Our Leadership

Cure JM is led by a passionate team of volunteers, staff, and medical experts in juvenile myositis research and care.

Board of Directors

Kristine Alderfer

Chair

Winona Lake, Indiana

Justin Whitney

President

Yarmouth, Maine

Denise Koch

Secretary

Ottawa, Illinois

Tim Shelby, JD

Treasurer

The Woodlands, Texas

Shari Hume, MBA

Co-Founder and Director

Encinitas, California

Tom Hume, MA

Co-Founder and Director

Encinitas, California

Tracy Van Ness, PH.D., DHSc, PA-C

Director

Bayport, New York

Karen Berman, MBA

Director

Oak Park, Illinois

Zachary Harrison

Director

Hilliard, Ohio

Randy Putt

Director and Chair of the Grandparent Council

Lafayette, Indiana

Michelle Best

Director

Arlington, Virginia

Debbie Daum

Director

Rye, New York

Julie Houpt

Director

Dallas, Texas

Anna Schwartz-Ramsey

Director

Los Angeles, California

John Caldwell

Director and Chair of the National Leadership Council

Edmond, OK

Nikki Hahn

Chair Emeritus

Scarsdale, New York

Medical Advisory Board

Brian Feldman, M.D., MSc, FRCPC

Chair of the Medical Advisory Board, Head Division of Rheumatology Hospital of Sick Children, Toronto

Lucy R. Wedderburn, Ph.D, MRCP

Director, Arthritis Research Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology University College London (UCL)

Anne Stevens, M.D., Ph.D

Senior Director, Immunology Acelyrin Research and Development

Ann M. Reed, M.D.

Department of Pediatrics Duke University School of Medicine

Lauren M. Pachman, M.D.

Professor of Pediatrics Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Kanneboyina Nagaraju, DVM, MVSc, Ph.D.

Dean and Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Binghamton University, State University of New York

Susan Kim, M.D., MMSc

Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics University of California, San Francisco

Adam Huber, M.D., M.Sc.

Professor of Pediatrics Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Stacey Tarvin, M.D.

Program Director, Pediatric Rheumatology Riley Hospital, Chair of Cure JM’s Clinical Care Network

Andy Mammen, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Myositis Center Investigator, National Institutes of Health

Lisa G. Rider, M.D.

Chair Emeritus, Head Environmental Autoimmunity Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health

Staff

Jim Minow

Executive Director

Shannon Malloy

Director of Development and Community Engagement

Andrew Heaton, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Suzanne Edison, M.A., M.F.A.

Mental Health Coordinator

Ryan King

Communications

Ashley Renfrow, RN, NP-C

Family and Clinician Education Manager

Nicole Ryba

Chapter and Walk Manager

Betsy León

Development Associate

Sara Echols

Chapter and Walk Manager

Lauren Alvord

Clinical Care Network Manager

Aqeela Elam

Conference Planner

Patty Gauss

Database and Accounting Administrator

Tayler-Ann Brull

Communications Associate