Staff - Biographies

Frances Verter is the founder and day-to-day manager of both this website and the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation.  She started her career as a research scientist, earning a B.S. in physics from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University.  Her life changed course unexpectedly when her daughter Shai was diagnosed with cancer.  This website has other pages which tell  Shai's Story and the Story of her Donor.  As Shai's mother, Verter learned about cancer protocols and nursing procedures in order to take better care of her child.  After Shai passed away, Verter had two more children and banked their cord blood privately.  This website was founded in 1998, and the Foundation was incorporated in 2007.  Frances Verter supports both public donation and family banking of cord blood, depending on the options available to the expectant parents and their family history.

Stacey Viera has established her expertise in communications through a variety of roles in the Washington, D.C., policy arena – as a food industry spokeswoman, Capitol Hill press secretary, public affairs agency account executive, and currently, at the helm of Best Light Communications, LLC.  Stacey is working with The Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation in the areas of public relations and advocacy communications.

Stacey’s primary expertise lies in media relations — including strategic planning, writing and submitting opinion editorials, and securing top-level reporter meetings and media placements.  She has earned coverage for clients in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CQ, The Hill, Roll Call, Politico, Bloomberg, NPR.com, and other publications.

Shai Verter, the spirited child in whose memory the Foundation was established, continues to be one of the greatest influences in Stacey’s life.  Shai taught Stacey to fight for what she wants, never settle for less than she deserves, to maintain a positive attitude and then fight some more.