Joseph Capriotti, MD
General Ophthalmologist
Joe is currently in private practice (NYC) and is the Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of CLS Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company focused on ophthalmics and antibiotics. Joe has been conducting research in Sierra Leone over the past several years on eye infections, ocular microbiology and surgical services delivery in rural Africa. He has been working with Tom Johnson and Patrick Turay on the Makeni Hernia Project which was set up to help treat debilitating hernias in and around Makeni through Dr. Turay's clinic.
He has also been working on applying public health strategies to address community-based medical priorities in rural Sierra Leone, in conjunction with Dr. Turay and the Holy Spirit Hospital of Makeni. Joe co-founded ASAP with his brother John (an outstanding fundraiser) and Anderew Ianuzzi, a lawyer with the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Andrew is also the Capriotti brothers' best friend since childhood.
Occasionally temperamental on the pitch, Joe is by most accounts a solid attacking midfielder and occasional right striker for the ASAP soccer team. Good playmaking and balanced scoring are secondary to his strength as game-day strategist and team motivator.
John Capriotti
President and Service Design Lead for the Africa Surgical Assistance Project
John is the chief fundraiser, clinic assistant, Internet entrepreneur, chief photographer, logistics coordinator, ethnographic researcher, and service designer for Third World Medical Programs. In addition, he is Joe's brother.
John has been in charge of all executive functions of ASAP and has been our only true fundraiser. Additionally, he is an experienced clinical assistant and research coordinator for all of our epidemiology studies. He furthers the effectiveness of the team by optimizing Third World Health Care Service Design. He has been working with us in Freetown, Makeni and Masungbo since 2003.
John is also the most important member of the ASAP soccer team with unusual skill at striker, the middle of the field, and defense. He, like foundation colleague Jesse Pelletier, has knee issues but is unstoppable when healthy. John breeds heirloom tomatoes, races bicycles and enjoys solving data and language problems through his for profit company, Copy Engine.
Kevin Stewart, MD
Ophthalmologist, Glaucoma Specialist
Kevin is the Director of Glaucoma Clinic Services at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and attending surgeon at St. Vincent's Medical Center in NYC.
Kevin has worked in India, the Caribbean and Ghana as an ophthalmologist and has studied sutureless extracapsular cataract extraction at the Aravind Eye Hospital. He is the Director of Glaucoma Surgery and Research for the African Surgical Assistance Project, a NYC-based non-profit foundation. Kevin has won teaching and research awards from the NYEEI, the University of Washington and St. Vincent’s Medical Center.
In addition to being an outstanding eye doctor, Kevin is an accomplished sculptor, painter, mime and soccer player.
Jesse Pelletier, MD
Ophthalmologist
Jesse is currently a Cornea Fellow at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL. He has conducted extensive lab and clinical research on the microbiology of eye infections with a focus on the ocular flora and surface microbiology of the eye in West Africa. He is a specialist in corneal and external disease and has a special interest in fungal infections, ulcerative corneal trauma and strategies to eliminate cataract blindness.
Jesse is involved with the WHO 2020 initiative at Bascom and has planned an epidemiological needs assessment survey while we are at Serabu to help with fundraising and planning of future trips. Jesse is also the Director of Cataract Surgery and Blindness Assessment Programs in the Africa Surgical Assistance Program. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in South and Central America, speaks Spanish, Italian and French, and is looking forward to testing out the Krio he has been studying.
Jesse primarily plays attacking midfielder on our soccer team but has been plagued this season by injury, not unlike Mr. Beckham.
Andrew M. Ianuzzi, JD
Born 5.6.1974 in Altoona, PA, Andy graduated from Colombia University in 1996 with a BS (English Literature). Andy spent the next several years after college teaching high school in Africa before graduating Brooklyn Law School earning his JD in 2002. He has since spent most of his professional life in Africa working on human rights legislation and constitutional reform in Uganda and Kenya after taking a leave of absence from his job as an associate at White & Case in NY. His current position with the UN Special Court in Freetown Sierra Leone makes our work there much easier.
Andy is on the ASAP Soccer team’s inactive list but continues to scout in country competition.
Diego M Caivano, MD
Emergency Medicine
UC Irvine, BS 1997 (Biology) , Howard University College of Medicine, MD, 2003 Diego has spent most of his life traveling, growing up between southern California and western Argentina. Upon graduation from UCI he spent several years traveling and working throughout the US and Europe as a medical technician. His multinational upbringing and work experiences have given him a unique perspective on global medicine. While at Howard University College of Medicine he spent time teaching in the DC public school system and working with rural surgeons in Argentina. He and Capriotti met as surgical interns in New York City where Diego was then a resident in Emergency Medicine.
For a short time before his move to Washington DC, Diego was a formidable forward on the ASAP Club team. He is also three-time winner of the Captain Morgan Look Alike Contest.