Scleroderma Foundation Announces New National Board Members

Danvers, MA November 20, 2015 The Scleroderma Foundation, the nonprofit organization whose mission is to support people living with the disease, educate patients, caregivers and medical professionals, promote public awareness and fund research to improve treatment and discover the cause and cure for scleroderma, recently elected three new members to serve on the Foundation's National Board.

Joining the Foundation’s National Board are Bruce Cowan, Katayun Jaffari and Bill Martin.

“There are tremendous opportunities before us as an organization as we continue to serve the needs of the entire scleroderma community,” said National Board Chairman, Joseph Camerino, Ph.D., “and I look forward to working with these three dedicated and passionate individuals who bring important expertise and points of view to the National Board of Directors.”

Bruce Cowan

Currently serving as the President of the Scleroderma Foundation’s Tri-State chapter (NY, Northern NJ and CT), Cowan is a proven leader with an excellent track record of improving organizations through innovative programs and effective reengineering. After losing his wife and mother-in-law to scleroderma, Cowan participated in the initial New Jersey walk. Under Cowan’s leadership, the Tri-State chapter has continued its long history of advancing the Foundations mission and was named the Foundation’s Chapter of the Year in 2013. The Tri-State Chapter has also been recognized as the top fundraising chapter twice (2005, 2008).

Katayun Jaffari

Recognized as a leader in the fields of corporate governance and securities, Jaffari devotes her legal practice to advising boards of directors in governance matters and clients in complex securities transactions that have reached the multibillion-dollar range. Jaffari also has broad experience in business finance. Her practice includes business counseling, capital raising, and mergers and acquisitions. Jaffari has previously served as a director of the Foundation’s Delaware Valley Chapter. She became deeply committed to raising research dollars and increasing the public’s knowledge about scleroderma after her mother was diagnosed with the disease. Jaffari also started the Ventnor Walk with her sister, Soodabeh.

Bill Martin

As a former Foundation chapter president, Bill Martin has a passion to do something about scleroderma. Martin’s wife, Cyndy, was diagnosed with scleroderma in 2010. Martin is member of the Foundation and has attended the last five National Conferences. In 2013, he was one of the guest speakers on board development and in 2014 he and Cyndy spoke on autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Before his involvement with the Scleroderma Foundation, Martin was an integral part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s incredible growth. The national program grew to over 200 million dollars per year for research during his tenure with the organization. Martin currently serves on the board of directors of the Foundation’s Southern California Chapter.

Contact:

Jillian Scola, Communications Manager
Scleroderma Foundation
978.624.1243

 

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