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

Julie Houpt

Director
Dallas, Texas

Debbie Daum

Director
Rye, New York

Nikki Hahn

Chair
Scarsdale, New York

Kristine Alderfer

President
Winona Lake, Indiana

Denise Koch

Secretary of the National Leadership Council
Ottawa, Illinois

Justin Whitney

Treasurer
Yarmouth, Maine

Shari Hume, MBA

Co-Founder and Director
Encinitas, California

Tom Hume, MA

Co-founder and Director
Encinitas, California

Tim Shelby, JD

Director
The Woodlands, Texas

Brent Hauser

Director
Austin, Texas

Tracy Van Ness, 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

Dave Maher

Director and Chair of the National Leadership Council
Estero, Florida

Michelle Best

Director
Arlington, Virginia

Mitali Dave, MS, MBA

Chair Emeritus
Short Hills, New Jersey

Medical Advisory Board

Lisa G. Rider, M.D.

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

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 Janssen Research and Development

Ann M. Reed, M.D.

Chair, 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.

Chair, 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

Brian Feldman, M.D., MSc, FRCPC

Head, Division of Rheumatology Hospital of Sick Children, Toronto

Staff

Jim Minow

Executive Director

Andrew Heaton, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Shannon Malloy

Director, Development and Family Engagement

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

Mental Health Coordinator

Ryan King

Communications

Lauren Alvord

Development Manager

Dawn Moltzan

Development Associate

Betsy León

Development Associate

Nicole Ryba

Chapter and Walk Manager

Casey Burd

Cure JM Clinical Care Network Manager