Peter H. Grossman, M.D., President
Dr. Peter H. Grossman is a Board certified plastic surgeon whose medical practice is divided between cosmetic and reconstructive surgery and the care of the burn-injured patient. After graduating from Northwestern University and Chicago Medical School, Dr. Grossman continued his education with a surgical residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, a plastic surgery residency at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and fellowships in breast reconstructive surgery and aesthetic and endoscopic surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. Grossman knew early on what he was going to do with his life. His father, A. Richard Grossman, M.D., founder and Medical Director of the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital, often brought his two young sons with him on weekend rounds. Seeing the difference his father made in people’s lives had a profound effect on Peter, who decided at age 8 to become a physician.
Dr. Peter Grossman returned to Los Angeles in 1995 and began practice with his father at what has become the Grossman Medical Group. He is Associate Director of the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital and co-Director of Grossman Burn Services at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. He currently serves as Chair of American Burn Association’s Region 9, which includes California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii, and in 2001 was appointed as an expert reviewer by the Medical Board of California.
Peter Grossman is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in prestigious medical journals and has lectured extensively around the United States. In addition to being a member of multiple medical societies and organizations, Dr. Grossman is the medical editor and featured columnist of “Ask the Doctor” in Westlake Magazine.
Dr. Grossman has been appointed by the United States Department of State as a member of the Health Advisory Committee for the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.
The Consumer Research Council of America has listed Dr. Grossman among America’s top surgeons and currently serves as the President of The Los Angeles Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Rebecca Gray Grossman – Founder and Chair
Rebecca Gray Grossman has worked extensively in the healthcare field for over a decade as a researcher, journalist and marketing executive.
She owned and operated a medical marketing business, Medi-Marketing and Associates, and later founded Advanced Laser Specialist, Inc.. In 1997 the company merged with Physiologic Reps, Inc. in Glendale, California where she was appointed Director of Marketing and focused on marketing strategies and corporate profile development. After marrying respected, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Dr. Peter Grossman of The Grossman Burn Center she realized a need for the public to have access to the latest medical research and treatments, in turn, centering on her career as a journalist. Rebecca was a guest host with news anchor Ellen Leyva on a weekly morning news segment entitled, “Stop The Clock” for ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles. In 2002, Rebecca and Peter became the legal guardians for a young girl named Zubaida Hasan who was a burn patient from Afghanistan. Zubaida became like a daughter to the Grossman’s and her story was featured on several television shows including The Oprah Show and a book was published about the young girl and her journey to recovery with the Grossman family entitled “Tiny Dancer” published by St. Martins Press. Dr. Peter Grossman performed over thirteen reconstructive surgeries while Zubaida lived with he and Rebecca. After learning of the trials and tribulations of loving a young burn survivor, the Grossman’s formed The Grossman Burn Foundation.
Rebecca took on the position as Chair of The Grossman Burn Foundation (GBF) in 2006. GBF is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and signature projects include helping to open the first highly specialized reconstructive surgery and burn center in Kabul, Afghanistan, publishing a Humanitarian Assistance manual for worldwide distribution, developing a Triage Training Program for physicians in developing countries and Project Faith, an ongoing program to support the needs of burn victims. Faith Wanjugo, the inspiration behind the program, was one of the patients GBF brought here from Kenya, Africa for reconstructive surgery after suffering a severe burn injury.
Rebecca and Peter have two children (eight and ten years old) and reside outside Los Angeles, California. They are both involved with a number of charitable organizations. They received the 2003 Baha’i Human Rights Award and in 2007 The American Heart Association as their Woman Of The Year at the annual Go Red For Women event honored Rebecca. In 2009, The Bayat Foundation honored Rebecca and Peter with the Humanitarian and Leadership Engagement Award in Washington D.C. and are both active members of the U.S. Afghan Women’s Council working closely with Vice Chair Laura Bush. In August 2010, Rebecca was honored for her humanitarian work at the first annual fearless woman day luncheon benefitting the Anne Douglas Center for Women at the Los Angeles Mission.
Rebecca is the Publisher and Editor In Chief of Westlake Magazine (founded in 1992) launching Powerhouse Lux Media, Inc. and DITL (Day In The Life) Apps, a cutting edge mobile application development and marketing company.
Mitch Francis
Mr. Francis has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer since the inception of Tix Corporation in April 1993. Tix Corporation is a fully integrated entertainment company with three divisions focused on ticketing, branded merchandising and live theatrical production throughout the USA and Canada. Tix Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange, under the symbol TIXC. Prior to founding the Company, Mr. Francis was a commercial real estate developer, specializing in site acquisition, analysis, architectural design, construction, management and marketing of office building and shopping center projects. He was one of the first real estate majors in the USA, at the University of Colorado.
David A. Kulber, MD FACS
David A. Kulber, MD, FACS, is Clinical Chief of Surgery at the Department of Surgery, Director of the Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Director of the Plastic Surgery Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group. He is a renowned specialist of plastic and reconstructive surgery and is an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. Dr. Kulber is a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a member of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society of Surgery of the Hand.
Dr. Kulber is a recipient of Cornell University’s Dicoran Goulian Award for Basic Science Research in Plastic Surgery, Paul Rubenstein Award for Research Excellence, and the Saul Fox, MD Award for Research from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He has served as a consulting plastic surgeon for the American Red Cross and has been a speaker at more than 50 national and international conferences.
Dr. Kulber is the author of over 50 peer reviewed articles and four book chapters, on a wide range of topics including breast reconstructive surgery, the treatment of keloids, monitoring breast implants, basic wound healing, laser surgery and resurfacing, the prevention of seromas (pockets of soft tissue fluid that builds up after surgery) and soft tissue coverage of upper extremity injuries. He has been featured in Discovery Health and People magazines, and is often cited in the media for his expertise.
Dr. Kulber received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and his medical degree from the University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School. He completed an internship and a residency in general surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, as well as a residency in plastic surgery at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Kulber completed fellowships in hand and microsurgery at New York University Hospital; in specialized reconstructive breast, head and neck surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; in maxillofacial and extremity trauma surgery at the University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center; and in upper and lower extremity surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
Hilton Kaplan, MBBCh FCSSA PhD
Dr. Hilton Kaplan is a Plastic, Reconstructive and Maxillofacial Surgeon, and a Biomedical Engineer. His research focuses on neurosciences (neural prosthetics and implantable man-machine interfaces), and tissue engineering (decellularized composite tissues for limb and face allotransplantation). Dr. Kaplan is Associate Director of the NJ Center for Biomaterials and a Research Associate Professor at Rutgers University; and an Adjunct Professor in Regulatory Science at the University of Southern California. Dr. Kaplan has held various clinical and research positions in industry, including Senior Medical Director at Allergan (Fortune 500 healthcare) and Vice President of Clinical Sciences at LifeCell (pioneered decellularizing dermis). He has a long history of passionately advocating for burn prevention and reconstruction (as a burn surgeon, a founding board member of the non-profit Grossman Burn Foundation, and the adoptive father of a spirited burn survivor), and for craniofacial reconstruction (as a founding director of the non-profit Look-at-Us Alliance for Craniofacial Differences).
Peter J. Polos
The Honorable Peter J. Polos (ret.) is Of Counsel to the firm and serves as its Director of Litigation. In that role, he assists in overseeing the firm’s entire litigation practice, providing a unique perspective as both an experienced trial lawyer and as a judge who understands effective case presentation.
Prior to joining Panish Shea & Boyle LLP, Judge Polos spent eight years as a Superior Court Judge in Orange County, California. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Gray Davis in 2001 and sat for almost five years on the General Civil Panel hearing complex tort, business, employment, and product liability cases. He presided over 250 trials, including the City of Anaheim v. L. A. Angels of Anaheim naming case as well as numerous other high profile cases. His assignments also included handling misdemeanor and felony criminal jury trials. During his time on the bench, Judge Polos was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to serve two terms as a member of the Judicial Council’s Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee. He served on both the Complex and Uniform Rules Subcommittees and Co-chaired the committee for Minor’s Compromise reform. Judge Polos served two terms as an alternate on the Court’s Executive Committee and was a long time member of the Grand Jury Selection Committee and the Educational Committee. He previously served on the Court Technology Committee and the Court Referral Program Advisory Council. He also was asked by the presiding judge to serve as a mentor Judge to newly appointed Judges.
Before his appointment to the bench in 2001, Judge Polos practiced complex plaintiff’s litigation, including mass tort, product liability and medical malpractice cases. Judge Polos served as a member of the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee of the Coordinated Fen/Phen Litigation, on the Executive Committee for the Coordinated Ford/Firestone Litigation, and as Co-Lead Counsel for Southern California for the Coordinated Sulzer Hip Litigation. He was the primary handling attorney on over 2000 Superior Court Cases which resulted in over one billion dollars in settlements. The mass tort cases he has been involved with collectively have settled for over seven billion dollars. Judge Polos practiced with David M. Harney in Los Angeles from 1990 to 1996 and was a partner at Lopez, Hodes, Restaino, Milman, Skikos & Polos in Newport Beach from 1996 to December 2001.
Judge Polos attended UCLA on a Water Polo scholarship and earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 1987. While at UCLA, he was a member of the Air Force ROTC and earned one of two quota’s given to all Southern California ROTC members to enter flight school after graduation. He also earned his pilot’s license for a Cessna 152 while at UCLA. Judge Polos graduated from Loyola Law School with his JD in 1990.
Judge Polos is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He serves on the ABTL Judicial Advisory Committee and is a member of the Banyard Inn of Court. He was the 2003 recipient of the W. Patrick McCray award presented by the West Orange County Bar Association. Judge Polos has two children in elementary school and has been married to his wife Kristie for over 12 years. His hobbies include coaching his kids’ sports teams and golf.