Angela Weingrad - BOARD CHAIR

Angela Weingrad is Holton's mother and the co-founder of Holton's Heroes, along with her husband Eric.

As a lifelong native to Los Angeles, Angela's family roots are deeply planted on the west coast. She was responsible for casting some of cable TVs most entertaining shows like "Million Dollar Listing New York," "Rupaul's Drag Race," and "The People's Couch." Currently, Angela serves as a Senior Recruiter for CSS Prosearch.

Holton's personal experience and struggles have changed Angela's life forever. For as deep and powerful as her love is for her only son, she is equally passionate about helping other families dealing with the same, seemingly impossible, situation. She has dedicated her life to fighting for not only the best quality of life for her children, but for all children that are trying to recover from a brain injury.

Eric Weingrad - PRESIDENT / West coast director of operations

Eric Weingrad is Holton’s father and the co-founder of Holton’s Heroes, along with his wife Angela.

After growing up on the outskirts of Philadelphia, PA, Eric moved out west to Los Angeles, CA where he eventually met his wife the old fashioned way – in person. Professionally he’s produced and directed some of pop-cultures most guilty (horrible) reality TV pleasures from “Punk’d” and “Dance Moms” to “Finding Bigfoot” and “Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy.” More recently he’s changed his professional focus to helping special needs families in Southern California full-time by founding his own advocacy company, California Advocacy Group.

Personally, Eric’s mission and passion is to support families dealing with varying forms of post-birth pediatric brain injuries through his nonprofit Holton’s Heroes. His son serves as his inspiration to making the world a better place for kids around the country that have therapy needs, like Holton, that all-too-often go unsupported and misunderstood.

LAUREN LEVIN - BOARD MEMBER / East Coast Director of operations

Lauren Levin is the head of all east coast operations which include overseeing the annual walk/roll, free inclusion classes and our annual toy drive benefiting hospitalized children.

After working in the advertising world for 16 years, Lauren set her sights on a more important career—raising her two children Haley and Sam. As an active member of her community, Lauren served as the PTA Secretary for both the local elementary and middle schools, in addition to being the Yearbook Chair for numerous years. Lauren also served on the “Chic For CHOP” events committee for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Smiles for a Lifetime charity respectively.

Lauren’s passion for exercise and instruction allowed her to transition to a Pilates/Barre instructor, which enabled her to lead numerous free inclusion classes for physically impaired children these past few years.

As Holton’s Aunt, affectionately known as “Lala”, Lauren has made supporting and advocating for pediatric brain injury survivors her life mission. Her goal is to make Holton’s Heroes a household name.

RaNDEE CEROTA - Board Member

Randee is a tenured advertising executive currently working in Florida. A New Jersey native, Randee has spent the bulk of her digital media career in the city that never sleeps (though she will never turn down the opportunity to catch a few zzz’s). When she's not closing deals, Randee loves to explore her city—using her stealthy camera skills and eye for the unusual to capture a side many have never seen.

Those closest to Randee know it is her passion for helping others that truly fulfills her. Lucky to count the Weingrads among her dearest friends, Randee is incredibly proud to serve on the board of Holton’s Heroes.

Dr. Kiarash Sadrieh - Board Member

Dr. Kiarash Sadrieh is a child neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.  He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine at USC and is the Program Director of the Child Neurology Residency Training Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  Dr. Sadrieh received his medical degree from Finch University of Health Sciences / Chicago Medical School in 2001. He was trained and completed his pediatric internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 2003. He also completed his neurology training at CHLA in 2006. He was Board Certified by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology in 2008.

Dr Sadrieh has dedicated his life to helping neurologically ill children and will use this expertise to help further Holton’s Heroes’ mission.  

JORDAN SCHWEIGER - BOARD MEMBER

Jordan joins our board to help bolster our East Coast operations, bring new ideas and increase the sense of urgency in growing the organization to help even more children of affected by brain injuries and their families. Professionally, Jordan has managed and consulted on projects of all sizes in industries from Construction to Software and Startup Development. Being hands on and supporting his teams is what has greatly contributed to Jordan’s professional success and applies to his work with Holton’s Heroes as well.  

On the personal side, Jordan and his wife, Wendi, have had their share pediatric trauma.  Their oldest son, Chase, suffered a massive stroke at the age of 7.  Although it was not known if Chase would walk, talk or lift his head again, their son has fought every step of the way and now attends high school with the very friends that have supported his recovery from the beginning.  Jordan and Wendi quickly learned early on during Chase’s hospital stay of the importance of being the strongest possible advocate for both Chase and their entire family.  

Jordan’s connection to Holton’s Heroes goes beyond Chase.  His wife, Wendi, is a lifelong friend of Holton’s Aunt Lauren and grew up with Holton’s father Eric, as well.  Their friendship is stronger than ever as evidenced by the fact that their children also refer to her as Aunt Lauren.  Jordan and Wendi have been involved in Holton’s Heroes in one way or another from the beginning.  They share the vision and passion needed to continue to bring more help and peace of mind to children of TBI.

ROBYN ALTMAN - SECRETARY

Robyn Altman, a westsider with eastside roots, loves to surround herself with children, which includes teaching and empowering today’s youth so they become tomorrow’s leaders.

In addition to being the mother of two incredible children—Milo and Harper—Robyn serves as the Camp Director of an 8-week long summer day camp in Culver City, CA. Throughout the school year, Robyn works as a private tutor teaching Jewish studies to children in the Los Angeles area.

"I believe in the mission of Holton's Heroes and strongly believe every family has a chance at happiness. If we can make one part of someone's life easier, our work is worth it,” Robyn tells us.

As much as she adores her career, Robyn finds the most satisfaction in her work with Holton's Heroes, serving as the organization’s secretary. Being a close friend of Holton’s family, Robyn has seen first hand how pediatric brain injuries can negatively effect families—even ones that seem indestructible.

IAN MALLITZ - TREASURER

Philadelphia native Ian Mallitz has his roots planted deep in the non-profit world. Ian is no stranger to giving back to the community and educating his peers, as he began his professional career in 1999 as an Assistant Director for Camp Harlam, a not for profit youth programing organization based in northeastern Pennsylvania.

After relocating to Los Angeles in 2005, Ian’s professional focus shifted to the entertainment industry where he has been producing and directing visual content for over 15 years. Ian currently manages all live action production for The Walt Disney Studios Marketing Partnerships & Promotions team.

Ian considers himself “one of the luckiest people on the planet” to have known Holton since the day he was born. Sharing Holton’s story with the world as well as assisting families in need through Holton’s Heroes has become one of the most important initiatives that Ian feels he has ever been a part of.

TOM HOPPA - Legacy MEMBER

With over 20 years of experience in the music industry Tom Hoppa has has proven to be a master behind the scenes from managing Artists to booking national tours to promoting large scale live events.

Tom's professional work history is diverse and extensive, as he has worked closely with an array of artists from Prince to Motorhead to the incomparable Cher. Since 2014, Tom has been the Director of Artist Relations and Talent Buyer for the BottleRock Music Festival in Napa Valley, and produces other large scale events throughout Northern California's wine country including Sonoma Harvest Music Festival and the Margrit Mondavi Summer Concert Series. Having worked with many iconic artists and music industry professionals, Tom's experience behind the scenes prove to be invaluable as he sets out to greatly impact future Holton's Heroes live events and fundraisers.

Tom truly enjoys giving back to a community that impacts over a million people each year.

PAIGE GABAY - Legacy MEMBER

After a long successful career in public relations and education, Paige Gabay now lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her family spending the majority of her time raising her two sons.   She spent many years working in PR but followed her passion for educating children as she switched gears to teach in the Philadelphia School District. 

On the philanthropic side, Paige served as the co-chair of the Children's Crisis Treatment Center (CCTC), where she was an integral part of the fund raising and promoting the cause.  CCTC aided students in accessing mental healthcare that was greatly needed for their success.  

After actively supporting Holton’s Heroes for the first few years of its creation, participating in all of the HH walks, Paige felt a strong connection to the charity’s mission. Being friends with teh founders, it was a natural progression to become more involved, so she became a member of the board in 2019 helping facilitate east coast functions. It has become a family affair, as her sons have incredibly taken an active interest in helping other heroes, as well.  

DAWN MCCOY - Legacy MEMBER

TV & podcast host, writer, actor, children’s advocate and mother, Dawn McCoy, is a personality…and, not just in a “TV personality” kind of way.

She has been a frequent visitor to your television set, appearing on shows such as The Dr. Oz Show, The Real, California Live, Hallmark’s Home & Family, Access Hollywood, Extra and more as well as radio, including SiriusXM, Pandora, and iHeartRadio.

Described by Beverly Hills Mayor Bosse, as “Oprah before Oprah was Oprah,” she has been featured in Glamour Magazine, Huffington Post, Traditional Home, Living Healthy, Nashville Edit, Apartment Therapy, Cameron Diaz’s The Body Book, Gio Magazine and more.

In 2019, Dawn was honored to be selected by Glamour Magazine as 1 of 9 inspiring influencers to attend their “Empowered Women Empower Women” trip in conjunction with Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards.

Off-camera and off-podium, as the CEO of DMM: Dawn McCoy Media - her content creation and social media management company - she breathes life into cities as well as food, wine, hospitality, travel and lifestyle brands by utilizing her keen connection sense and seamless ability to cross-promote.

But her biggest joy and inspiration is her son, Waylon - a hero himself as he was the victim of a non-accidental Traumatic Brain Injury at 6-weeks-old, leaving him blind from Cortical VIsion Impairment and with severe developmental delays. Dawn has taken her pain and turned it into passion and purpose, becoming a fierce advocate, and she credits this with helping her family heal from trauma.

BENNY REUVEN - Legacy MEMBER

Philadelphia-native Benny Reuven is a seasoned TV executive currently working at the NBC Universal owned Oxygen network. Prior to joining Oxygen, Benny successfully produced hundreds of hours of television for various networks and played an integral part in the official launch of Oprah Winfrey’s television network, OWN.

Benny first met Holton’s Heroes founder Eric Weingrad in 2006 during a production for a VH1 series, where both served as respective producers. The two Philly expats formed a quick and close connection that has lasted over 15 years.

Benny considers it an honor to serve on the Holton’s Heroes Board of Directors, especially considering his close connection to Holton since the day he was born.

BOBBY REYNOLDS - Legacy MEMBER

Bobby Reynolds serves as the Senior Vice President, AEG Presents Las Vegas and has been with the company for 15 years. In his role, he oversees a staff of 20 and manages the company’s relationships in this competitive market with entertainment executives as well as the partners with the respective gaming properties. 

Born and raised in New York, he began his career in the entertainment and music business at the age of 17.  Bobby has called Las Vegas home since 2007. 

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for Holton’s Heroes from 2015 to 2021, he has contributed to the community in various ways, including serving as a Board Member for the Tyler Robinson Foundation, as well as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Reynolds was honored locally in VEGAS INC’s 2014 40 Under 40 Awards for his accomplishments in the city and was recognized nationally as a 40 under 40 Power Player by Billboard Magazine.  In his free time, Reynolds enjoys traveling, golfing and cooking. 

Anya Sarre - Legacy Member

Anya Sarre is an internationally known fashion, beauty and lifestyle expert, tastemaker, brand influencer, and television host.  She has been featured on numerous television outlets and in hundreds of magazines and online publications.

As a celebrity stylist, Anya has dressed talent for numerous red carpet events such as the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Emmys, Grammys, Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards, The Met Gala and Cannes Film Festival. She has won awards such as “Best Fashion Stylist for TV” for the POSHGLAM Awards and “Visionary Fashion Stylist Award” at the Bel Air Film Festival.

Currently, Anya hosts and curates her own television special on KTLA5 “Countdown to Gold: Getting Ready Carpet Ready with Anya Sarre,” where she also serves as the resident style expert. Anya has been featured on Television shows including Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show, The Insider, Extra, E!, The Rachael Ray Show, The CBS Early Show, and Home and Family.

Anya recently gave her first Ted Talk for TedXWomen and regularly guest lectures at the USC Annenberg School for Communications, her alma mater.