Dr. Scott Harrison, President and CEO

Dr. Scott Harrison, President and CEO of CURE International, founded the organization with his wife, Sally, in 1996. His decision to start CURE is the direct result of his passion to cure the neediest disabled children in the world and to train others to do the same.

He began his 26 years of orthopedic surgery after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 1963. His experience is extensive, ranging from a year of medical service in Vietnam during the war, personally treating 3,000 disabled children in Malawi, as well as assuming the following posts:

• Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Penn State Medical School
• Director of Scoliosis Service for the Pennsylvania State Crippled Children's Hospital
• Chief of Orthopedics at Harrisburg Hospital in Pennsylvania

Then in 1991, Kirschner Medical Corporation, an international orthopedic supply company, asked Dr. Harrison to serve as CEO and President. He accepted, and in 1994, led the company through a merger with Biomet, Inc. The success of that merger provided the funding and the freedom for Dr. Harrison to pursue his vision for healing disabled children. He and his wife Sally began the construction of CURE's first hospital in Kenya in 1998.
His commitment to disabled children around the world has been acknowledged by a number of venerable institutions:

• In 1999, Dr. Harrison was honored with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons first annual AAOS Humanitarian Award. He was recognized because of his "lifelong commitment to musculoskeletal-related volunteer activities both in the United States and abroad."
• In 2002, upon invitation by the Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Harrison was recognized as a Legacy Laureate, identifying him as a distinguished alumnus who has "excelled both professionally and personally." The award noted that he was a "founding partner of Rehab Hospital Services Corporation, the first chain of for-profit rehabilitation hospitals in the United States," and that he, "gave up a distinguished orthopedic surgical practice to become President and CEO of Kirschner Medical Corporation, saving the well-known maker of orthopedic devices from bankruptcy."
• Also in 2002, Dr. Harrison was honored by the WorldSpace foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the production and delivery of social development and educational programs to disadvantaged communities in the developing world, for establishing teaching hospitals in Africa.
• The Caring Institute in Washington, DC selected Dr. Harrison as a recipient of a National Caring Award for the year 2002. The Caring Institute describes this award as "a well-deserved honor" which exemplifies the importance of service to others and elevating the quality of children's lives in poor, developing countries.

Harrison values these awards, but only insofar as they help build awareness for the children of CURE International. Thanks to his inspiration and guidance, CURE today has a presence in 12 developing countries around the world.

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Sally Harrison, Executive Vice President and Chief Spiritual Officer

CURE co-founder Sally Harrison R.N. began her medical career with a nursing degree from Shady Side Hospital in Pittsburgh. Her interests extend to other areas of service as well. Sally has a heart for women and prayer, which she put into practice by serving as Director of Women's Ministries and Director of Prayer Ministries at West Shore Evangelical Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. She has also served as a volunteer at the Capital Area Crisis Pregnancy Center in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Sally got her first taste of overseas medical ministry with a trip to Malawi, Africa with her husband, Dr. Scott Harrison, an orthopedic surgeon. It was in Malawi that she saw the overwhelming needs of the mothers of disabled children...and wanted to address them. The Harrisons returned to Malawi often because they were gripped by the needs of the disabled children and their families.

And then she and her husband started CURE as an organized way to help people in similar situations in other developing countries.

Her passion to meet the needs of the world's most vulnerable women has shaped CURE's strategies. Because of her, CURE has moved into the poorest countries with the greatest medical needs. And in these countries, CURE has developed ways to provide mothers of disabled children with the knowledge and the resources to take care of their young. What's more, CURE provides room and board for the mother of children being treated. Sally's sensitivity to the holistic healing of families makes CURE unique as well as successful as a model of medical care.

In addition, Sally's vision to help needy women has resulted in CURE training and employing women in many areas of the facilities, reinforcing their inherent worth and natural abilities - regardless of what their culture tells them.

She has personally offered comfort to hundreds of overwhelmed mothers and women caregivers throughout the world - Dominican Republic, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda.

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Craig Hammon, Executive Vice President

As Executive Vice President, Craig is responsible for senior management leadership, strategic planning and all of CURE's resource development efforts. He works closely with Dr. Harrison and the Board of Directors to accomplish these tasks.

Craig draws on significant experience in administration, strategic planning and resource development. He served as Senior Vice President at Eastern University for seven years where he was responsible for all marketing and planning functions of the University. He then went on to serve as Executive Vice President of a philanthropic consulting firm for three years. Craig also served as both Vice President for US Ministries and Vice President for Development at World Vision. Just prior to joining the team at CURE in 2003, Craig held the position of Executive Vice President at Gordon College, overseeing and coordinating the efforts of the entire senior administrative team.

Craig received his bachelor's degree in history from Wheaton College before going on to complete master's degrees in both theological studies from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and counseling psychology from Boston College.

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Mark Bush, Chief Operating Officer

Mark Bush serves as the Chief Operating Officer of CURE International and is responsible for new program development and existing hospital operations as well as the overall financial strategy of this 1000+ employee, international hospital organization.

Prior to joining CURE, Mark served as a senior consultant to Magellan Health Services, a large managed mental healthcare provider organization. Mark has also held positions as a Senior Director of Product Development for Orchid Biosciences, leading a team of genetic and software engineers; Chief Operations Officer for Aviahealth, a healthcare Internet company; Vice President of Information Technology for Women's Health, a physician practice organization; and Chief Information Officer for Value Oncology Sciences, a cancer management services organization.

Mark graduated with honors from the Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in Social Psychology in 1981.

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Mark Knecht, Chief Financial Officer

Mark Knecht serves as the Chief Financial Officer of CURE International and is responsible for the financial operations of the organization.

Prior to joining CURE, Mark served as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis of a publicly traded senior care company. He also served in various accounting and finance functions at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, a national health insurance company and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Mark is a Certified Management Accountant. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. Mark and his wife Deb, have two children, Kaitlyn and Anna.

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Dale Brantner, Vice President of Spiritual Ministries

A graduate of Messiah College, Dale received his master's degree from the Evangelical School of Theology. Dale Brantner served as youth pastor at West Shore Evangelical Church from 1994 to 1996. Then, Dale and his family went to Zimbabwe where he accepted a position as Department Head of Old Testament Studies at the Theological College of Zimbabwe and later became the college's interim president. In 2003, Dale returned to the U.S. and to West Shore Evangelical to serve as Pastor of College and Young Adult Ministries.

Dale came to CURE in 2006 and serves as Vice President of Spiritual Ministries, overseeing the spiritual departments at all CURE hospitals. Dale and his wife, Dianne, have three children, Jordan, Shirah and Taliah.

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Stephen Miller, Vice President of International Operations

Stephen Miller is a graduate of Letourneau University in Longview, Texas and a Licensed Professional Engineer by the State of Oregon. He and his wife, Audrey, have four children, Miriam, Matt, Mike and Jake.

Stephen spent over 10 years working outside of the United States, mainly in Africa and Brazil, doing rural construction projects and design and installation of water and micro-hydro electrical systems.

While in Africa, Stephen joined CURE to manage the start up and construction of CURE's first two hospitals, Kenya and Uganda. In 2001, Stephen returned to the United States to work at the CURE headquarters. He now serves as Vice President of International Operations, managing all of CURE's hospital construction projects, overseeing the Gift In Kind program and assisting in other areas.

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Doug Mitchell, Vice President of Development

Prior to joining CURE in 2006, Doug spent 12 years as a sales representative and manager before becoming co-owner and President of Surgical Representatives of Pennsylvania, Inc., orthopedic surgical device distributor. He served as President of SRPA until September 2006. As Vice President of Development at CURE, Doug is responsible for overseeing all development staff and projects in order to increase giving and promote growth.

Doug grew up in Muncy, PA and is a graduate of Messiah College. He resides in Mechanicsburg with his wife, Pam, and children, Ryan and Kaitlyn.

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Andrew Mayo, Executive Director of CURE Clubfoot Worldwide

Andrew Mayo joined CURE in 2004 and served for two years as Executive Director of AIC-CURE Children's Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya. He now serves as the Executive Director of CURE Clubfoot Worldwide. Andrew has over 20 years experience working in hospital administration and the hospital industry. Prior to joining CURE, he served as Vice President of Marketing for the Siemens Health Services division of Siemens Medical, one of the largest medical equipment manufacturing companies in the world. He has an MBA from Indiana University and a BS from Purdue University. Andrew and his wife, Kathy, have two children and reside in Philadelphia.

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Lisa Wolf, Vice President of Commuications and Donor Relations

Lisa is responsible for the overall communications and marketing strategy for CURE International and assists the CEO with major donor relations. 

Prior to joining CURE, Lisa served as a marketing consultant to small and medium-sized businesses and non-profits. She has also held numerous fundraising positions for political candidates including Governor Tom Ridge (PA) during his first gubernatorial campaign. Following the campaign, she served in the Governor’s office as a liaison to the cabinet and later directed economic development marketing for the Commonwealth.

Lisa graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1988. She serves on the board of Jump Street, a regional arts council, and is active with the United Methodist Neighborhood Center of Harrisburg. She and her husband, Michael, have two children, Campbell and Carly.

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