel cardiovascular therapeutic methods and devices.

Dr. Slepian received his A.B. degree from Princeton University and his M.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at New York University School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital where he was also Chief Resident.  In addition, Dr. Slepian was a Clinical and Research Fellow in the Cardiology Division of the John Hopkins University School of Medicine and participated in a second fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He also received additional post-doctoral training at Washington University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jack G. Copeland, MD

Co-Founder, SynCardia Systems, Inc.
Cardiac Surgery Professor, University of California, San Diego
Former Professor of Surgery, Chief of the Section of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Arizona

 On July 1, 2010, Jack G. Copeland, M.D. joined the faculty at the new Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla. Dr. Copeland began at the University of Arizona in July 1977 and served as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UA College of Medicine until 2010. In 1979, Dr. Copeland performed the hospital’s first heart transplant. A founder and president of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, Dr. Copeland has marked many “firsts” in the two decades since his first heart transplant. They include the first use in the world of a total artificial heart as a “bridge to transplant,” Arizona’s first double-lung transplant and the first U.S. use of a “Berlin Heart” assist device designed for children.

Dr. Copeland received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and an M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine.  Dr. Copeland completed a medical internship at the University of Californa, San Diego (UCSD) and was a Clinical Associate in the surgical branch of the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He completed residencies in general and cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford. 

Michael Garippa

Michael Garippa is the former CEO and President of TandemHeart. He was recruited by TandemHeart in 2002 as a turnaround expert and stayed on as CEO and President. He took TandemHeart from an R&D firm that had lost an aggregate of $50 million and had no commercial sales to a successful company with over $6 million in net income in the past 24 months.

Prior to joining TandemHeart, Mr. Garippa served as CEO and President of Gateway Home Care. In addition, Mr. Garippa was Founder and CEO of Millennium HomeCare and The Prompt Care Companies. His background also includes being National Sales Manager at Omni Medical and Senior Analyst with the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. Mr. Garippa holds a B.A. degree from Rutgers University and a master's degree from New York University.

Thomas K. Cox

Thomas K. Cox is a Founder and Managing Director of Seneca Partners, Inc. Mr. Cox has more than 25 years of private equity and venture investment, executive management and legal experience in Fortune 500 and small business settings. He oversees numerous Seneca portfolio companies in the healthcare and life sciences industries. Mr. Cox previously served as President of White Pines Ventures, L.L.C., a venture capital and mezzanine firm based in Ann Arbor, MI. He also held executive positions with Peiser's, Inc., a private-equity backed distributor of home medical supplies, CareMonitor, Inc., a venture-backed healthcare information technology firm and Baxter Healthcare Corporation. Mr. Cox began his career as an attorney with Sidley & Austin in Chicago. In addition to his professional activities, he currently serves as Chairman of Special Olympics Illinois. Mr. Cox received a B.A degree from Williams College, a J.D. from Boston College Law School and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Harry George

Harry George is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Solstice Capital. Prior to co-founding Solstice Capital in 1995, Mr. George was Co-founder, Director, and Vice President of Finance for Interleaf Inc. During this time, Interleaf, a pioneer in electronic publishing, grew to be a publicly traded company with $100 million in annual revenue. Prior to this, Mr. George was a Co-Founder, Director and Vice President of Finance of Kurzweil Computer Products, subsequently purchased by Xerox Imaging Systems. Mr. George has been a Director of a number of private and public companies and is currently a Director of AmpliMed, Lumidigm, High Throughput Genomics and Medipacs. Additionally, Mr. George is a member of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and serves as an advisor to the Arizona Center for Innovation. He received an A.B. degree from Bowdoin College.

Mark C. Goldberg, M.D.

Mark C. Goldberg, M.D., is a practicing cardiologist with a specialization in Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Goldberg is also an active consultant to a number of large pharmaceutical companies, and serves on the Board of Directors of a number of companies. Dr. Goldberg received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Georgia and an M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Goldberg completed his medical residency and cardiology fellowships at the University of Arizona. 

J. David Mackstaller

J. David Mackstaller is the Co-Founder of Anthem Equity Group, Inc., a Tucson real estate and business development company founded in 1991. Mr. Mackstaller founded the Schomac Group, Inc. and National Self Storage. Schomac Group owned and developed more than 4,000 apartment units and various commercial properties, including the Tucson Automall. National Self Storage grew to a 90 facility chain which had locations from Portland, Oregon to Boca Raton, Florida. Mr. Mackstaller was the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 (PETsHOTEL).  Mr. Mackstaller holds a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan Law School.

Mark Schlossberg

Mark Schlossberg is the Managing Principal of Southwest Value Partners. Mr. Schlossberg has extensive experience in financial management and structuring complex financial transactions. Mr. Schlossberg has overseen the day-to-day operations of Southwest Value Partners for the past 18 years and over that time has been responsible for the acquisition and subsequent disposition of over
1 billion dollars in real estate.  Mr. Schlossberg earned his B.A. degree in Accounting at the University of Arizona and, prior to joining Southwest Value Partners in 1991, had nine years previous experience as a CPA.

Mark Solon

Mark Solon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Highway 12 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in high-growth, entrepreneurial companies in the Intermountain West. With over $100 million under management, Highway 12 is Idaho’s largest venture capital firm. Mr. Solon is a Director of multiple Highway 12 portfolio companies as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association. Prior to Highway 12 Ventures, Mr. Solon was a General Partner at Atlantic Capital Group, a private equity firm in Boston. Active in the Boise community, he is a member of Boise State University's College of Engineering Advisory Board and currently serves on the Idaho Business Coalition for Education Excellence and the Board of Directors of the Idaho Hockey Foundation. Mr. Solon received his B.A. degree from Lehigh University.