BDC Planning Committee

BDC Planning Committee

The National Bleeding Disorders Foundation would like to express our sincere appreciation to the BDC 2026 Planning Committee members for their unwavering commitment and service to our community. We are privileged to collaborate with such dedicated individuals who generously volunteer their time and expertise to help create a meaningful, educational, and empowering experience at BDC. 

The Planning Committee works closely with NBDF staff to shape the conference content. Their invaluable insights and knowledge play a crucial role in selecting the most relevant topics, securing engaging speakers, and designing sessions that address individuals with bleeding disorders' unique needs.

Liz Burgess

Liz is a strategic nonprofit leader with 25 years of experience in fiscal management, donor stewardship, and programmatic innovation. She is a seasoned executive director known for driving strategic growth and organizational transformation through operational excellence whether managing $5M+ budgets, implementing data-driven program evaluations, or navigating organizations through not only periods of growth and change but through challenges such as Covid. With a career spanning leadership roles at the American Dietetic Association, SitStayRead, Multiplying Good, and currently the Bleeding Disorders Alliance Illinois, Liz demonstrates a unique ability to build infrastructure, boards, strategic plans, and funding models necessary for long-term mission sustainability. 

 

Anna Cheshire

Anna joined the Colorado Chapter of NBDF as Program Manager in April 2024. She is enjoying the role as it allows her to give back to and build up a community she is passionate about and connected to directly by her own experience with Hemophilia B. Anna graduated from the University of Tulsa in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and minors in Biological Sciences, Education, and History. In her free time, Anna tries to spend as much time as possible outdoors by playing recreational sports, hiking, gardening, and more. 

Stephanie Dupree

Stephanie joined the Nevada Chapter of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation in 2021. With over 8 years of nonprofit development experience in Southern Nevada and a decade of leadership and event planning experience in higher education, Stephanie leads the Nevada Chapter of NBDF's donation campaigns, grant writing, and fundraising events, including the annual UNITE for Bleeding Disorders walks.  

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Stephanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Hawaii Pacific University and an M.A. in Postsecondary Educational Leadership from San Diego State University. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys reading, swimming, the Las Vegas music scene, and spending time with her family. 

 

Michelle Fernandez

Rigo Garcia

Rigo Garcia is the Executive Director of the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California (HFSC), where he provides strategic leadership and oversight of the organization’s programs, operations, and long-term sustainability. Since stepping into this role in 2022, Rigo has guided HFSC’s growth in educational programming, advocacy, and community engagement—efforts that have led to multiple leadership and recognition awards for the organization. 

With more than 18 years of experience in nonprofit and community health leadership, Rigo brings a strong background in health education, program development, and equity-focused initiatives. Prior to HFSC, he held senior leadership roles at large community health organizations across Los Angeles County, where he led innovative education, wellness, and public health programs serving diverse and underserved populations. 

Rigo is deeply committed to advancing culturally responsive education and strengthening community-driven solutions that improve health outcomes. His work continues to center the voices of individuals and families affected by bleeding disorders while building collaborative partnerships across healthcare, advocacy, and public health sectors. 

Emily Ouellette

Emily has been the Executive Director of the Bleeding Disorders Alliance of North Dakota since 2018. She is passionate about serving the bleeding disorders community because her husband has severe hemophilia A, and she has two young daughters who are carriers. Emily has seen the positive impact that both local and national bleeding disorders organizations have made on the lives of patients and caregivers. Her favorite BDAND memories are attending family retreats, our mom support group dinners, and watching kids learn to self-infuse. Emily has an education and French background and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. 

Tanya Stewart

Tanya Stewart is the Executive Director of the Greater Ohio Bleeding Disorders Foundation, based in Cleveland. She has worked in the field of bleeding disorders for nearly 18 years. Prior to this position, she worked in development for an environmental nonprofit.  
She has two adult children and lives in Cleveland with her husband, cat, and dog. In her spare time, she loves spending time with family, the outdoors, crocheting, and beekeeping.  

Fran Haynes








 

Shanthi Hegde

Shanthi Hegde (she/her) is a dedicated advocate working at the intersection of rare diseases and health equity. Living with two bleeding disorders and immune dysregulatory syndrome, she brings an intersectional lens to her work. Shanthi has previously served on the board of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation (NBDF). Her national advocacy efforts span multiple fronts: advancing mental health access for individuals with rare diseases through the Bleeding Disorders Substance Use and Mental Health Coalition, pushing for affordable drug pricing, championing education initiatives for women of color with bleeding disorders.

G Shellye Horowitz

G Shellye Horowitz, MA, PPS, has strong ties to the bleeding disorders community with six traceable generations of hemophilia A in her family. She inherited hemophilia from her father. Her advocacy work includes an emphasis on early diagnosis and care for females with hemophilia and strengthening diagnosis and care for all people with mild bleeding disorders. Shellye is a licensed school counselor and principal with over 30 years experience. She currently works for the University of Washington in the Johnsen Lab. All opinions are her own.

Sulmari Powell-Barreto

Kathaleen Schnur

Kathaleen Schnur is a seasoned social worker with a decade of invaluable experience at the Hemophilia Center of Western PA, where she navigates the complexities of social work across micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Her dedication and expertise have led her to collaborate with national groups, addressing crucial issues within the bleeding disorder community. Kathaleen actively partners to develop targeted education initiatives both nationally and locally. Passionate about effecting change, Kathaleen remains steadfast in empowering individuals and advocating in the ever-evolving landscape of hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. Additionally, Kathaleen serves as the chair of the NBDF Social Work Working Group and MASAC member, leveraging her expertise to drive collaborative efforts in the field. She is also a member of the World Federation of Hemophilia Psychosocial Committee, further expanding her impact on a global scale. Kathaleen is most importantly a wife, a mother, and a friend. Her favorite moments are spent in the glorious busyness of her children’s activities and the quiet moments of date nights with her husband.

Laura Sousa Wagner

Laura Sousa Wagner is a disability attorney, speaker, musician, and mom of three – the youngest of whom was diagnosed at five days old with severe hemophilia A. As a member of the disability community herself, she is committed to advocating and spreading awareness not just for the bleeding disorders community, but also for the idea that life does not, and should not, stop with a diagnosis. Hailing from Foxborough, Massachusetts, she is a frequent volunteer for the New England Hemophilia Association. In her *free* time, she works as a freelance musician, having played violin since the age of five, and often performs in orchestras, small groups, and for solo gigs around New England.

Melisa Walker

I am both a parent and a patient. Diagnosed with ultra rare bleeding disorder(s), it has become a necessary passion to learn more about the bleeding community and self-advocacy.

My background is in athletic training and I have over 40 years of volunteer involvement with the Special Olympics and a private non-profit foundation for Childhood Luekemia. 

This is my first year working as a volunteer with NBDF.

Kimberly Wilt

Kim Wilt is a committed advocate for those with von Willebrand disease, and other bleeding disorders. After her daughter got a diagnosis, she finally understood her own struggles after years of normalizing abnormal bleeding issues not knowing there was an actual underline cause.  Kim uses personal experience to fuel advocacy efforts. Collaborating with her local Bleeding disorder chapters and engaging in social media campaigns. Kim works to raise awareness and support for early diagnosis and effective management. Her goal is to empower patients and families with the resources they need. In her free time, Kim enjoys fishing, painting, and being outdoors, balancing life beyond advocacy.

Meera B. Chitlur, MD

Meera Chitlur is the Professor of Pediatrics at Central Michigan University, Barnhart-Lusher Hemostasis Research Endowed Chair at Wayne State University and Director of the Hemophilia Treatment Center and Jeanne M. Lusher Special Coagulation laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.  She is the Co-PI of the Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia arm of ATHN Transcends, the Site PI/co-investigator on several clinical trials in bleeding and thrombosis and is a Board member of the Foundation for Women and girls with Blood Disorders. She has served as an invited member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee (MASAC) of the NBDF and the Blood and Blood Products Committee at the FDA. She is actively involved in patient and provider education on hemostatic disorders through various organizations including FWGBD and NBDF. Dr.Chitlur has authored or co-authored 90 publications and 10 book chapters. Her clinical interests are in improving care for girls/persons with the propensity to menstruate and all patients with bleeding disorders and her research interests are in global hemostasis assays and their utility in the diagnosis and management of bleeding and thrombotic disorders

 

Stacy E. Croteau, MD, MMS

Dr. Stacy Croteau is a pediatric hematologist and clinical investigator at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, where she specializes in bleeding and clotting disorders. She leads the Hemophilia/VWD program at Boston Children’s Hospital and medical director for the Boston Bleeding Disorders Center serving Boston Children’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Croteau serves as the principal investigator for several industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical trials on hemophilia and other bleeding and clotting disorders.

Amy Dunn, MD

Amy L. Dunn. MD is a Professor of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital, the Ohio State University College of Medicine where she is the Director of Pediatric Hematology and directs the Hemostasis Treatment Center. Dr Dunn received her medical degree from Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio and completed her pediatric and pediatric hematology/oncology training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Dunn is a member of various professional associations including the American Society of Hematology, World Federation of Hemophilia, The International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the International Prophylaxis Study Group and the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society (HTRS). She is on the boards of the World Federation of Hemophilia, USA, Cascade, and is the Chair of MASAC for the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation. Dr Dunn has received multiple awards, including the US News and World Report Top Doctors, and was the National Hemophilia Foundation Physician of the Year for 2020.

 

Steven W. Pipe, MD

Dr Steven Pipe is a Professor and the Laurence A. Boxer Research Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.  He is the medical director of the Pediatric Hemophilia and Coagulation Disorders Program and medical director of the Special Coagulation Laboratory. His clinical interests include bleeding and thrombotic disorders and congenital vascular anomalies. Dr Pipe also directs a basic research lab investigating coagulation factor VIII and the molecular mechanisms of hemophilia A. He has been actively involved in clinical trials with novel therapeutics for hemophilia including gene therapy. He was the 2015 recipient of the Leadership in Research Award from the National Hemophilia Foundation.  He has served on the Board of Directors for the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society, as Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network and most recently as Chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council to the National Bleed Disorders Foundation.
 

Patricia A. Rayner








 

Maggie Herrity MSN, RN, PHN

Maggie K Herrity is a Licensed Registered Nurse with over 10 years of health care experience. Her areas of focus have included cardiology and bone marrow transplant, and she is currently involved in benign hematology.

Herrity has been working at the Center for Bleeding and Clotting Disorders at MHealth Fairview as a Nurse Clinician Supervisor since 2018. Her passions include prioritizing patient education, optimizing workflows, and providing patient-centered care. She currently serves as the Northern States Representative on the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Nursing Working group.
 

Kimberly Hurdstrom, RN, BSN

Kim Hurdstrom has been a clinical nurse coordinator with the Colorado University Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center for the last 11 years. She has many different responsibilities in her role, but her focus is new diagnosis bleeding disorder patient education, community-based bleeding disorder education, and rare bleeding disorder patient education. She has helped to develop center-based guidelines for new patients, women’s health, and inhibitor patients. Currently she is a member of the NDBF nurse working group. 

Jessica Clancey-Sodini, PT, DPT, AT

Jessica Clancey-Sodini is a physical therapist with Nemours Children's Health hemophilia treatment centers in Jacksonville, Florida. She has been working in the world of pediatric bleeding disorders since 2018.  She is currently a member of the NBDF Physical Therapy Working Group and Southeast Region representative.  She is co-chair of the BDC planning committee and will be taking on the role of chair for the 2027 BDC.  With a background in sports and orthopedic practice,  just shy of 20 years, her clinical interests include return to sport for an ever-active patient population, the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound to aid physician decision making, and supporting the families of her patients. 

 

Mark Krimmel, PT, DPT, RMSK

Mark Krimmel is a physical therapist with the hemophilia treatment centers at the Washington Center for Bleeding Disorders and Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, WA where he has served for the last seven years. He has been on the PT Working Group as the Mountain States Representative for the last two years and contributed as a session speaker on the PT track at BDC in 2022. He currently serves on several subcommittees for the PT Newsletter, BDC Planning and MSKUS Practice Guidelines in MASAC. His clinical interests include the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in diagnostics, bone and joint health and use of Pilates rehabilitation techniques in patients with bleeding disorders.

Lucy Ramirez, MSW, LCSW

Lucy Ramirez is a licensed clinical social worker for the Rush Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Treatment Center at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. In her current position, Ms. Ramirez’s practice primarily involves counseling and educating individuals with bleeding disorders, their caregivers and family members. She has served as facilitator and guest speaker for patient educational events sponsored by the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation, the Bleeding Disorder Alliance of Illinois, the VWD Connect Foundation and the Coalition for Hemophilia B. She serves as the current vice chair of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation’s Social Work Working Group.  
 

Jessica Wulf, LMSW

Jessica Wulf is the social worker at Western New York BloodCare, the Buffalo area’s Hemophilia Treatment Center and specializes in diagnostic and clinical services. Jessica started working at WNYBC in 2017 as a part time social worker. Throughout the years she has expanded her position within the center. Jessica has played a pivotal role in quality improvement, clinical operations, and expanding the local chapter.

Jessica has had a variety of experiences in the social work field; from mental health, case management, and to end-of-life care. She has a passion for helping vulnerable populations and advocating for social justice. Jessica hopes that her research efforts will continue to shed light on the mental health struggles of mothers and bring attention to maternal health. She also feels very passionate about bringing women into the forefront in the bleeding disorders community.

 

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