Peter Haas Jr.

Peter E. Haas Jr. has been involved with non-profit and foundation directorship and philanthropy in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost four decades. He worked for Levi Strauss & Co for 17 years and served on its Board of Directors for over 33 years. Currently, he heads the Peter Haas, Jr. Family Fund, a Supporting Organization at Marin Community Foundation. He and his wife, Ginnie, direct the support of education and human service organizations as well as those who are fighting against the erosion of our democratic institutions. Pete is also a director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, President of the Red Tab Foundation, and is a Trustee Emeritus of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund. He is a member of the North Marin Community Services advisory board, a Trustee Emeritus of the San Francisco Foundation, and past President and Director of the Marin Academy Board of Directors. In 2009, Pete and his late wife, Joanne, established the Joanne and Peter Haas, Jr. Professorship for Cutaneous Lymphoma Research at He has partnered with inaugural chair holder and program director, Dr. Youn Kim for more than 15 years supporting the global leadership of Stanford’s Multidisciplinary Cutaneous and T-Cell Lymphoma Program and its vision of improving patients’ lives through scientific discovery of new treatments for this rare cancer. Pete has a vision that someday couples impacted with CTCL will be able to dare to dream of growing old together.

He and Ginnie have five children (with four spouses) and four grandchildren.

Jen Varela

Jen Varela is am a former flight instructor, an Iron Man finisher, and most importantly, a full time mom to five beautiful children. She loves the outdoors and living a full and active lifestyle. The pace of life changed when her first symptoms of CTCL showed up in 2012. After a few years of searching endlessly for answers, she was diagnosed with a Sezary Syndrome in 2014. Under the care of Drs. Youn Kim and Michael Khodadoust at Stanford, she is able to lead a “normal” life. She is grateful for their brilliant minds and the research that has led to new treatments for her disease, and also appreciates the love and care that they show to their patients. She is honored to be a founding member of the MCLTP Council to support our MCTLP team, to help find a cure for rare lymphomas, and to give back a bit of the care and support that Dr. Kim and Dr. Khodadoust have given to her and her family. Jen says, “being exposed to the research side of science and having personally benefited from it, I am incredibly passionate about reaching out and educating others about the importance of medical research. It helps me be an inspiration to others who are battling with hard times and to perhaps give them the push to try and look at things in a positive way. “Some good can come from any situation” is my motto to my kids.”

Eric Tokat

E. Eric Tokat is a partner and a founding member of the Healthcare practice at Centerview Partners. During his career, Mr. Tokat advised numerous clients on a broad range of strategic advisory assignments and transactions exceeding $350 billion in value across developed and emerging markets. Mr. Tokat serves on a number of not-for-profit boards, including: a trustee at the Brookings Institution, chair of the Audit Committee at the IRC (International Rescue Committee), and vice chair of the Board of the Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Tokat received his BA from Bogazici University and MIA from Columbia University.

James Gassel

James Gassel is an enthusiastic business leader with 30+ years of experience in the oversight of company operations and strategy, including financing, corporate development and partnering, financial operations, program and portfolio management, legal, and HR.

James led San Francisco based advertising agency, Evolution Bureau (EVB), as Partner and Chief Operating Officer for 12 years. EVB’s global client roster included Bed, Bath & Beyond, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Panda Express to name just a few. 

Gassel’s extensive marketing experience has made him adept at building multinational brands that scale quickly and drive traffic. His tenure at Hal Riney & Partners included oversight of the launch and consolidation of wireless carrier Sprint during a period of meteoric growth.  Before that, he played a pivotal role in launching powerhouse brands Microsoft Network (MSN) and luxury automaker, Infiniti.  

Outside of work, Gassel is “crazy into his family.” He lives with his wife and three children in Marin County, California. Other passions include all things automotive – and biking, hiking or skiing in the great outdoors.