The Given Limb Foundation

Martha McDade

Martha founded the Given Limb Foundation in 2007 with the goal of finding the right technical innovators to improve the lives of amputees. She holds bachelors and masters degrees in Civil Engineering from Duke University. Martha brings to the foundation extensive project management experience having worked at the engineering firm Ch3M HILL for 15 years, and having started her own firm, Environmental Excellence, in 1995. Martha serves on the City of Rye Planning Commission, the Rye Country Day School Board of Trustees, and the Pratt Engineering School Board of Visitors at Duke University. Martha is also a past member of the board and performance improvement committees of The Osborn, a long-term care facility.

Leslie Purcell

Leslie is one of the founding directors of the Given Limb Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware. Leslie brings to the foundation financial expertise from her previous work experience as a Certified Public Accountant and positions held with Price Waterhouse, Arthur Andersen and Citibank. Over the past 25 years, Leslie has also been instrumental in several non-profit organizations, including the start up of a shelter for homeless men in New York City. She spent 6 years as a Board Member and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Port Chester Carver Center, a community-based organization that provides a variety of educational and social services to help those in need build brighter futures. Leslie also served on the Rye Youth Council and the Rye Council for Childcare.

Janis Rehlaender

Janis is one of the founding directors of the Given Limb Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.  Janis brings to the board a broad level of business expertise, having worked for over 10 years in the medical device industry in marketing, product management and strategic planning. She was Director of Corporate Planning when she retired from Baxter International, and has consulted to several small medical device companies over the past decade. Janis served for six years, three as Chair, on the Darien Board of Education in Darien, CT., and is a member of the Pratt Engineering School Board of Visitors at Duke University.

Jonathan Kuniholm

Jonathan Kuniholm is a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at Duke University, and has master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial design from North Carolina State University, where his thesis involved design of robotic surgical tools for a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary. He is a graduate of The North Carolina School of Science of Mathematics (NCSSM), has an AB in English from Dartmouth College, and has worked and studied in Africa, Western and Eastern Europe. Jonathan is a former Marine Corps logistics officer. He retired a Captain, and is one of the founders of Tackle Design Inc., a Durham, NC product design consultancy. Jonathan is the President of the Shared Design Alliance Open Prosthetics Project, a mentor to the NCSSM FIRST Robotics Club, and is on the board of the Given Limb Foundation and Able Flight (ableflight.org).