NADF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Kalina Warren
Co-President Kalina became the NADF Board President in early 2012 after serving as a volunteer for over three years. Together with other Board Members she helped create a strategy to inform, educate, and support those with adrenal disease and their families to improve their quality of life. Kalina’s education and professional work is in the environmental field, with a specialty in water quality issues. She sees the strong connection between health and our environment, and feels very fortunate to be able to serve both causes. With a family member’s adrenal insufficiency diagnosis, Kalina dedicated herself to NADF mission and goals. |
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Erin A. Foley-Moudry, MPH
Co-President Erin has been a member of NADF since her diagnosis in 1993 with Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome type 2 (APS 2), a combination of Primary Adrenal Insufficiency (PAI), Type 1 diabetes and hypothyroidism. As a college freshman, Erin became gravely ill, was hospitalized for eight days and discharged with only a hypothyroidism diagnosis. A retired nurse, her mother recognized the signs of PAI a few days later after relentlessly researching while watching her daughter die. Post-diagnosis and recovery, Erin continued with her major of Health Policy and Administration and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Penn State four years later. Across those years, NADF’s Quarterly Newsletter was her only connection to others with PAI and she recalls reading every single word of each issue twice. Erin began her healthcare career running programming and operations for the Diabetes Youth and Family Foundation in California and then went on to sell insulin pumps in Texas. After moving back to her home state of New Jersey to begin her Master’s in Public Health at Columbia University in NYC, she learned that NADF was seeking new board members. Erin applied, was accepted and quickly became President and Executive Director of NADF, running the organization for several years until she and her husband David were blessed with their son Tommy in 2004. She rejoined the Board in 2010 once she had established a successful career supporting pharmaceutical company efforts to obtain health insurance access for patients to the medications they need. Erin now serves as NADF Board VP, continuing to contribute her time selflessly to the organization. She is especially grateful to her mother for her diagnosis and help with her APS 2, her husband and son and their support, and for finding career in which she uses her degrees in health care every single day. When not working or volunteering for NADF or the American Diabetes Association, you can often find Erin spending her time with her family and energetic rescue dog at their New Jersey home. |
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Liz Rodrigues
Treasurer Liz has her MBA in accounting and has worked in private accounting for over 20 years. She has volunteered her time as treasurer for other organizations for over 4 years and now has begun her new chapter with NADF. She joined the NADF because her close friend was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease and wants to contribute her experience in accounting for the foundation. She works full time for a multi-billion dollar company based in Japan and is a full time mom to a wonderful daughter and “fur” son. |
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Elizabeth Regan, MD, PhD
Board Member Dr. Regan is a physician/researcher in Colorado who is interested in improving diagnosis and care for people affected by adrenal disease, particularly adrenal insufficiency. She is developing a research focused patient registry that will collect information about people with various forms of adrenal insufficiency. Her goal is to encourage other researchers to use the registry for research projects to improve drug treatment options and look for prevention strategies. She recently published a paper that described the earlier (2015-2016) NADF registry and linked the results to the 1997 survey that Dr. Margulies had collected. This paper documented significant issues with diagnosis and patient satisfaction with their care. |
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Holly Jagger, MA
Board Member Holly has been employed in both public school and private special-needs settings for more than 40 years, first employed as a music therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital after earning a Bachelor’s (1987) in Music Therapy summa cum laude. Upon completion of an intensive internship, she became supervisor of the department where she was responsible for evaluating clients’ data and providing orientation to college freshmen majoring in the field. In 1997 she completed her Master of Arts in Education magna cum laude from Marywood University after which she taught Vocal Music in the Vestal School District for 19 years. She took an active role in designing the district’s music curriculum to align with NYSED guidelines. Diagnosed in 1994 with Addison’s disease while completing graduate studies, she also developed hypothyroidism in the year 2000. With her former diagnosis of Premature Ovarian Failure in 1984, she was then found to have Polyglandular Syndrome Type 2. She soon saw the need for local support in her area of upstate NY and her home of northeastern PA, where she focused on assisting others and expanding awareness of adrenal insufficiency in the medical community. She has been an advocate for NADF in numerous roles since that time and currently serves as a board member. |
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Smita Abraham, MD
Board Member Dr. Abraham is an academic endocrinologist with a special interest in adrenal and pituitary disorders including, but not limited to adrenal insufficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, primary hyperaldosteronism, pheochromocytoma and Cushing’s syndrome. Dr. Abraham has conducted research in many of these areas and is currently conducting a study to re-define the cortisol cut-off level within the cosyntropin stimulation test to more accurately diagnose adrenal insufficiency. Dr. Abraham practices endocrinology part-time at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY. She also is a consultant to pharmaceutical companies based on her experience as a medical officer at the United States Food and Drug Administration. In this role, she works with companies to develop robust clinical development programs to bring safe and effective endocrine drugs to market. Dr. Abraham fully stands behind the NADF mission and in her various roles hopes to help NADF reach its goals to improve the lives of patients with adrenal diseases. |
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Gavin Christensen
Board Member Gavin is an entrepreneurial Venture Capitalist with a passion for investing and building Utah and the West. In 2008, Gavin recognized a need for both leadership and capital at the seed stage in Utah. Gavin worked with the Utah ecosystem to found Kickstart Seed Fund to fill this gap. Starting a seed stage firm focused on Utah during the Great Recession was not easy, but Kickstart is now the most active investor in Utah at the seed stage with 100+ investments. Gavin received a Master’s of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. in Economics (with Honors) from Brigham Young University. Gavin serves on the boards of many startup and growth companies. |
