EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

  • Frances Pimentel

    Founder and CEO, PDCD Mom, UX/UI Designer at Bobbie.

    Before becoming a designer with a hyper focus on accessibility and advocacy, Frances raised hundreds of thousands of dollars as a grant writer for art, design and health equity organizations all across California.

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Translational Research, Education, Advocacy, and Patient Registry

  • Dr. Jon Pimentel

    Founder and CFO, PDCD Dad, Sr. CPU Design Engineer at NVIDIA.

    Jon graduated from UC Davis with a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering with focus on Digital Signals and Systems and Architectures and Biomedical Imaging. Author/Coauthor on ten publications in top IEEE conference and journal papers.

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Translational Research, Education, and Advocacy

  • Kim Muenzer

    Secretary, PDCD Grandma and former Industrial Designer.

    Before becoming a rare disease grandma and advocate, Kim studied Industrial Design at Art Center College of Design and has worked with clients all over the world, including Burt’s Bees, Neutrogena, and Nestle to develop their packaging design.

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, Advocacy, and Patient Registry

PARENT BOARD MEMBERS

  • Katy Cairo

    PDCD Mom, Genetic Sciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Translational Research, Education, and Advocacy

  • Kim Higbee

    PDCD Mom and Account Manager, Carrier Enterprises

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Translational Research, Education, Advocacy, Research Assets, and Newborn Screening

  • Brandy Jackson

    PDCD Mom and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

    Focus Areas: Standards of Care/Patient Guidelines, Newborn Screening, and Diversity Equity and Inclusion.

  • Nikki Kulovitz

    PDCD Mom and Business Owner

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, Advocacy, Newborn Screening and Research Assets

  • Patricia Medlen

    PDCD Patient and PDCD Mom

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, Advocacy, Standards of Care and Newborn Screening

  • Molly Naccarato

    PDCD Mom and CPA (inactive)

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, Advocacy, Standards of Care, Patient Registry

  • Layna O’Connor

    PDCD Mom and Pre-construction Manager

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, and Advocacy

  • Carly Tasiopoulos

    PDCD Mom and Account Manager, Medtronic

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, Advocacy, Standards of Care and Newborn Screening

  • Chris Tasiopoulos

    PDCD Dad and Vice President of Business Development, Treya Partners

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, and Advocacy

  • Natasha Baril

    PDCD Mom and Registered Psychotherapist, Canada Liaison

    Focus Areas: Fundraising, Social Media, Education, and Advocacy

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS

  • Dr. Martina DeSalvo

    Senior Medical Science Liaison, Amgen. Dr. DeSalvo holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and a BA in Molecular and Cell Biologies

  • Dr. Jordan Williams

    Sr. Manager Field Applications, Singular Genomics. Dr. Williams holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and a BS in Biology/Chemistry.

  • Dr. Rebecca Ganetzky

    Attending physician in Mitochondrial Medicine and the Director of Biochemical Test Development at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

  • Omid Karkouti, MS

    Founder and Principal, Rare Agency LLC

  • Amy Gaviglio, MS, CGC

    Connetics Consulting