Our Team

Founder, Chairman

Robert Klein authored and Chaired the campaign for California’s Proposition 71, the $6 billion “California Stem Cell Research and Cures” Citizens’ Initiative.

For the first seven years of its existence, Mr. Klein served as the Chairman of the Governing Board of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state funding entity established by Proposition 71 to manage the peer review, standards, and grant process for the $3 billion in stem cell research funding authorized by the proposed Initiative. He was elected Chairman Emeritus of CIRM in 2011.

Executive Director

Melissa King, Executive Director of Americans for Cures, is a passionate advocate for patients of chronic illness and disease as well as the medical research that can help reduce their suffering. An expert at engaging multiple stakeholders and communicating effectively with varied audiences, she has been a champion for the California stem cell research program since before it formally existed.

Ms. King served as a senior member of the successful 2004 campaign for California’s Proposition 71, the California Stem Cells for Research And Cures Act. During the final weeks of the Prop 71 campaign, at the request of campaign Chair Robert Klein, Ms. King worked with legal counsel to form the non-profit Americans for Cures so that support during the organizational period of the new stem cell funding agency could be funded with tax-exempt donations to a 501(c) 3 organization. She hired initial staff for the non-profit and then transitioned several to be the first employees of the new state funding agency.

Ms. King played a central role in the founding, building and first seven years of operations of the unique $3 billion State research funding agency created by Prop 71, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). During this time, she worked hand-in-hand with CIRM’s Chair and its founding 29-member governing Board on setting the strategic vision for the agency as well as developing the processes and policies by which CIRM operates. Ms. King guided the Board through 1500+ hours of public meetings, during the sale of the first bonds to fund the agency as well as the development and awarding of the first billion dollars in grants, including the Facilities Grant Program leveraging $271 million of CIRM’s funds to attract $880 million in other support for $1 billion in scientific research facilities in California.

In addition to her work at CIRM, Ms. King has helped drive and manage successful launches of numerous companies, programs and products in the healthcare, technology and consumer products industries.

She has a B.A. from Wellesley College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Vice President of Public Policy

Don Reed has been an advocate for the advancement of stem cell and medical research for decades, beginning with his citizen sponsorship of California’s Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, named after his son Roman, who was paralyzed in a football accident. “Roman’s Law” raised $17 million in California State funding, attracting an additional $85 million from the National Institutes of Health and other sources. Don was a grassroots organizer for America’s first pro-stem cell research legislation, Senate Bill 253 (Ortiz) and others.

Mr. Reed was an integral member of the Proposition 71 campaign, serving on its Board of Directors. He is a Founding Board Member of the Americans for Cures Foundation.

Reed’s latest book, STEM CELL BATTLES: Proposition 71 and Beyond, was published by World Scientific Publishing, a leading international academic publisher of 46 volumes of Nobel Prize lectures in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economics. A prolific writer, Reed has published more than 200 articles in the Huffington Post.

You can learn more about Don and read some of his work by visiting his website www.stemcellbattles.com

Program Manager, Health Policy Impact

Anna Maybach is the Stem Cell and Genetic Research and Therapies Program Analyst for Americans for Cures. In addition to conducting analysis for the AFC team, she oversees collaboration with Patient Advocacy Groups and scientific and civic leaders to garner endorsements, facilitate outreach, and engage the public in mobilizing support for stem cell research.

Anna is a graduate from Vanderbilt University, (B.A., cum laude, 2017) in Medicine, Health and Society and received her Postbaccalaureate certificate in Premedical Sciences from Columbia University. Her research at Vanderbilt determined developmentally appropriate and validated methods of addressing the communication preferences of families with chronically ill children and was published in the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing. At Columbia, her research focused on brain organization in premature infants and examined whether long-term developmental outcomes can be predicted from early neurodevelopmental status.

Anna worked on community health initiatives in the nonprofit sector as the Development Director for Village to Village, where she designed and launched public health intervention initiatives across Southeast Asia. She gained additional experience in this field both in Guatemala, addressing domestic air quality issues, and in Colorado, redressing the health disparities of migrant workers.

[email protected]

Director of Governmental Affairs

Rob Klein is the Director of Governmental Affairs for Americans for Cures. He conducts political and policy analysis and develops governmental strategy. He also coordinates and engages in advocacy with elected officials, governmental entities, a number of other public institutions, patient advocacy groups and interested individuals considering collaborative efforts.

Rob studied political science at the University of Southern California and the University of California San Diego and earned magna cum laude honors. He was fortunate enough to play a small role in the 2004 Proposition 71 campaign but really began his political career working on a congressional campaign in San Diego (we won), and eventually made his way to the office of Senator Ron Wyden (OR) in Washington D.C. where he was introduced to the real political process. He ended up in health policy before returning to California to work for a telehealth startup.

Robert also works at a mixed-income large scale multifamily housing development and asset management company that provides better living experiences and greater opportunities for low and middle-income families, while also producing leading edge market rate apartment homes.

Director of Outreach and Advocacy

Jacqueline Hantgan, Director of Outreach and Advocacy at Americans for Cures, is a patient advocate with decades of experience working in advocacy, fundraising and education. She served as a member of the successful 2004 campaign for California’s Proposition 71 which formed the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and provided $3 billion for stem cell and related research to develop therapies and cures for chronic illness and disease. She was also a senior staff member on the YES on 14: Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments, and Cures Initiative in 2020, which secured an additional $5.5 billion in funding for CIRM.

Jacqueline graduated from Tulane University with a BA in Anthropology and continued her studies at Teachers College, Columbia University with a Masters in Education and Anthropology. She is currently pursuing a degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.