Healing Arizona Veterans Volunteer Board and Senior Staff
Board Members
Robert Sexton, M.D.
Dr. Sexton has been a resident of Tucson since 1989 where he was in private practice until 2008. At that point, he rejoined the military after an almost 38 year break. Once again a U.S. Soldier, he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan where he was a physician with Civil Affairs and a Field Surgeon attached to a forward deployed unit. In 2009, during his Iraq deployment, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome and was treated with plasmapheresis for the acute phase of the disease. Four years later, he once again began experiencing severe symptoms similar to his prior GBS experience. After neurological evaluation, he was then treated with HBOT, which resulted in a very significant clinical improvement — “a life changer.” Dr. Sexton’s military, medical and personal experience with this therapy gives him a unique perspective as a strong advocate for HBOT.
Richard (Rick) Chimblo, Ph.D.
Rick is a retired geophysicist and active Rotarian. He has over 40 years of experience as a professional, a manager and an executive in the petroleum industry. Since his retirement, Rick has served as President of Rotary Clubs in Texas and Arizona. He has worked on various committees to develop and fund projects to assist the underprivileged children and families of Mozambique, Cameroon, Morocco, Mexico and Guatemala. Rick has used his industry experience to develop financial models and budgets for non-profit groups and Rotary Clubs, successfully registering these entities as 501(c)(3) organizations with the IRS.
Hugo Frausto, Bachelors in Political Science and Business
Hugo was born in Mexico and was raised in Tucson, Arizona. In 2004 he joined the United States Marine Corps where he served for 10 years. During his time as a Marine, he went on 2 combat deployments to Al Fallujah, Iraq and 1 Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to the Asian Pacific. He also served as a Marine Corps Drill Instructor and trained over 500 new Marines. After 10 years of service, he decided to pursue his true passion in the field of finance and obtained a Bachelors in Political Science with a Minor in Business from Arizona State University. After completing college, he accepted a role with Morgan Stanley as a Financial Advisor. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Finance. He is married to his wife of 15 years and together they have 3 children. During his transition from the Marine Corps to his current career he experienced severe symptoms of PTSD. He and his eldest son, who is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, underwent HBOT treatment and experienced significant improvements in their quality of life. He is a volunteer on the Housing Selection Committee at Tucson Habitat for Humanity.
Richard Harris, Retried Army Military Police
Richard was born in Maine and raised in the Azores, and settled in Northern California, where he attended American River Community College. He joined the US Army in 1985 as a Military Police. He deployed to encounters, peacekeeping missions, and operations worldwide. During his military career, he held the following positions First Sergeant, Operations Sergeant, Platoon Sergeant, and Chief of Detectives. He retired from the US Army after spending 25 years serving with the Military Police. Richard attended the University of Washington and became a polygraph examiner with additional Post Sexual Offender Testing certifications. After receiving assistance from Healing Arizona Veterans, he plans to return to the University of Arizona to complete his IT degree.
Benjamin Little, Associate BA
Benjamin was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. He enlisted in both the United States Navy in 1997 and the United States Army in 2002. He served one combat deployment in Iraq from 2007-2008. As a Combat Veteran with PTSD/TBI, Benjamin understands that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a power medical resource that can aid in improving disabilities and improve quality of life. Benjamin is also President of another non-profit organization, Veterans Alternative Medical Procedures. Benjamin is passionate about helping Veterans seek medical treatments and as a Certified Peer Support Specialist, he enjoys educating other Veterans about alternative therapies that help mind, body and spirit.
Matt Riley, MBA
Matt is a Phoenix-area native who graduated from the University of Arizona in 2008. He subsequently took a commission in the Unites States Marine Corps where he served for 7 years as a Communications Officer. During this time, he had the privilege to deploy to Afghanistan with 1st Marine Division, command a platoon with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, and serve as a Company Commander at Weapons Field Training Battalion, Parris Island among many other duties.
Matt currently manages a team of marketers to innovate healthcare technology to better treat venous and peripheral arterial disease at Becton Dickinson in Tempe, AZ. He and his team research the disease-state, understand where new tools are needed, and work with physician-customers to ultimately allow patients to receive better care. Additionally, he leads the business segment’s chapter of the Veterans Associate Resource Group, connecting over 900 employees to veteran-related causes.
The privilege of serving alongside some of the finest warriors the Marine Corps has to offer provided Matt insight to some of the struggles combat veterans can face; both while active duty and following service. Having the experience of working in the business of healthcare has given him a window to see how sometimes the best available therapies can be out of reach to the patients who could benefit the most.
Matt his married to his wife Catherine and has two wild young sons at home, with whom he spends all his free time and energy.
Don Siglin, MBA
Experienced executive with over 45 years of managerial leadership:
- Eight years of work in the electronics industry as a Materials Manager
- Twenty years as a plant manager in the Grain Bin sector of the Agricultural industry, final duty was VP of a division
- Twenty years as a Sales Engineer for an environmental system for the oil and gas energy industry.
- Mechanical Engineering Degree from Iowa State University MBA from University of Illinois.
- ROTC Commissioned Officer in the Corps of Engineers.
- Two years active duty with one year in Vietnam.
Gene D. Smith, MBA
As an IT Project Leader with over 15 years of experience managing high performance IT and audit teams for US and global projects at the US Agency for International Development, Gene earned Earned an MBA, a PMP and an ITIL Level 3 Certification. Gene’s current work includes leading teams of engineers in OT for the US Agency for International Development in Washington, DC. Career highlights include managing the activities of high performing audit teams that evaluated cost compliance for global wide programs in eliminating infectious childhood diseases in Africa as well as directing audit teams that evaluated designated programs to determine if they positively contributed to the strategic objectives of the agency.
Marc Snow
Marc is a retired Director from Raytheon Company with 32 years experience as a professional and manager in the Defense industry. During his career and in retirement, Marc has served as President of a Rotary club and is currently a Rotary Assistant Governor for the northwest Pima County region. Marc serves on the Board of the Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona. As past development lead of various non-profit organizations, he brings years of non-profit fundraising and project management experience to the HAV mission.
Chandra Au Walker, MBA
Chandra was born on an Army base in Nuremburg, Germany and raised in Hawai’i. She has four generations of military service in her family and her children aspire to be the fifth. Her spouse has been serving in the military for past 18 years. She has had nearly 15 years of Finance/Accounting experience and 5 years with military, non-profit organization.
Chandra is currently employed by Schwinn Hardware and has had different roles; Finance, Customer Service, Online marketing, Sales, and other activities. She graduated from Stevens-Henager College in 2014 with a Master’s in Business Administration with an emphasis/minor in Asset Management.
Senior Staff
Sa’ad J. Allawi, MBA
Strategy and Operations Officer
Mr. Allawi is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Performance Logic Inc. He has 35 years experience in consulting, 20 of those to healthcare organizations in various capacities. Prior to co-founding Performance Logic, Mr. Allawi led Nextera’s healthcare practice. Before that, he built and was the chairman of William Mercer’s healthcare provider practice. Prior to that, he built and was the director of APM’s Operations Improvement program. In addition to healthcare, Mr. Allawi worked in other industries. He was the Director of Business Development for AI industries and worked for McKinsey and Co., where he was a consultant to Fortune 100 companies and public sector organizations. He was an engineer with CA Parsons, the turbine generator manufacturers, and a section leader for MW Kellogg, petrochemical design engineers. He served on the Advisory Boards of a number of Healthcare Service and Technology companies and the Private Sector Development in Iraq for the CPA. He was a prior president of Oro Valley Rotary and Board member for Healing Arizona Veterans. He is an extensive public speaker on management and the Middle East.
Carol Henricks, M.D.
Medical Officer
Dr. Henricks has been a practicing neurologist in Tucson, Arizona, since 1999, focusing on coordinating all the best traditional and alternative therapies to optimize patient outcome. In 2004, she added the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as an adjunctive neurological therapy for my patients as part of a complex neurological recovery program. Her private practice is dual: hyperbaric oxygen therapy and neurology. TBI is a focus of her work with our military veterans. Dr. Henricks is the Medical Director of Healing Arizona Veterans. As a regular writer for the blog, she discusses HBOT as an effective treatment for TBI, the misdiagnoses of PTSD that can lead to unnecessary medication, and the hard-won triumphs over TBI and PTSD. She believes it is a tremendous honor to work with our servicemen and women, helping them recover and to improve their quality of life.
Timothy Marshall, Ph. D.
Science Officer
Timothy M. Marshall, Ph.D. is a neuropharmacologist and nutritional biochemist with a passion for natural approaches to healing and nutrient therapeutics. Dr. Marshall earned his doctorate in Medical Pharmacology at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine with a minor in medicinal chemistry and toxicology, and has a Bachelor’s in biochemistry and a Master’s in organic chemistry. He is on the board of Healing Arizona Veterans, and is the author of the landmark publications, “The Next Generation in Brain Recovery and Neuroregeneration” (2017), and “Lithium as a Nutrient” (2015) in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
Website: http://www.dr-marshall.com
Sid Norwood, Fire Science Degree
Veterans Outreach – Phoenix
Sid was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1966 and served two tours in Vietnam 1967 to 1969. He joined the Phoenix Fire Department in 1974, became a Captain, and served for 30 years until he retired in 2003. Sid was also President of a charitable organization, Wind & Fire Motorcycle Club, that raised over $1,000,000 to assist children who are burn victims. Today, he enjoys helping Veterans and Fire Fighters who seek hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Jennifer Vasko, B.A., A.A.
Marketing Officer
Jennifer Vasko is the Principal/Creative Director for 26 Point 2 Designs, a Tucson-based design agency that helps startups and small businesses increase their online presence through effective marketing strategies including rebranding, business-branded solutions, and website development and design. With almost 2 decades of design experience, Jennifer is the recipient of five National Awards from GDUSA for her website work. A former Los Angeles television and film production manager, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Berry College (Georgia) as well as an Associates degree in Advertising Art from The Art Center Design College (SUVA) in Tucson, Arizona. In addition, Jennifer is the Senior graphic designer for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona.
Jennifer keeps active by racing in triathlons and volunteering her time with local non-profit organizations.
