In addition to serving as Chairman of KS&A, a volunteer position in which he served from 2003 to 2010, Robert works in the fields of health care information technology, real estate development and early-stage stategic planning and implementation.
In the health IT field, Robert serves as CEO of Private Access, Inc., a company he founded in December 2006 to commercialize a unique approach to better protecting consumers’ privacy and the accessibility to confidential records. In December 2008, the KS&A Board voted to use the Private Access solutions to help speed researchers’ ability to find better treatments for the medical conditions that KS&A serves. Before Private Access, Robert served as a founding director and principal in a privately-held licensing company that controls a pioneer health care patent. In his capacity as Vice President of Licensing, Robert negotiated licenses for use of the patent with over 30 companies, including some of the largest and most prominent firms in the health care industry, among them Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New York, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan, G.E. Medical Systems, McKesson-HBOC, Merck-Medco, Express Scripts and WebMD.
In the field of real estate development, Robert served as the executive in charge of assembling approximately 30 acres of property in downtown Palm Springs, CA from 19 separate Native American landowners. He negotiated a complex 99-year ground lease, secured approvals from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the City of Palm Springs, and coordinated the pre-development and financing of the $103.5 million Palm Springs Convention Center and attached Headquarters Hotel project. Robert also assembled approximately 20 acres of property valued in excess of $35 million and involving seven separate land parcels and 15 individual owners immediately across from Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. He subsequently negotiated development rights, zoning approvals, financial assistance and other concessions, and received unanimous approval for such rights from the City of Anaheim for a lifestyle entertainment center that opened in May 2008.
Along with his wife, Leah, Robert was the co-founder and president of a digital photography company, for which he was responsible for negotiating license agreements addressing several hundred motion picture properties and related talent clearances with Paramount Studios, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, Hanna Barbara and Turner Home Entertainment for use of these images in the field of consumer photography. He subsequently arranged for financing and coordinated research and development, technology implementation and construction of several award winning, all-digital photography studios, before selling controlling interest in the firm to a multi-national retail photography company.
Robert earned a B.S. degree in Public and International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and an MBA degree with a concentration in marketing and finance from The University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he attended the Ontological Design Course, a multi-disciplinary study focusing on philosophy of language, information technology and the use of computers. Robert was awarded his first US patent in 1983, and currently holds three patents for which he is the sole inventor, and three currently pending patent applications.
Robert is married to Leah Ruth Shelton, and is the father of two children: Adam, born in 1998; and Eli, born in 2005, on Adam’s seventh birthday. Adam was pre-natally diagnosed as 47,XXY, placing him at risk of developing Klinefelter syndrome.
Robert is interested in X and Y chromosome variation because…
For a number of years before learning there was such a thing as X or Y chromosome aneuploidy, I had been thinking about the differences between men and women, and how the fact that we live in a pervasive patriarchal discourse may limit mankind’s potential by constraining a male’s perception of reality as well as inhibiting a woman’s ability to usefully describe what she perceives in words. Thus, when my wife, Leah, and I received a pre-natal diagnosis of 47,XXY for our first child in 1998, one of my first thoughts was that this diagnosis represents an extraordinary gift; and I today believe this more than ever.
Leah and I are blessed with an incredible 7-year old son, Adam, who is 47,XXY, who’s differences we celebrate and endeavor to find ways to help him appreciate and mature, and who’s challenges we face with open eyes and work diligently to minimize or avoid.
For these reasons, in addition to my earlier philosophical musings, I have a deep personal investment in helping to advance research and treatment for all persons affected by X and Y chromosome aneuploidies. I have had an opportunity to meet a significant number of adults and children with these conditions, as well as their families and many of the top reseach scientists, clinicians and educators who work with them, and from these interactions have gained a richer appreciation for the challenges as well as the potential of boys, girls, men and women with these conditions.
I continue to believe that there is reason to celebrate the unique qualities these individuals possess, and am convinced that an organization such as KS&A is essential to serving this population, to address support and education needs as well as to advance a research, treatment and legislative agenda that no individual can do on his or her own.