MEET THE PLASTICOS FOUNDATION TEAM

LARRY NICHTER, MD, MS, FACS, FAAP

In 1987, Larry Nichter, MD, President and Founder of Plasticos Foundation, began what would become one of his lifelong missions: performing reconstructive surgery and training surgeons around the world in the treatment of congenital deformities, trauma care, burn and hand reconstruction. Consequently, he has worked with humanitarian organizations and undertaken more than 30 missions to countries including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Micronesia, Palau, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam among others. Dr. Nichter has been the trip leader of most of these missions, overseeing the treatment of approximately 3,000 people for whom deformity would have been a life sentence.

Dr. Nichter has been a plastic and reconstructive surgeon for nearly two decades. As a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery, he has received national and international recognition for his surgical skills and compassionate involvement with patients and physicians alike. He has selected by his peers as one of "The Best Doctors in America" by the publication of the same name since 1996. Dr. Nichter is published more than one hundred peer review articles in the field and has completed several fellowships as well as Board certifications from the American Board of Plastic Surgery and American College of Surgeons, including the Special Competency Certificate in Hand Surgery.

JED HOROWITZ, MD, FACS

Dr. Horowitz, Vice President, began his plastic surgery career treating children and performing complex reconstructive surgeries at the University of Virginia where his training included a fellowship in Maxillofacial and Craniofacial Surgery. In 1985 he moved to California and as a member of the cleft palate team at Miller Children's Hospital, Memorial Medical Center, and clinical faculty at the University of Southern California furthered his interest in treating patients with these difficult and unfortunate problems. Dr Horowitz is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and numerous other medical societies and organizations.

His skills and compassion for his patents have been recognized in "Guide to Top Doctors" and "Who's Who in the West" amongst other publications. He has published many peer review articles and has lectured extensively in the field of Plastic Surgery. He has recently became involved in the strategic development of the Plasticos Foundation as well as a trip participant to both provide reconstructive care to needy children and adult patients and train other physicians in parts of the world where these services are most needed.

DENISE CUCURNY, MA

Denise Cucurny, Director of Trip Development, is the trip coordinator for Plasticos Foundation and is an anthropologist whose background is in Biological, Cultural and Medical Anthropology. As the bilingual coordinator, Denise arranges pre-trip and trip logistics, and post trip follow-up. She serves as translator and liaison between the families, patients, doctors, nurses and community volunteers in the host country and has been utilized for site visit feasibility studies for the Foundation. A Professor of Anthropology, Denise has been coordinating missions to developing countries since 1994 and serves as liaison between the host country and Plasticos Foundation. She has lived and taught throughout the world and is expert at forging relationships to assure that things go smoothly for the all-volunteer medical missions.

MARY MCGARRY, MS

Mary McGarry Director of Marketing and Funding, has 15 years of marketing experience with the Walt Disney Company. Mary is responsible for developing initiatives that bring Publicity and Public Relations value to the Theme Parks and Resorts Division at Disney. With key contacts in the corporate and entertainment industries, Mary works to pursue funding for overseas trips taken by the medical teams of Plasticos. Locating these critical resources, cultivating relationships and securing commitments from individuals and corporate donors is Mary's primary responsibility for the Foundation. Prior to Disney, Mary worked in Advertising for Foote, Cone and Belding Agency in Chicago, responsible for the account management of several Kraft packaged goods accounts.

Mary has a Master of Science in Advertising from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from St. Xavier University.

TIM S. GLASSETT, MBA, JD

Tim Glassett, Legal Counsel of Plasticos Foundation, is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Hilton Hotels Corporation and is responsible for the direction and management of the company’s law department. Hilton Hotels develops, owns, manages or franchises 2,000 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties. Its portfolio includes many of the world’s best known and most highly regarded hotel brands, including Hilton®, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Harrison Conference Centers®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Homewood Suites® by Hilton and Conrad ™.

Mr. Glassett previously served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Edison Enterprises; was managing legal officer at H. F. Ahmanson & Company and Home Savings of America, one of the nation’s largest full service consumer banks. Mr. Glassett graduated cum laude from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. He holds a Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor degrees. His law school honors include Senior Editor of the Utah Law Review and Order of the Coif. He recently served as Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Corporate Law Departments Section.

RUTHANN BURNS, BA

Ruthann Burns, Administrator for Plasticos Foundation, has 20 years experience in surgical medical office administration. She facilitates travel arrangements, visa applications, and appropriate immunizations for traveling team members. She is also active in public relations and fundraising on behalf of Plasticos. Ruthann and her husband, Bob, have made numerous site visits to developing countries to evaluate the needs and medical facilities for future trips.

BOB BURNS, PhD, MD, FACS

Dr. Robert Burns, Treasurer of Plasticos Foundation, has been a general and vascular surgeon in southern California since 1982. His training in medicine followed a doctorate in physics at UCLA where he also completed his General Surgery residency. He helped start the Beckman Laser Institute at UCI as an advisor. Dr. Burns has traveled extensively in developing countries, including site visits for future medical missions on behalf of Plasticos Foundation. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Burns has been included in "The Best Doctors in America" by the publication of the same name for several years.

On the Plasticos' trip to the Amazon in November of 2002, Dr. Burns contributed to the 60 surgeries that were performed in only five days. He was instrumental in establishing future contacts with remote jungle villages for the purpose of examining and selecting surgical candidates to be operated on in the next Plasticos mission to the Amazon region.

Bob is active in recruiting credentialed, experienced and extremely qualified medical personnel for Plasticos teams. He also spearheads the donation of surgical equipment and supplies from hospitals and manufacturers of medical instruments. This has resulted in the donation of complete Endoscopic Surgical instrumentation to equip a mobile OR which travels to remote areas of Ecuador and Ultrasound Scanning Machine to the Amazon region.