Board of Directors
The Gootter-Jensen Foundation Board of Directors is a team of talented individuals committed to eradicating SCD.
Meet the LeadershipBoard of Directors
The Gootter-Jensen Foundation Board of Directors is a team of talented individuals committed to eradicating SCD.
Meet the LeadershipMeet the Leadership
Andrew Messing
As both the late Steven M. Gootter’s brother-in-law and President of the Foundation, Andrew Messing is committed to eradicating SCD through funding scientific research and donating lifesaving AEDs. Andrew is also President of Tower Asset Group, a developer and owner of cell towers in master planned communities.
Claudine Messing
As Steve Gootter’s sister, Claudine dedicates her time and energy to furthering the mission of the Foundation so that others may be spared the tragic loss of a loved one to SCD.
Murphy Jensen
Murphy is a tennis Grand Slam champion, sudden cardiac arrest survivor, and partner in the Gootter-Jensen Foundation. He is passionate about CPR and AED education and spreading awareness of SCD and is also a founder of WEconnect Health, a mental health and addiction relapse prevention and real-time outcomes digital health platform.
Marc Fleischman
As Treasurer of the Foundation, Marc is responsible for the organization’s financials as well as facilitating legacy gifts and corporate donations. Marc is also Chairman of the Board and a Senior Advisor with BeachFleischman PLLC, Arizona’s largest locally owned public accounting and consulting firm.
Steve Weintraub
As Secretary, Steve handles the Foundation’s document organization and legal matters. Steve is also the president and publisher of Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, a Tucson-based company specializing in legal, medical and forensic resource materials for customers worldwide.
Board of Directors
Ann Charles
Debra Gootter
Joe Gootter
Paulette Gootter
Shari Gootter
Brian Harlow
Reema Jaggi
Kate Jensen
Brent Nelson
Tom Pothoff
Leigh Ann Waterfall
Arianne Weiner, PhD
Advisory Board
Dana Bradford
Jack G. Copeland, MD
Carol Gregorio, PhD
Dan Hicks
Fletcher McCusker
Robert Sarver
Vincent L. Sorrell, MD
Christine J. Toretti
Endowed Chair
After seven years of fundraising, the foundation met its goals of raising $2M to establish the Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair for the Prevention and Treatment of Sudden Cardiac Death at University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in March 2012.
Dr. Tardiff spent the last 35 years developing new approaches to alter the natural history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She is a professor in the Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, and the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine in the UA College of Medicine, and the BIO5 Institute. The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center’s reputation in heart muscle research was a major draw in her decision to accept the chair.
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Tardiff’s work focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the development of the most common form of genetic cardiomyopathy, those caused by mutations in proteins of the cardiac sarcomere, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). These complex disorders affect one in 500 individuals of all ages and represent the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in the field.
“In many ways there is no greater gift than a successful resuscitation or ‘save.’ It gives someone a second chance in a situation where all would be lost.”
The Gootter-Jensen Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives by defeating sudden cardiac death (SCD) through increased awareness, education, scientific research, and the distribution of AEDs.
