Who We Are

We represent the 67 million American grandparents who want the best for their grandchildren. Each of us have different backgrounds and life experiences, but we are united by how vaccines changed our lives for the better. The grandparents of America join together to protect our grandchildren at a time of true peril. Our stories have the power to leave a lasting narrative about the value of vaccines.

Our Board of Directors

Arthur Lavin, Founder and Board President

Arthur Lavin is a retired pediatrician and grandfather of four. During his 40 years of practicing medicine, he never turned away an unvaccinated child due to his belief that everyone deserves the best care. He worked with each family to help them understand the benefits and risks of vaccines so that parents could make the best choice for their children. He founded Grandparents for Vaccines to make sure all grandparents, and all those who care for our grandchildren, let America know, we stand to protect them, and keep them from being hurt the way we saw so many children hurt before the vaccines were available, when we were kids. He is the author of two books on parenting: Who’s the Boss? Moving Families from Conflict to Collaboration and Babies and Toddlers Sleep Solutions for Dummies.

George L. Askew, Board Member

George L. Askew, MD is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. He has a longstanding history of innovative work in child and family advocacy and executive leadership and recently served as the President and CEO of the Meyer Foundation in Washington, DC. Prior to this, he held numerous posts in public health and governance, including as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Health, Human Services, and Education for Prince George’s County, Maryland, Deputy Commissioner of Health at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and as the first Chief Medical Officer for the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Jeanette Betancourt, Board Member

Jeanette Betancourt, Ed.D. is a bilingual early childhood and social impact leader dedicated to advancing positive outcomes for children and families. As a former executive at Sesame Workshop, she led research-based initiatives to support families and professionals serving young children. These philanthropically supported efforts addressed emotional well-being, public health, trauma-informed practices, neurodiversity, digital well-being, and more. Most recently, she guided organizational strategy on the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence and emerging assistive technologies in early childhood. She continues to serve on nonprofit boards and advisory groups, providing strategic guidance to mission-driven organizations.

Beth Wain Brandon, Board Member

Beth Wain Brandon is a dedicated community volunteer taking on roles in both the Jewish and general community. She is the past Campaign Chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and is the past Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. She previously served as Allocations Committee chair, Government Relations Committee chair, and Women IN Philanthropy chair. Beth serves on the board of the Mount Sinai Health Foundation and is Chair of Bellefaire JCB. Beth was named a Woman of Achievement by YWCA of Greater Cleveland in 2014. She is also involved with Planned Parenthood and is a past board chair of Recovery Resources.

Sean Clements, Board Member

Sean Clements is the Principal and Founder of SPC Strategies, a communications consulting firm, and a retired Public Affairs/Communications Strategy Officer with the Marine Corps Reserves. He has held numerous leadership positions in communications in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as Senior Director, U.S. Business Unit Communications Leader at Johnson & Johnson and including roles in vaccines at GSK and Sanofi, and corporate affairs and news media relations at Novo Nordisk.

Danielle L. Dunetz, Board Vice President, Social Media

Dr. Danielle Dunetz, D.O., FAAP, is a pediatrician and mother of three. She has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Cornell University. At Cornell, Danielle was a peer counselor and trainer for the University’s peer counseling program. She also served as an officer and writer for Cornell’s first pre-med magazine. She completed her medical training at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and at Albany Medical College, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Danielle is a clinical preceptor for the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has extensive background in public health advocacy via running social media groups and pages.

Allison Girvin, Board Member

Allison Girvin is a Professor at Case Western Reserve University and senior editorial leader with 20+ years of experience at the highest levels of national media, from NBC News to Bloomberg, where she led multi-platform teams. She specializes in high-stakes storytelling for both external and internal audiences, reputation management, crisis communications, and executive visibility.

Our Executive Director

Kimberly Boller, Executive Director

Kimberly Boller, Ph.D., is a nonprofit leader, policy researcher, and strategist committed to improving the health and well-being of families, children, and communities. She is the granddaughter of immigrants to the United States and the mother of a young adult daughter.

Kim has served as Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Director of The Nicholson Foundation in New Jersey, leading systems change in maternal and child health in collaboration with government, philanthropy, and communities. As a Senior Fellow at Mathematica, she focused on research and evaluation to document and understand the impact and implementation of evidence-informed supports in health and early childhood care and education systems. Her studies for government and foundations centered on understanding what works for children and families facing social and economic inequities and translating evidence into action. Kim teaches public health evaluation in the Rutgers School of Public Health’s DrPH program.

Founding Former Board Members

Donna Gaffney, DNSc, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN

Dr. Gaffney is a psychiatric-mental health nurse in Los Angeles, California. She is a psychotherapist and grandmother of five. Donna is an Affiliated Professor at Hunter Bellevue School of Nursing in New York City and previously served on the faculties of Columbia University and the International Trauma Studies Program. She holds master’s degrees from Teachers College at Columbia University and Rutgers University and earned her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a Fellow at Columbia University Journalism School, and an author of academic papers, book chapters, and articles for the lay press.

Teri Mills, MS, RN Emeritus, CNE

Ms. Mills is a retired nurse educator and grandmother in Portland, Oregon. In addition to teaching, she was a nurse and nurse practitioner for two county health departments. A well-known community activist and volunteer, she has served on numerous boards and also participated as a member of the Washington County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) leading multiple COVID19 BIPOC vaccination clinics. Teri received a Faculty Member Award for Excellence in the Pacific Region of the U.S. in 2012 from the Association of Community College Trustees. She was the 2014 recipient of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys Foundation Humanitarian Award. Teri was also recognized as the 2019 Oregon Nurse of the Year by the Oregon Nurses Foundation.

In Memoriam

Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN

Grandparents for Vaccines celebrates the life of volunteer and New Jersey State Leader Robin Cogan. Robin was a wife, mother, grandmother, and school nurse who worked tirelessly and with great passion to protect children’s health. In addition to her career and work with Grandparents for Vaccines, Robin blogged as “The Relentless School Nurse,” where she advocated for vaccination and against gun violence. Robin had a tremendous influence, and the Grandparents for Vaccines Board and volunteer community are indebted to her leadership and contributions to the organization.

About Us