Staff

John Huber
Executive Director
huber@aamds.org
John brings to the Foundation more than 33 years of leadership experience with associations, foundations and non-profit organizations. John joins the AA&MDSIF after serving as Executive Director of the American Urological Association Foundation (AUAF). Prior to serving with the AUAF, John  served for eight years with Goodwill Industries International (GII), most recently as its Vice-President of Membership Support Services. He also served as the National Executive Director for the Lupus Foundation of America. During his tenure with these three organizations, he developed a track record of creating and implementing new governance models and strategies, securing financial resources for patient education and research programs, expanding membership, and deploying "member service" driven concepts. "I am deeply honored to have this opportunity to serve the thousands of individuals worldwide who are suffering from bone marrow failure diseases," stated John. "The Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation is a tremendous advocate and resource for education, research, and emotional support for patients and families. I hope to expand and improve the reach of our Foundation to ensure that we doing everything we can to fight for a cure for bone marrow failure diseases and improve the lives of those affected."

Christin Engelhardt
Health Professional Program Director
engelhardt@aamds.org
Christin works with health professionals—community hematologists, nurses, physician assistants—to provide them crucial information and resources on the diagnosis and treatment of people with rare bone marrow diseases.  Working with the Foundation's Medical Advisory Board as well as its Advisory Councils, Christin manages publications and teleconferences for health professionals as well as the annual nurses' conference.  She also maintains contact with researchers around the world on the current science and helps to publicize the pertinent findings.  In addition, Christin runs the Foundation's research program to advance its goal of finding a cure for bone marrow disease; she is the Foundation's liaison to professional societies and to the National Institutes of Health. Christin comes to the Foundation with more than fifteen years of experience in non-profit health care organizations.  Previously Christin developed publications for and directed the outreach efforts of the Health Assistance Partnership, a non-profit organization then dedicated to serving consumer health insurance assistance programs that help people with health care coverage and access.  She has also worked for the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association, writing educational material and helping patients to understand their insurance coverage.  Christin was  the executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association for several years where she managed all of the association's public and professional education.  Prior to working for the ASAA, Christin worked extensively on the report of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research as well as in the work of the coalition that successfully lobbied Congress to implement the Commission's recommendations.  She also has significant experience in political campaigns, including grassroots organizing and message development. 


Leigh Clark
Patient Educator
clark@aamds.org
Leigh recently joined the AA&MDSIF as a Patient Educator.  She communicates with patients and families all over the world by telephone or email, providing information, support, and hope.  Leigh is here to help patients, family members, caregivers, and medical professionals by answering their questions about bone marrow failure diseases and treatments, find financial resources, and to provide them with educational materials.  She brings to the foundation over 18 years experience as a patient advocate, most recently with United Cerebral Palsy of Southern MD.   

Kathy Fisher
Financial Manager
fisher@aamds.org
If an organization is very lucky, it has someone like Kathy who works behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. Kathy works with patients, family members, and friends to set up memorial gifts and other donations that support our research and patient assistance work. With an extensive background in office management and accounting, Kathy is more than capable of dealing with the daily emergencies that arise. Kathy also works with patients and family members who are interested in attending our annual conference.  With quiet grace and good humor, Kathy works with patients, health practitioners, and colleagues to make sure that the important details—the timely thank you, the word of encouragement, the gentle tribute—are handled with care.

Yvonne Finne
Project Coordinator
finne@aamds.org
Yvonne manages the many projects that are going on at any given time—from producing a new brochure to making travel arrangements for the doctors who speak at our annual patient conference. A skilled and experienced project manager with years of experience, Yvonne makes sure that schedules are met, that resources are used wisely, and that our activities are completed with care, attention to detail and with the excellence our patients have come to expect.  Yvonne makes our joint projects work—from the drawing board to final delivery.

Last Modified: July 12, 2007