Events

Early detection of cancer is critical to the success of most treatments. There are many laboratory tests intended to detect cancer, but how reliable are the results? In this talk, we will explore the world of “tumor markers,” or blood tests that are used to detect cancer before it causes physical symptoms.

Roger L. Bertholf, Ph.D. is currently the Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine; the Professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute and the Medical Director of Clinical Chemistry at Houston Methodist Hospital.  He earned his B.S. (Chemistry) from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA in 1977; his M.S. (Chemistry) from University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA in August, 1981 and his Ph.D. (Biochemistry) from University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA in January, 1985.  He completed post-doctoral fellowships in Clinical Chemistry and Neuropathology Research before accepting an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at University of Florida College of Medicine in 1988.

After nearly 30 years on the faculty at University of Florida, Roger moved to Houston in 2017 to become the Medical Director of Clinical Chemistry at Houston Methodist Hospital. He holds professorships in the Houston Methodist Research Institute, Weill Cornell College of Medicine, and Texas A&M College of Medicine. He is author or co-author of over 60 peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature and over 40 book chapters, and he has edited two books. Since 2012, he has served as Editor in Chief of Laboratory Medicine, a biomedical journal published by the American Society for Clinical Pathology and Oxford University Press.

CAM RAHMN-SPENCER

Director of Government Relations

Cam Rahmn-Spencer was named Director of Government Relations for the Port of Houston in March of 2021. Cam brings a diverse background to the Port working across the public, non-profit, and private sectors. He currently serves as the Legislative Vice Chair for the National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) as well. Prior to his role at Port Houston, Cam served as the Manager of Government and Public Relations for the Port of Hueneme in Southern California. With a background in legislative analysis, political strategy, communications, marketing, grant writing, and solution-based negotiations, Cam is a strong advocate for Port Houston and our nation’s supply chains.

Cam earned his Masters of Public Policy with a dual specialization in Economics and State/Local Government and a Masters of Dispute Resolution, both from Pepperdine University. He also completed Yale University’s School of Executive Management Certificate in Global Business and Politics. In 2010, Cam earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Biola University.

Ellen Israel Goldberg has a broad background in business, healthcare, education, photojournalism, and creative endeavors--a good foundation for global projects in both professional and volunteer capacities.  She is passionate about building mutual understanding among cultures, with more than 40 years of experience in citizen diplomacy through a variety of local, national, and international activities.

By education, Ellen was a dental hygienist in private practice. Along the way, she was a lecturer and clinical instructor at the University of Texas Dental Branch, then joined her late husband manufacturing office furniture, with stores in five locations. Among her clients were five major consulates in Houston.

Her first trip out of the country was in 1982 when she was 41.  It changed her life. As a result of the visit, she became an author, writing “Finding A Bride and Other Adventures of a Jewish Mother In India.” She also became a photojournalist whose far-reaching articles and pictures have appeared in publications here and abroad.  

Ellen has served on committees and boards, with special interests in the Middle East, India, and Africa.  She has been associated with the sister cities movement since 1993 and was the Founding President of the Houston-Abu Dhabi Sister City Association before serving eight years as the President of Sister Cities of Houston. In 2019, Ellen was appointed as Co-Vice Chair of the Sister Cities International Conference and Co-Chair of the Africa Forum held in Houston. In addition, she was a 2023 plenary speaker in South Africa and was selected as one of the Elders.

She has been acknowledged for her public service. HoustonWoman magazine named Ellen one of Houston's Most Influential Women of 2014.  Her honors include being  named a Global Leader of Influence by the World Affairs Council-Houston, a Global Citizen Award given by the United Nations Association-Houston, and a Lifetime Achievement Award celebrating last year’s International Women's Day.

Ellen’s husband of 60 years passed away in 2022. She has two married children and three grandchildren.  Family is very important to her, and she’s proud that strong values have been passed to the next generations.

Jose Rivera-Arroyo
Supervisory Special Agent
Financial Crimes Taskforce
Houston Division

Mr. Rivera-Arroyo was born in New York City, New York. He received a Bachelor's Degree from
the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico in 2000.
Mr. Rivera-Arroyo has been a Special Agent of the FBI since 2005. He first was assigned to the
San Antonio Division, where he worked Counterterrorism and Transnational Organized Crime
investigations. In 2010, he became a member of the San Antonio Division Crisis Negotiations team and
taught Crisis Negotiations to Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the Rio
Grande Valley of Texas. In 2015, he was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) and assigned to the
newly formed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) unit of the International Operations Division in
FBI Headquarters. He was responsible for all MLAT matters submitted to the United States by foreign
countries in North America, South America, Africa, and Europe.
In late 2016, he was promoted to Assistant Legal Attaché and was responsible for representing the
FBI in Honduras. He coordinated all FBI investigative leads and requests with Honduran Law Enforcement
Agencies, and supervised the FBI Transnational Anti-Gang Unit (TAG).
In 2020, ALAT Rivera-Arroyo was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF) in the
Houston Division’s National Security Branch. SSA Rivera-Arroyo, with the responsibility to investigate
International Terrorism, with a primary focus on Home Grown Violent Extremist and ISIS. In January of
2025, SSA Rivera-Arroyo oversaw the JTTF support to the New Orleans Division during the New Year’s
day Terrorist attack, the 4 th largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
In March 2026, he was reassigned to supervise the Financial Crimes Taskforce. The focus of the
taskforce is to combat fraud and financial crimes. The financial taskforce is responsible for investigating
numerous violations to include Securities Fraud, Embezzlements, Mortgage Fraud, Bank Fraud, Ponzi
Schemes, Romance Scams, Fraud against the Government, and Cyber Enabled Fraud.
SSA Rivera-Arroyo is married and has a 24-year-old son who graduated from the University of
Texas A&M, and a 20-year-old daughter attending the University of Houston.

Ashley McPhail is the Chief External Affairs and Administration Officer at Texas Medical
Center, where she provides internal leadership to drive the strategic development and support of
policies and regulations for domestic, state-wide, and national legislation. As the leader for
external initiatives, Ms. McPhail is responsible for facilitating engagement with TMC business
partners and governments, both domestic and foreign, across the healthcare and life science
industries. She leads strategic programs such as the Clinical Research Institute and the TMC
international BioBridges to advance innovation and research in the life sciences. In addition to
her external affair responsibilities, Ms. McPhail oversees human resources, and spearheads
operational and organizational initiatives across TMC.
 
Prior to joining TMC in 2015, Ms. McPhail worked for GMMB, Inc. in Washington, D.C. as a
senior account executive providing campaign and communication strategy for global health and
domestic health care clients, including The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the United
Nations Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Ms. McPhail earned her MBA
from Duke University and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Millsaps College.
Ms. McPhail serves on the Millsaps College Board and is actively involved with the Junior
League of Houston and Wesley Community Center.

Houston National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in Harris County, Texas, near Houston. It encompasses 419.2 acres only about half of which is developed. The cemetery had more than 111,000 interments as of 2021. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.