About Us

About Us

Our Story

In 2019 our founder, Neal Piper, and his family received a cancer diagnosis for their 3-year-old son. Neal, his family, and their care team immediately got to work. After some time they realized that the tumor would affect his son’s ability to safely eat and drink creating a new reality for their family.

After personally experiencing the weight of a nutritional feeding program, requiring bulky equipment, overnight feeding, and inability to share data effectively with their physician, Neal decided to do something. He built a team of people from some of the most successful companies in spine care, diabetes care, and software development to build the world’s first truly portable, connected tube feeding system.

Team

Neal Piper

Neal Piper

Founder & CEO
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Garrett Marin

Garrett Marin

Chief Operating Officer
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Liz Doerr

Liz Doerr

Chief Financial Officer
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Hill Johnson

Hill Johnson

Sr. Product Manager
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Rawley Rearick II

Rawley Rearick II

Director of Quality
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Jordan Word

Jordan Word

Sr. R&D Engineer
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Hunter Ramp

Hunter Ramp

Software Engineering Manager
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Janine Icalla

Janine Icalla

Systems Engineer
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Ben Paysour

Ben Paysour

Sr. Manufacturing Engineer
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Kelsey Cox

Kelsey Cox

Chief of Staff
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Board and Advisors

Neal Piper

Neal Piper

Founder & CEO
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Joe Andrasko

Joe Andrasko

Board Member
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Brian Hansen

Brian Hansen

Board Member
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Marty Weiner

Marty Weiner

Technical Guardian Angel
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Partners

VBHRC VA Catalyst

VBHRC VA Catalyst

VIPC Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

VIPC Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

SWPDC

SWPDC

Pediatric Device Consortia Grants Program

Pediatric Device Consortia Grants Program

Lighthouse Labs

Lighthouse Labs

CTIP

CTIP

Willowtree

Willowtree

Cville BioHub

Cville Biohub

Cedarware: from design to delivery.

Cedarware

Investors

Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation | Virginia Venture Partners

Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation | Virginia Venture Partners

Sands Capital

Sands Capital

Fry's Path Capital

Fry’s Path Capital

Cav Angels

Cav Angels

757 Angels

757 Angels

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    Driven by his son Noah’s struggle with tube feeding, Neal dedicated his life to improving enteral nutrition technology. Neal has spent over 15 years advancing healthcare across 18 countries, beginning at Pfizer’s Neuroscience Division and Emerging Markets Business Unit. He then served as President of Pfizer’s Global Health Fellows Alumni Business Network, which included 350 Pfizer leaders and scientists. Neal’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to launch other startups, including The Presidential Precinct and a home health company, which demonstrate his commitment to enhancing healthcare and communities globally. Neal lives in Charlottesville with his wife and twins and enjoys traveling, gardening, and spending time outdoors. 

    Why Luminoah?

    “Luminoah is very personal to me. We aren’t just a company; we are a beacon of hope for a brighter future. Every innovation, every breakthrough, ripples outward, improving lives. To be a part of that, to be one of the minds shaping that impact, is a privilege like no other. Here I have a chance to leave a positive impact on the world, to make a difference that truly matters.”

    Garrett is the former Sr. Director of Product Management and Business Development at Tandem Diabeties Care and brings 15+ years of medical device development and commercialization experience and has over 20 product approvals through the FDA with a 100% track record of success.

    Why Luminoah?

    “I’m thrilled to be part of a pioneering medical device startup focused on building a brighter future for people requiring enteral nutrition. Even better is the fact that I get to do this with an incredible team of people who all love what we get to do and have fun doing it.”

    Liz has held several leadership positions in public and private companies. She started her business career working in various management roles at CSX (Fortune 500) ending her tenure as the departmental CFO for the company’s Innovation and Technology departments. She later joined the Richmond-based venture capital firm, NRV to help manage the company’s $55 million angel investing portfolio and led the firm’s $33 million fundraise for its Series A fund. As a director at NRV, she led the company’s investor relations, financial due diligence and portfolio company services, including serving as CFO for one of the fund’s portfolio companies. Liz founded Sandbox because she is passionate about helping the Richmond community’s brilliant entrepreneurs launch and grow their ventures. At Sandbox, Liz is a fractional CFO for several clients and helps startups prepare for future growth, capital raises, or acquisitions. In her spare time, she is involved with various organizations including Virginia Women in Venture, which focuses on growing the number of female investors in venture capital and private equity.

    Hill is a lifelong learner that has a passion for groundbreaking technology and its applications to the healthcare industry. During his time in undergraduate, Hill’s early research focused on the investigation of novel methods for cryopreservation of organs for long-term viability and eventual transplantation. While in graduate school at the University of Virginia, Hill met Neal Piper and began working as one of the company’s first interns. Upon finishing his master’s in biomedical engineering, Hill joined the company as the first employee and founding engineer. In his free time, you can find Hill supporting his favorite sports teams and spending time with his partner and Golden Retriever.

    Why Luminoah?

    “Luminoah has an amazing opportunity to impact the lives of people around the world, and there is no greater privilege than the opportunity to be a key contributor for those innovations.”

    Rawley has spent over 20 years leading and supporting quality initiatives across 13 countries in the medical device and plastic film industries. While having experience in product development and technical support, Rawley’s passion lies in the areas of quality and continuous improvement, where he drives the principles of ‘right first time’ (RFT) and ‘1% better’. In his free time, Rawley enjoys martial arts. Along with the rest of his family, he holds a black belt in karate and can often be found volunteering at the studio.

    Why Luminoah?

    “Luminoah brings such an exciting opportunity – Working with a strong team of positive, talented people with a common goal: bringing to life products that truly help people and give them a better life experience.”

    Jordan is a R&D engineer with a passion for connecting unmet patient needs with medical device innovation. She is experienced in translating user needs to device requirements, developing and executing pre-clinical studies, and leading design validation activities. Prior to Luminoah, Jordan worked at Abbott Structural Heart developing transcatheter valve repair devices. Jordan has a B.S. and M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia. In her free time, Jordan enjoys climbing, exploring the outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

    Why Luminoah?

    “Luminoah was born out of an unmet patient need and the company’s commitment to user-centric design is unwavering. I am proud to be a part of the team developing a technology that will make a meaningful difference in the quality of life of those that require enteral nutrition.”

    Hunter Ramp is the Software Engineering Manager at Luminoah. After graduating Gonzaga University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Hunter found himself drawn to software development at Tandem Diabetes, where he optimized automation frameworks for FDA-compliant medical releases. Driven by a desire to improve the lives of individuals facing health challenges, he joined Luminoah, drawn by the opportunity to empower feeding system users. In his free time, Hunter enjoys pickleball and attending baseball games with his family. At Luminoah, his commitment remains unwavering—to innovate for the well-being of individuals in need.

    Why Luminoah?

    “Working at Luminoah affords me a chance to utilize my skills to enact change in the lives of those living with tube feeding. I am privileged to collaborate with a team seeking to break ground on new innovations that will modernize the medical device
    community.”

    Janine holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Prior to her current role, Janine spent 1 year as an engineering intern for Luminoah, driving device UI development and aiding in verification and validation activities. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching hockey games, and spending time with friends and family.

    Why Luminoah?

    “I was drawn to Luminoah for many reasons: the people, the technology, and more importantly the mission to positively impact those requiring enteral nutrition. It’s an incredible privilege being part of a team that will make a meaningful difference in people’s day-to-day lives.”

    Ben is an engineer with seven years of experience in the medical device industry. He has led facility design and buildout, as well as production initiation and scale-up. His areas of expertise include diagnostic medical equipment, implantable devices, and medical research instrumentation. He is passionate about designing, developing, and manufacturing medical devices that positively impact patient care. Outside of work, Ben enjoys spending time outdoors—maintaining his farm, being with his wife and animals, mountain biking, and drawing.

    Why Luminoah?

    “I’m excited to join a company dedicated to making medical devices that enhance quality of care and improve outcomes. Luminoah allows me to combine my passion for engineering with a purpose-driven mission that directly impacts lives.”

    Kelsey joins the Luminoah team as the Chief of Staff to support, engage, and manage. Kelsey was the Executive Director of Foxfield Races Charlottesville’s non-profit steeplechase races and events, and prior to that an elementary educator and director of a summer education program. She has a passion for community and loves to find ways to bring people together. Kelsey enjoys being with her family and friends, and decorating, antiquing, and organizing.

    Why Luminoah?

    “I am inspired by the personal story behind the the Luminoah enteral technology and the team’s development of the life changing technology. Luminoah is setting out to create positive change in people’s lives and I am thrilled to be a part of the growing story.”

    Joe is the managing partner and chief investment officer of Fry’s Path Capital, a private investment partnership based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Fry’s Path employs a hybrid investment approach to build diversified global portfolios. The firm makes direct investments in private operating businesses and allocates capital to third-party investment managers across a broad range of asset classes and strategies. Fry’s Path Capital was the lead investment in Luminoah’s seed round and Series A.

    Brian is the President of CGM at Ascensia Diabetes Care. With extensive experience as a Chief Executive, Brian has an unparalleled track record of establishing world-class commercial organizations that lead placements in their respective markets.

    Marty was a founding engineer at Pinterest and spent 4.5 exciting years building Pinterest from tiny to big. In 2015 he joined Reddit as its first CTO tasked with helping bring the company into working order. Much gray hair was created, but now Reddit is well on its way toward IPO.

    Marty “retired” in 2019 and now spends his time advising companies on how to grow from tiny to IPO, while chasing kids around the house and building full size droids (and with the AI explosion happening, hoping to make these droids do things that scare us a little. 🙂 )

    Marty is the Technical Guardian Angel at Luminoah, where he helps build cool stuff and solve technical problems.