Meet Our Leadership Team and Staff

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation is able to fulfill its mission and continue its battle against Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis because of our dedicated leadership team and inspiring staff members. If you would like to join our team and help make a difference, here is a list of our latest career opportunities.

Michael Osso

President and CEO
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The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is the world’s largest public foundation dedicated to creating a world free from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). As CEO, Michael Osso leads the mission and operations of this national organization headquartered in New York, New York with offices in 40 locations across the U.S.

 

Michael began his association with the Foundation in 2013, when he joined the senior leadership team as Chief Business Development Officer, driving significant revenue growth. He was named president and CEO in August 2015.

 

Michael is deeply committed to the mission of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and has focused his efforts on ensuring the Foundation plays the essential role of leader, convener, and innovator for the IBD community. Working with hundreds of dedicated staff and thousands of volunteers, under Michael’s leadership the Foundation has introduced a number of transformational initiatives aimed at accelerating innovative IBD research and advancing patient advocacy and care. 

  • In 2017 the organization launched IBD Plexus®, a groundbreaking effort that facilitates pioneering partnerships with researchers and leverages data and biosamples collected at diverse research sites across the country. IBD Plexus provides academic and industry investigators with expedited access to research-ready datasets and samples, in order to speed treatment development and enhance the care of people living with IBD.  
  • In a quest to accelerate the development of new products for Crohn’s and colitis patients, in 2018 the Foundation launched IBD Ventures, a venture philanthropy mechanism with a goal of supporting and speeding product discovery and development.  
  • In 2019 the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation launched an organization-wide Diversity & Inclusion initiative whose aim is to develop and implement strategies and practices to support a diverse and inclusive staff and volunteer base, that are reflective of the diverse community of IBD patients.

Since graduating from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Michael has spent his entire professional career advancing the missions of non-profit organizations. Prior to joining the Foundation, Michael spent seven years at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – first as the Executive Director of its New York City Chapter and then as SVP of Revenue at the national office. Before his work in the health arena, Michael was the Executive Director of Careers through Culinary Arts Program, and worked for a variety of cultural organizations, including the Mark Morris Dance Group, José Limón Dance Foundation, and City Center Theater.

 

Allison Coffey

Chief Development Officer
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Alli Coffey, chief development officer

Allison Coffey has spent the majority of her career in the nonprofit health sector. Her experiences have shaped her expertise in fundraising, staff development, financial and operational management, and community engagement.

 

As Chief Development Officer, Allison is responsible for the strategic vision of many of the Foundation’s major revenue campaigns, including peer-to-peer fundraising, special events, individual major gifts, planned giving, and corporate sponsorship. She is inspired daily by the commitment of the Foundation's loyal supporters, and finds tremendous joy in working with funders to align their passions with the Foundation’s mission.

 

Christy DeSantis

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
 

With a penchant for building and igniting brands with purpose, Christy DeSantis is a dynamic, seasoned communications and marketing leader, strategist, talent catalyst, and executive coach, with nearly three decades of professional experience in Fortune 500 and agency organizations.

 

Christy has led the healthcare marketing and communications strategy and implementation for iconic health and wellness brands. Most recently, she served as Practice Lead, Head of Scientific Credentialing, at Lippe Taylor Group, working in partnership with pharmaceutical and consumer wellness brands to build healthcare professional marketing strategies and science-based credentials. Prior to that, Christy held the role of Vice President of Marketing for the B2B healthcare division at Weight Watchers where she managed a team of marketing and communications experts who delivered the brand transformation, go-to-market strategy, and value proposition for B2B corporate client partners.

 

Christy also spent 15 years at Unilever, where she initially focused on driving growth for the Dove brand by scaling its healthcare professional marketing program, and went on to pioneer an entirely new, global health and wellness marketing department to serve eight brands across the personal care portfolio. She has spent her career delivering healthcare provider-based superiority claims, translating science into stories that matter, and partnering with hundreds of key opinion leaders and practitioners at leading medical institutions.

 

Christy combines her dedication to health and science communication with her mission to inspire actionable change. She is deeply invested in personal and professional development, evidenced by her role as a Certified Executive Coach. Christy's engagement extends into volunteerism with various nonprofits, underscoring her commitment to community enrichment and empowerment, particularly for women in business. Christy has been quoted or published in Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, and Time. She holds a Master’s degree in communications from Iona University and a Bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola University Maryland.

 

Sharon Lungrin

Chief Operating Officer
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Sharon Lungrin is an experienced strategy and operations professional with a track record working in health, agriculture, education, venture capital, and consumer goods. Ms. Lungrin is an expert in working with corporations, government, and civil society to build trust and deliver lasting solutions to complex systemic challenges.

 

Before joining the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Sharon held senior leadership positions at Housing Plus, Instituto Xilonen, the Synergos Institute, and the International Network for Public Schools. During her six-year tenure at the Synergos Institute, a US-based international development organization that builds collaborations to address systemic inequities and poverty, Sharon integrated the Operations Team across country offices and program offices to optimize collaboration between program leaders, consulting services, and the philanthropic advisory divisions in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

 

Prior to Synergos, Sharon worked as the COO & CFO of a startup school development organization, was an associate at a biotech venture capital firm, taught English as a second language in Venezuela, and worked with the International Women’s Health Coalition and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization on the 1994 United Nations Conference on Population and Development Conference in Cairo.

 

Sharon is delighted to be joining the Foundation and is looking forward to working with the staff and volunteers to sustain and deepen the Foundation's impact.

 

Sharon was raised in Jamaica and East New York, Brooklyn. She and her family live in the Bronx.

Alan Moss, MD

Chief Scientific Officer

 

Dr. Alan Moss earned his medical degree from RCSI School of Medicine in Ireland and completed his internal medicine and gastroenterology training in Dublin and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Boston (BIDMC). His prior leadership roles include Director of Translational Research at BIDMC, Director of the Crohn's & Colitis Program, and Interim Chief of Gastroenterology, at Boston Medical Center (BMC). His academic roles included Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Medicine at BU School of Medicine.

 

Before joining the Foundation as Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Moss worked with the Foundation in various roles - from being an active member of the Professional Education Committee and the New England Chapter Advocacy Committee to contributing his expertise to Grant Review Panels. Dr. Moss has extensive experience collaborating with industry, from biotechnology start-ups to sponsors of phase II and III clinical trials. He has also led Principal Investigator-initiated trials, held investigational new drug applications from the FDA, and spoken globally at IBD meetings as a key opinion leader. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in academic journals, and his research has been funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the American Gastroenterological Association, and the Helmsley Charitable Trust.


Dr. Moss brings his perspective from clinical and academic practice to support the Foundation's strong legacy in IBD education, support, research, and advocacy. He has worked with many underserved groups with IBD, including unhoused and incarcerated patient populations. His passion for patient empowerment, and appreciation of the diverse mix of patients with IBD, informs his strategy for driving the Foundation’s mission forward.

 

Rohit Suri

Chief Technology Officer
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Rohit joined the Foundation as our chief technology officer in November 2017 bringing more than 25 years of experience leading large, global, cross-functional teams. For the past 20 years, Rohit has specialized in the health IT (HIT) industry developing, delivering, and supporting enterprise software solutions.

 

Prior to joining the Foundation, Rohit served as the Product Line Owner, VP of Product Management at Edifecs Inc, a leading product development organization providing solutions to payors and providers enabling value base care partnerships. Rohit has served in a variety of roles throughout his extensive career, most notably as head of product delivery and operations at Active Health Management, a subsidiary of Aetna Healthcare a global medical insurance provider and healthcare technology company; Director of SOA integration and Eastern U.S. operation at United Healthcare’s OptumInsight, a provider of health information exchange solutions; and director of enterprise integrations and clinical information systems at Montefiore Hospital, a leading healthcare institution in NYC.

 

Rohit earned a Bachelor of Science from M.D. University, India.

 

Laura D. Wingate

Executive Vice President, Education, Support & Advocacy
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Laura Wingate began her career working at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. During her tenure, she advised and implemented quality improvement initiatives, including redesigning the outpatient center focused on streamlining the patient’s experience.

 

Laura worked with pediatric and geriatric centers across the United States, providing professional entertainers through the Clown Care and Vaudeville Caravan programs which expanded dramatically over her eight-year tenure.

 

Joining the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation fulfilled Laura’s career aspirations and her personal desire to make a difference. As the Executive Vice President, Education, Support, & Advocacy, Ms. Wingate oversees patient and professional education, state and federal advocacy, and support programming for the Foundation. Laura is a graduate of the University of Rochester, School of Arts & Sciences, and is working on a certificate in Strategy from Harvard Business School Online. Laura also serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine Gastroenterology Specialty Board and Pace University Design Thinking Advisory Board.