Team
David Balsley - President
David began working with amputees in graduate school in 1969 and has continued this into his Physical Therapy career. While working at the Hospital for Special Surgery David started their Sports Medicine Physical Therapy Program which continues to flourish. David was selected as a coach for the US Paralympic team in Seoul Korea, Barcelona Spain, and in Atlanta Georgia. David has coached athletes of all abilities including Jamal Pilgrim, the only sprinter from the Caribbean who participated in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. David lives for adventure and exercising outdoors. He has dedicated his life to providing these opportunities for others. Since 1982 David has regularly run ultra marathons, he believe both for himself and those he is trains that there should never be a limit to a person's potential which is how he is always inspiring athletes to excel in boundary breaking ways. David has completed a total of 17 marathons (26 miles), 4x50 milers and 13 x 100 milers. As an mountaineer, David has also summited Mt Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain peak in North America with a summit elevation of 20,310 ft (6,190m) above sea level. Mount Huascarán, the highest point in Peru. As well as Mount Vinson the highest Mountain in Antarctica summinting at 16,050 ft (4,892m).
Antoinette D'Orazio - Vice President
Antoinette is a psychotherapist who works at St. Christopher’s Inn, a homeless shelter for men with substance abuse and other co-occurring disorders. She brings a compassionate understanding of the challenges often faced by people with disabilities to the ASPIRE board. Antoinette was the victim of a hit and run driver in 1979 and lost her right leg above the knee. She has been involved with ASPIRE since 1987, when she began competing in disabled sports as a sprinter. Antoinette was a member of the 1988 US Paralympic Team and competed in the Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea as well as other international competitions. Antoinette retired from active competition in 1989 but continued to run, swim, bike, hike and participate in many other athletic endeavors over the years. She still lives an active lifestyle and is highly motivated to help others do the same.
Emily Gray - Board Member
Emily is a 3x Paralympic swimmer, amputee and cancer survivor from South Africa. Emily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the young age of 11 years old. Despite several months of chemotherapy the cancer continued to grow and resulted in Emily needing an amputation. 15 years later Emily competed in three Paralympic games in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and recently in Rio de Janeiro 2016. Between swimming training, Emily, graduated with a Bachelors of Sport Science from the University of Pretoria in 2015. Working closely with large national and international organizations such as Speedo and Nedbank, Emily spoke to audiences of thousands with the aim of inspiring and motivating others. ASPIRE has had a monumental effect on Emily's life, as she is a very proud receiver of her new prosthetic leg. As an athlete Emily understands and appreciates the powerful effect sport can have on amputees.
Bill McGrath - Board Member
Bill McGrath recently joined the ASPIRE board and he has a comprehensive background in business and finance. Bill was Vice President of Bronx/Westchester Operations at Consolidated Edison in New York. He was also Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Pace University where he oversaw a broad portfolio of administrative departments and led the University’s Pleasantville Master Plan. Bill has served on not-for-profit boards including My Sister’s Place, The American Red Cross in Westchester, NY, and the Business Council of Westchester. Bill received his BS in Human Resource Management from the City University of New York and his Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University.
Billy Davis - Board Member
Billy Davis is a New York City based Fitness Entrepreneur with more than a decade in the health and wellness industry. Born and raised in Kansas, Billy was a high school and Division 1 standout in track and field. In his 20’s he learned jiu jitsu. In his 30’s he got into cycling and competed in endurance races all over the NorthEast. After losing his leg in May 2012, Billy set out on the mission of becoming a triathlete. Four years later he would compete is in first full triathlon. He’s had success as a commercial and private personal trainer, a group exercise instructor, and in corporate fitness in some of the top facilities in Manhattan. He’s spent the last 6 years coaching people to get certified as personal trainers and leading seminars on different areas of fitness. Billy is honored to be a member of Aspire Board.
Greg Mihal - Board Member
As an amputee and a past ASPIRE athlete, Greg Mihal is proud to serve on ASPIRE’s board. The opportunity to train with TEAM ASPIRE and Dave Balsley as a teenager allowed Greg to learn to run leg-over-leg rather than the hop-skip technique used at the time. This provided him the ability to engage athletically with his classmates and empowered Greg with increased confidence and self-esteem. Aided by advances in prosthetic technology throughout his childhood, including the advent of the hydraulic knee, Greg overcame several physical disabilities as a result of a congenital birth deficiency. Through ASPIRE, Greg participated in several national disability track & field championships; placing 17th in the javelin at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Birmingham England in 1998. A Boston College graduate, Greg earned a varsity letter in the javelin as a member of the Division 1 Men’s Track & Field team, participating in 4 consecutive Big East Conference Championships. Seeing a need for continued education and advocacy for the disabled on campus, Greg was the first Chair of the Council for Students with Disabilities on the Undergraduate Student Government at Boston College, supporting those on campus with both visible and invisible disabilities. Greg is a 20 year Nestle employee and currently a Category Account Manager for several supermarket chains in the greater New York City area. A passionate supporter of Disability and Inclusion efforts, Greg is a co-founder of the Thrive Ability Network, Nestle USA’s Employee Resource Group supporting those with Disabilities, Critical Illness or serving as Caregivers.
Michael LaForgia - Board Member
Michael is a Director of IT for a major Automotive company. Originally from Long Island, New York he and his wife now live in North Dallas, Texas. Mike is a father of 3 and an avid runner and cyclist. Mike became an amputee in 2005 after a life threatening battle with bacterial meningitis. He survived an 8-day coma, and several months of hospitalization. However, as a result of his battle against bacterial meningitis Mike had amputations to his left foot (trans-met) and right leg (below knee) Mike is active in many support organizations including the National Meningitis Association and often speaks on the dangers of the disease and the available vaccine. Mike has also served as a mentor to other amputees and has been an active runner, cyclist and triathlete both before and since his amputations. He has run the NY Marathon 5 times, the NY Triathlon 3 times and dozens of other races. Mike sees his ability to work with such organizations as Aspire, and sharing his story as a way of bringing a positive change from a life impacting experience.
Lauren Grosh - Board Member
Lauren Balsley Grosh recently joined the ASPIRE board and has been an advocate/supporter to her father's passion for pushing the limits to amputee's physical abilities. Lauren Grosh is a member/owner in Sky Blue Builders, a general contracting firm with offices in Colorado and New Mexico and a founder/partner in Sky Blue Airport Enterprises, an airport Concessionaire operating in Denver International Airport. Lauren Grosh has served on numerous non-profit boards including Hispanic Contractors of Colorado as well as community endeavors including Mock Scholarships and the Summer Bridge Program. She continues to further develop her community service by participating with various Organizations like Goodwill, Precious Child and Wounded Warrior Project. Lauren has lived in Colorado for the past 24 years and is originally from New York. Lauren and her husband have a 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter and is excited for to expose them to all things she enjoys like biking, climbing, hiking, snowboarding and camping.
Rebecca Goldfrad - Board Member
Rebecca grew up in Melbourne, Australia where she spent much time at the beach and outdoors playing sports. Rebecca graduated with a Bachelors of Health Sciences and a Masters of Occupational Therapy Practice from La Trobe University and spent time working in the hospital system facilitating patients with neurological impairments. Rebecca’s passion for travel led her to explore Europe prior to moving to New York in 2016. Since then she has been working as an occupational therapist in a prosthetic practice, specifically in upper limb rehabilitation. Rebecca has been volunteering with ASPIRE over the last 4 years, seeing first hand the benefits exercise can have on our physical and mental well being. Rebecca is grateful to join the ASPIRE board and looks forward to collaborating and continuing to create meaningful moments focused on education, fun and community.
Naz Medhanie
Naz has extensive international relations and development experiences, including delivering sport for development programs in Ghana through train-the-trainer modules on holistic child development and HIV/AIDS education, as well as performance monitoring and knowledge management of enterprise development and trade programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, she provides human resources and people operations leadership at Rose Community Foundation. Prior to Rose, at Sky Blue Builders, she oversaw all aspects of HR, directed CSR initiatives, and built community partnerships.
Naz is originally from Eritrea and was raised in Sweden. She has a BA from Duke University, where she also played on the Women’s Basketball team and was a member of the Duke women’s first NCAA Final Four team and runner-up in 1999. She holds an MA in International Development from the University of Denver, Joseph Korbel School of International Studies.
Naz is a passionate leader and enthusiastic volunteer, coach, and mentor, always looking to build connections and community wherever she may be in the world. She speaks Tigrinya, Swedish and English, and some basic Russian.