OUR FOUNDATION

Deborah serves as Executive Director of RTW Charitable Foundation and is responsible for leading the foundation and executing on its strategic mission to improve opportunities for all people to live healthier, longer lives.

Prior to joining RTWCF, Deborah Slipetz was at Merck and has 30 years of experience as a drug hunter scientist and executive leader in the pharmaceutical industry. She was part of the team that invented Singulair^TM for asthma and has brought an additional 25 drug candidates into clinical trials. Deborah has broad depth and breadth of experience in drug discovery across multiple therapeutic areas. She recently served as Executive Director In-Vivo Pharmacology responsible for cardiovascular, diabetes, neuroscience, infectious diseases, respiratory, immunology and oncology therapeutic areas. Her core biology expertise lies within the respiratory and immunology area, where she held the position of therapeutic area lead.

Deborah most recently co-founded and served as the executive director of imagine@Merck, a transformative innovation engine that attracts thinkers and doers who seek to challenge the status quo by providing the framework to unleash and amplify their ingenuity to amplify change. This business unit served as a platform for employees to communicate and collaborate to drive change and identify solutions to pressing issues not only in drug development, but enterprise-wide. Her team was recognized by “Fast Company” in 2020 as one of the most “Innovative Teams”.

Deborah has a B.Sc. in cell and molecular biology, a M.Sc. in molecular genetics and a Ph.D. in pharmacology, all from McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Nate Pelsma serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the RTW Foundation and the Managing Director for Communications and People for RTW Investments where he is responsible for the operations for the Foundation and leading communications and organizational development initiatives for RTW.

Prior to RTW, Nate has spent the past ten years as CFO and COO of JMG, a youth workforce development organization, and Teach Plus, a national teacher leadership organization. He taught for eight years as an adjunct professor of nonprofit management at the Carroll Graduate School of Management at Boston College. Prior to working at Teach Plus, he was an economist for Analysis Group. Nate started his nonprofit career at City Year where he managed national corporate partnerships. In addition, prior to joining the RTW team, Nate served as an independent board director for RTW’s private funds. Nate has an MBA from Boston College and a BA in English from the University of Kansas.

Sarah serves as Alliance Manager and Patient Care Coordinator for RTW Charitable Foundation where she is responsible for institutional partnerships and patient support. She will also support with humanitarian grants and community initiatives.

Prior to joining RTWCF, Sarah Garwood worked in international development and grants management, most recently at World Connect, a micro-grant giving non-profit focused on community-led economic, education, and health initiatives. Sarah worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), researching nature-based solutions for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. At Jesuit Refugee Service South Africa, she worked with refugee and asylum-seeking women, highlighting their stories and designing a sustainable communication strategy for the organization. She also lived and worked in Belize City, Belize for two years, managing youth development programming at an all-boys high school with Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

Sarah holds her M.A. in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University, where she was an Arrupe Fellow, and a B.B.A. in Business Management, International Business, and Theology from Villanova University. More recently, Sarah completed a certificate in Global Mental Health: Trauma & Recovery through the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.