Our Leadership

As Interim President and CEO, Judith provides executive leadership to staff and works closely with the Board of Directors to set strategic priorities.

Judith began her career with a national healthcare law firm. Subsequently, she served as the Compliance Officer for several integrated healthcare systems, where she designed and implemented compliance programs and worked closely with government regulatory agencies. Judith has extensive experience with regulatory matters involving the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act. She is certified in healthcare compliance and a long-standing member of the Florida Bar, the Health Care Compliance Association, and the American Health Lawyers Association. Judith has a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, a Master of Public Administration with a specialty in Health Care Planning, Policy and Administration from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from SUNY at Buffalo.

Steve is a certified public accountant with over 20 years of financial, operational, and audit leadership experience. As Chief Financial Officer, Steve is responsible for providing financial control and oversight to ensure TAF is an excellent steward of donors’ philanthropic support.
Steve began his career in 1992 at Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), one of the world’s largest professional services firms, as part of its audit and consulting practice. During his seven years with Price Waterhouse, Steve worked extensively in the healthcare industry with nonprofit healthcare systems. From 1999 to 2003, Steve led the internal audit team at Harcourt, an educational publishing company later acquired by Reed Elsevier. In 2003, Steve joined the management team at Rotech Healthcare, the third largest provider of durable medical equipment in the U.S. At Rotech, Steve served in numerous leadership roles including Vice President of Internal Audit, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. In 2014, Steve left Rotech to start Simply Mobility, a provider of mobility and accessibility equipment. Steve sold Simply Mobility in 2016 and joined the leadership team at TAF. Steve has a CPA and a Master’s in Accounting from Florida State University.

As Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy, Gerald is responsible for increasing long-term corporate funding and large donations to help cover out-of-pocket costs of treatment for underinsured individuals living with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases.

Gerald has 16 years of pharmaceutical commercial experience and more than eight years of experience in nonprofit business development. A native of New Jersey, Gerald graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts. He began his pharmaceutical career with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 1997. After GSK, Gerald spent over 10 years at Sepracor, which later became Sunovion Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Sunovion, Gerald held several leadership positions in the sales and corporate departments, including Specialty Representative, Hospital Representative, Managed Care Account Manager, District Business Manager, and Leadership Development Manager.

Danielle Vizcaino is an accomplished operations leader with nearly 15 years of experience. As Senior Vice President of Operations, Philanthropy, and Communications, Danielle manages and directs daily operations and is responsible for leading TAF’s operations strategy and overseeing program management, claims administration, call center operations, communications, and philanthropy functions. Danielle prioritizes developing and implementing efficient operations to meet TAF's evolving needs.

Before joining The Assistance Fund, Danielle was the Director of Operations at a large-scale call center at One Call Care Management. She previously worked as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at the Florida Department of Health, where she led research projects in mycobacteriology and coordinated applications for grants in workforce competency standardization in a state public health lab. Additionally, Danielle is certified by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, is an American College of Healthcare Executives member, a Healthcare Information and Management Systems member, and is a certified Salesforce Administrator and Lightning Experience specialist. Danielle has a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Microbiology from the University of Central Florida, and both a Master of Public Health and Master of Business Administration from the University of North Florida.

As Vice President of Business Intelligence, John focuses on enhancing TAF’s information technology resources for better security, data visibility, and process improvements. John has nearly 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, with a focus on reporting, business analytics, and information technology. In his previous position at Rotech Healthcare, John developed and oversaw reporting projects that provided increased visibility into operations, allowed for better monitoring of assets, and identified areas for process improvement.

Since joining TAF in 2017, John has improved TAF’s data reporting capability and developed enrollment capacity models that increased the number of patients TAF is able to serve. John plays an integral role in championing system enhancements that allow TAF to provide the highest quality service to patients. John has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Rollins College, a Master of Arts in Social Science Education, and a Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Science from the University of Central Florida, and a Global Information Assurance Certification in Information Security Fundamentals.

Missy Jenkins is a health policy expert and veteran of Capitol Hill, the private sector, and patient advocacy. As Vice President of External Affairs, Missy leads TAF’s efforts in Washington, DC, advocating for public policies that ensure access to clinical care, diagnostic testing, therapy, and treatment at a cost within reach. Missy previously served as the top health advisor to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and acted in lead lobbying positions at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, PhRMA, and PCMA. She helped implement the Medicare Modernization Act and played leadership roles in the passage of legislation to promote biosimilar medication therapies and a uniform national standard for electronic prescribing. Missy has worked extensively on health disparity issues, large-scale health payer issues, prescription drugs, chronic disease management, and issues impacting access to innovation. Missy holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Clemson University.

Linda Howard has over 35 years of law, healthcare compliance and operations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion compliance experience. As Interim Compliance Officer, Linda focuses on compliance oversight to ensure TAF’s regulatory adherence to its Corporate Compliance Program. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Program, chairs the Executive Compliance Committee, and reports directly to the TAF Board of Directors.

Linda has a deep understanding of healthcare federal regulations and laws. She has built effective compliance programs, worked across units at different organization levels and globally, guided leadership through change, and trained front-line staff. In her previous roles, Linda developed policies and procedures, codes of conduct, corrective action plans, and comprehensive compliance training programs for peers, staff, company executives, and boards. Linda also advised and implemented compliance technology solutions to improve day-to-day compliance operations. Linda earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, practiced law at major New York City law firms, and was Senior In-House Counsel for Ernst & Young.