Meet the Team.
Nina D’cruze
Nina D’cruze is a kindergarten para-educator at Mt. Lebanon Elementary School. She has worked in the Lebanon School District for nearly 20 years and is an active community member in the Upper Valley. Nina was married to Donel for 23 years, with whom she shared her two daughters, Dina and Tiffany. After Donel’s passing in 2017, Nina was inspired to begin Donel’s House of Hope in her husband’s memory. She is the President of the organization and with the help of her board members, several nurses, and daughters, Nina has worked tirelessly to make Donel’s House of Hope a reality.
Lisa Wesinger, RN BSN OCN BMTCN
Lisa has dedicated her entire nursing career to caring for hematology/oncology patients; specializing in blood and marrow stem cell transplant (BMT). She has a strong passion for BMT, patient advocacy, nursing education and research. Lisa is involved in many patient/caregiver related endeavors including the lead on a qualitative nursing interpretative phenomenological analysis research study creating case studies that tell the lived experiences of patients and caregivers who have undergone stem cell transplant. With the help of generous donations of art and poetry from patients, caregivers, and staff, Lisa created and facilitated the Norris Cotton Cancer Center’s (NCCC) inpatient unit’s permanent art/poetry display, The Walls of Hope. Over the years she and her family have been involved in the NCCC’s biggest fundraising event, the Prouty, held every July. She is the leader for the NCCC’s inpatient/outpatient Indoor Prouty. She loves to walk, hike and spend time with her family and friends. Lisa lives in Vermont with her husband Wayne, their two daughters, Maria and Gabby, and faithful dog, Frankie.
Greg Ogrinc, MD, MS
Greg Ogrinc is the Senior Vice President, Certification Standards and Programs at the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). He provides strategic leadership for the ongoing evolution and implementation of ABMS board certification standards and programming. Before joining the ABMS in 2020, he was the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Professor of Medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute. Dr. Ogrinc graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, residency in internal medicine at MetroHealth Medical Center, and the VA National Quality Scholars Program at WRJ VA. Dr. Ogrinc is the lead author of the Fundamentals of Healthcare Improvement textbook and co-leader of the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) guidelines, a set of publication guidelines for sharing quality improvement work through published literature.
Steve Peterson, M.S.
A long-time resident of the Upper Connecticut River Valley, Steve is a highly-skilled facilitator, teacher, and analyst. He currently works as a senior lecturer at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where he teaches a popular undergraduate elective course in systems thinking and policy design. He also works as an independent consultant, were for the past 20 years he has been involved in a diverse array of projects working with industrial, governmental, and not-for profit stakeholder teams. His current practice focuses on health care policy and on energy and sustainability.
Steve Girdwood
A resident of Lebanon, New Hampshire, Stephen Girdwood has practiced in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont serving businesses and families for over 25 years. He is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University (B.S. 1989) and Vermont Law School (J.D., M.S.L. 1992) and supports his practice with technical degrees in engineering and environmental law. Attorney Girdwood is also engaged in the community working and volunteering time with local and international charities and organizations. He and his wife work with youth at the First Baptist Church of Lebanon, the local community dinner and food pantry, and Attorney Girdwood chairs the Building Committee at the First Baptist Church. He also works on poverty and disaster relief through the Regenesis Project and Hope Force International and has traveled as far as Haiti and Nepal working with international missions. The ability to develop a small town law practice that allows time and resources for ongoing mission related work is considered his greatest achievement.
Christi Hayes
Arthur Walsh
Arthur is a local physician who feels fortunate to have known Donel, Nina, and their daughters for many years since their families met in the early 2000’s when their daughters were taking ballet lessons together in Lebanon.
Active in his church and the New Hampshire Academy of Sciences, Arthur is a retina specialist in private practice in Lebanon, New Hampshire, as well as doing part-time work at the Veterans Hospital in White River Junction. He also participates in other volunteer organizations, such as the Newport Historical Society and the National Society for Preservation of Covered Bridges.
Arthur is pleased to be part of this venture, which is sure to bring great comfort and benefit to many people in the years to come.
Elisabeth Bailey
Elisabeth Bailey is a speech language pathologist who resides in Grantham, NH with her husband and two daughters. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from Syracuse University in 2007 and her Masters of Science Degree in Speech Language Pathology again at Syracuse University in 2013. Elisabeth met Nina D'Cruze in 2014 when she began working at the Mount Lebanon Elementary School where Nina also works. Elisabeth witnessed Nina's journey first hand from the moment Nina learned of Donel's diagnosis while at MLS to when she visited Nina, Dina and Tiffany at their home the day he passed. As the wife of a nurse, she is aware of the important role loved ones have in each patient's recovery and the need for them to be close by. The mission of Donel's House of Hope fully aligns with her desire to promote a community in the Upper Valley that supports those in need and allows families to heal together.
Alicia Brown
Alicia is a physical therapist and personal trainer in the southern NH area, specializing in orthopedics and cancer rehabilitation. She co-owns EnduraFit Training and Rehab, a personal training and physical therapy studio in Hollis, NH, with her husband, Chris.
Alicia first met Nina and Donel during a visit to One West of DHMC during the 2017 Prouty. She was immediately struck by their incredible positivity and the amount of love in the room despite the grave situation. Having been a wife of a stem cell transplant recipient in 2015 herself, she immediately understood the purpose behind Nina's ambition to create Donel’s House of Hope.
Having been in a situation of needing a place to stay while Chris endured long hospital stays and treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, she appreciates the efforts Donel’s House of Hope work is doing to create this incredible facility. Living in southern NH, 98 miles away from DHMC, with two young children at home at the time was a significant challenge. Although staying on a cot in her husband's hospital room was always an option allotted by the staff, she often felt as though she and Chris both would have benefitted from their own spaces.
It is Alicia’s honor to be a part of this group, helping to create a facility benefiting families in similar situations.
Ankush Venkatesh
Ankush specializes in digital strategy and innovative business models in the 3D printing and manufacturing industry. He has spent time in the medical device industry, consulting and product development.
He holds a Master’s in Engineering Management and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering.
He served as a Strategy Research Fellow at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business for two years, which is how he met Nina. He serves on the board of Donel’s House of Hope and is helping to realize its vision.