Academy Board of Trustees

CHAIR
Steven Ziemba, PhD, MBA, CIP, CCRC, CPI, ACRP PM, FACRP, is the Lead IRB Reviewer and Assistant Professor in Healthcare Administration for Northcentral University, an accredited and nationally regarded online university.  He is also the founder and principal of Research Site Consult, LLC, a consulting business for healthcare organizations involved or interested in clinical research.  Mr. Ziemba holds several graduate degrees and professional designations, including a PhD in Healthcare Administration, MS in Biomedical Science and MBA with a concentration in Pharmaceutical Industry Studies.  Additionally, he is certified as a Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC) and Principal Investigator (CPI), a Certified IRB Professional (CIP), Fellow of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (FACRP) and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).  In addition to his work, Mr. Ziemba is an active volunteer of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals, working with the association as it strives to enhance the quality of clinical research.  Among other activities, he has served on the association’s Board of Trustees, including as its 2016 Chair.

VICE CHAIR
Robert O’Connor, CCRA, ACRP-CP, FACRP, is a senior clinical scientist in The Procter & Gamble Company’s Baby, Feminine, and Family Care BioSciences Department. He has a BA in Biology from Drew University in New Jersey and a master’s degree in Biology from The University of Cincinnati. Before joining Procter & Gamble, Rob worked as a clinical research associate at ClinTrials in Nashville, TN., and at Kendle Research Associates in Cincinnati, OH. He joined Procter & Gamble in 1994 and worked for several years as a clinical researcher in the OTC medicine division before moving to the Paper Division. In his current role as a Clinical Scientist, Rob is responsible for protocol development, study design and management, and post-study activities for Pampers diapers and baby wipes. In addition, he is responsible for IRB review, FDA compliance, and monitoring of the safety of study subjects. He has served as the Principal Investigator on over 50 clinical studies.  Rob’s research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. He is a Fellow of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. He is a recognized expert in Bio-Instrumental skin measurements and has served as an internal Procter & Gamble IRB member, as well as an adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati.

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
Norbert Clemens, MD, PhD, CPI, ACRP-PM, ACRP-MDP, FACRP, is a board-certified physiologist. His broad exposure to worldwide healthcare issues includes service in several academic positions: as medical director for lntersan GmbH, PAION, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International; as general manager and head of global clinical trial services at Analytica International GmbH; as Vice President Clinical Operations at Impulse Dynamics; as Senior Manager Science & Clinical Affairs at Kaneka Pharma Europe based in Eschborn, Germany, and as Director CTM EMEA at HOYA Surgical Optics, Frankfurt/Germany, his current position. He has been a board member of the research and development section of the German Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry. He has also served as president of the German Society of Pharmaceutical Medicine and as treasurer of the International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians for several years. Norbert is a well-known trainer for investigators and site staff. He has served on the ACRP Board of Trustees as Vice Chair, Chair and Immediate Past Chair, and he is a charter member and secretary of the German Chapter of ACRP.

PUBLIC MEMBER
Kristin Smedley has dedicated her life to changing people’s perceptions of blindness after her two sons were each diagnosed with a rare blindness at four months of age. In 2011, she launched a mission to fund research and resources for children living with rare eye disease. In less than eight years, the Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation raised more than $1 million and achieved the first legislation in U.S. history to be submitted in Braille—legislation that advocates for better resources for blind and visually impaired Americans. Kristin testified at the FDA on behalf of the first gene therapy for an inherited disease, Luxturna, and was named the Pennsylvania Ambassador for the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). In 2021, she founded ThrivingBlindAcademy.org to guide individuals and families living with blindness and to end the education and unemployment crisis for the blind community. Kristin is known for her constant collaborations and partnerships to drive an entire field to progress. She is the 2019 recipient of the Global Genes Champion of Hope Award and has been voted the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Power Person of Bucks County, Pa.

ACRP Board Liaison
Christina Brennan, MD, has devoted her career to clinical research and currently serves as Northwell Health’s senior vice president of clinical research. Committed to the advancement of science and medicine, Christine has more than 23 years of extensive clinical research experience, including over 19 years in clinical research management roles. She is on the board of trustees for the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. She is on the steering committee of the Clinical Trial Transformation Initiative (CCTI), with Duke University and the FDA. She is on the advisory board for Florence Healthcare.  She also sits on the oncology advisory board and technology site advocacy group with the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS). She is also an active member of the Women in Bio and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Christine also has authored chapters in textbooks, coauthored many manuscripts and abstracts, and has presented at numerous scientific and research meetings. She is an adjunct professor at Yeshiva University and CUNY York College, teaching graduate students on clinical trials.

Robert Greco, BS, RPh, CCRA, ACRP-CP, FACRP, is a registered pharmacist and has worked in the clinical research industry for about 20 years. After several years as a community pharmacist, Mr. Greco entered the industry and has held several positions at CRO, Biotech, Large Pharma and as a consultant. His different roles have provided a good variety of experience serving as a Drug Safety Surveillance Associate, a CRA at several levels, a Trial Manager and a leadership role on a Global Project Team. Mr. Greco has participated in many study teams monitoring or managing studies and has been involved in data reviews and the writing of core submission documents. While he’s enjoyed every role, Mr. Greco has always found the monitoring piece the most enjoyable. He’s always held that there is nothing like working at a study site to fully appreciate the deep responsibility everyone has to the study subjects and the public at large. He earned his CCRA Certification in 2002 and has enjoyed working with colleagues as an ACRP volunteer. Mr. Greco has served as a CCRA Exam Committee Item Writer and Exam Committee Member and Chair as well as on the CRA Academy Working Group and the Fellows Working Group. Mr. Greco was named an ACRP Fellow in 2017 and earned the ACRP-CP designation in 2018.

Glenda Guest, BS, CCRA, RQAP-GCP, TIACR, ACRP-MDP, FACRP, has an extensive background in clinical research, having worked as a monitor, project manager, data manager, database programmer, senior trainer, quality assurance auditor, and regulatory consultant since joining the profession with Norwich Clinical Research Associates CRO in 1997. In 2017, she established her independent consultancy, Assured of Quality Consulting & Training, specializing in GCP site/sponsor and other specialty auditing services, development of clinical quality management systems, mock FDA inspections, and advanced GCP and FDA Regulations training for professional training organizations and clients. She has been a long-time advocate and volunteer for ACRP from Chapter leadership to committee service to serving on the Association Board of Trustees (ABoT). During her terms on the ABoT, she had the privilege of serving as the liaison assigned to The Academy Board of Trustees. Glenda has maintained her ACRP Certified Clinical Research Associate (CCRA) certification since 2002. She has also achieved the ACRP Medical Device Professional (ACRP-MDP) subspecialty designation, is honored to be recognized as a Fellow of ACRP (FACRP), and has maintained her Society of Quality Assurance (SQA) status as a Registered Quality Assurance Professional – Good Clinical Practices since 2007.

Jeffrey Kingsley, DO, MBA, MS, CPI, FACRP, received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Scranton with concentrations in biology, chemistry, history, and cultural anthropology, and his Master of Science degree in biochemistry. His medical degree was received from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine followed by his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Dr. Kingsley has been faculty with Family Medicine residency programs as well as Director of Family Medicine and Urgent Care. He currently holds faculty appointments with the Mercer School of Medicine and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia. Dr. Kingsley is Chair and CEO of Centricity Research, an integrated research organization (IRO) with 40+ integrated clinical research offices throughout the US and Canada. Centricity conducts phase I through IV research in nearly every medical specialty; inpatient and outpatient; pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device. He has dedicated his career to clinical research since 2006. Dr. Kingsley is also founder, past Chair, and COO of hyperCORE International, a research site integrated network that has approximately 100 offices in five countries. Centricity and hyperCORE are changing the dynamic between sites and sponsors to serve sponsors in a way never achieved by sites in the past. Dr. Kingsley is the past Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Association for Clinical Research Professionals which represents more than 13,000 clinical research professionals internationally. He presently sits on the Board of the Academy for Clinical Research Professionals which maintains accredited certification programs to ensure the highest quality in clinical research. Dr. Kingsley presently sits on three additional Boards, and participates on numerous other local, national, and international committees. Dr. Kingsley obtained his Certified Principal Investigator (CPI) designation in 2009 and his Fellowship from ACRP (FACRP) in its founding year. He enjoys each day with his wife Christine and four beautiful children.

Dee Tilley, RN, CGRN, CCRC, ACRP-MDP, ACRP-PM, is a clinical research nurse for Bon Secours Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center. She has 23 years of research experience in Phase I-IV clinical trials, with a special interest in infectious disease, gastroenterology, and rare diseases. She obtained her CCRC certification in 2006, her ACRP-MDP subspecialty designation in 2019, and her ACRP-PM subspecialty designation in 2021. Dee received an associate degree in Nursing from the University of Toledo. She first became involved with ACRP by writing items for the CCRC exam in 2013, served as a committee member for the CCRC exam from 2014 to 2020 (including time as the committee Chair from 2018 to 2020), and participated in the creation of the ACRP-MDP exam. She is also certified with the Society of Gastrointestinal Nurses (SGNA) since 1991, was the founding president of the Maumee Bay Chapter of SGNA, and initiated the annual Gut-Together educational conference. She is dedicated to the process and oversight of ACRP.

SECRETARY/TREASURER
Susan P. Landis joined ACRP as Executive Director in June 2021. Landis brings to ACRP more than 25 years of experience in organizational leadership, including as Vice President, Quintiles, where she helped build and lead a global clinical research engagement group. Most recently, Landis served for 6 years as Head of Strategic Engagement & Communications at Duke Clinical Research Institute, where she led external and internal marketing for the world’s largest academic research organization.