For 20 years, Jessica worked in the food and beverage industry. After zig-zagging from The University of MD to Boston, MA, Pasadena, CA and back to the  Washigton DC area, she settled into working for EatWell DC and opening 5 of their restaurants. As a general manager, she trained staff, oversaw all areas of the restaurants, helped with creating menus, and decor layout. During those years, she enjoyed working in collaborative environments and communicating with people. Being submerged in the fine details of restaurant planning and embiance, she leaned into finding floral arrangement as a lasting hobby. 

Good health and well-being has always been a priority for Jessica, and doing so she always was interested in nutrition and how food, mind and body are interconnected. Her curiosity and research in these areas grew and became a top priority after having children. As a mom of 2 teenagers, and a wife, she delves into the importance of these pillars of life and enjoys learning about the cornerstones of health. In her spare time, you may find her walking her dog CoCo, in a webinar or listening to a podcast on parenting or health. 

In a consulting capacity as Principal of NVantage Consulting LLC, Nancy spearheaded communications and fundraising efforts for the Lyme Disease Research Foundation and helped achieve their goal of establishing a research center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the spring of 2015. She continues to consult for the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center, leading their education outreach and communications efforts. In addition, Nancy provides strategic communications consulting to innovative healthcare companies through her role as Senior Counsel for MacDougall Advisors, a Boston-based life sciences communications agency.

Previously, Nancy was Vice President-Investments for MFS, a Boston-based investment management firm. Nancy was MFS’ biotechnology and pharmaceutical equity analyst for over a decade. She also served as an officer of the Health Care Analysts of Boston and ran their speaker series for several years.

Nancy has served on the Advisory Board of the Dean Center at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston since 2015. She received the Massachusetts Outstanding Parent Arts Education Advocate Award presented at the State House in Boston in 2011 for her leadership in arts advocacy in the Commonwealth.

Nancy Dougherty holds a B.A. in economics from Williams College where she graduated Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After raising 3 boys in the Boston area, Nancy and her husband, Don, now live in Portsmouth NH.

Sheilah Gauch is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW).  She also holds a Masters in Educational Organizational Management and is licensed as a Principal and Special Education Administrator. Sheilah has been working with children with significant mental health needs for over 20 years. She is currently the Principal of Dearborn Academy, a Chapter 766 Private Therapeutic Day School.

Sheilah serves as the Chair of her local Special Education Advisory Council (SEPAC). She has two children of her own who have required special education services. Both of her children were ultimately diagnosed with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep (PANDAS).  Sheilah is an active advocate for PANS/PANDAS awareness. She co-founded the Massachusetts Coalition for PANS/PANDAS legislation. This group led the grassroots advocacy effort in Massachusetts that supported the passage of S2984, a health care bill that included both the creation of a PANS/PANDAS Advisory Council and a mandate that insurance companies must provide coverage for the disease.  Sheilah received the 2021 Commonwealth Heroine Award for her work with SEPAC and PANS/PANDAS.

Sheilah attended the University of Texas where she was an All-American swimmer as well as Olympic Trial participant. Her experience as a collegiate athlete reinforced for her the value and importance of teamwork, perseverance and resiliency – all values she feels are essential to her work in supporting children, and their families and systems, with complex mental health needs.

Angie is a founding partner of PERPETUO FILMS (perpetuofilms.org), where she serves as Vice President of Impact and Engagement. Her mission is to tell real stories for real impact. In this capacity, Angie oversees strategic guidance to help clients in the documentary and nonprofit space achieve the change they seek.

She is producer and impact producer of DANI'S TWINS (danistwinsfilm.com) and impact producer of PATROL (patrolmovie.com)--award-winning social justice documentaries. Prior to pivoting to the film world, Angie was global advocacy and campaigns lead for the World Bank, where she specialized in multimedia, multi-channel engagement. There, she oversaw communications strategy and implementation for a wide range of business lines, including a multiyear campaign that helped raise more than $125 billion from a global coalition of governments for projects in the world's poorest countries.

Angie is also an avid advocate for media, legislative and medical support for the early diagnosis and treatment of PANS and PANDAS, debilitating neuroimmune illnesses that affect young people following common infections. Angie studied international relations at American University and the University of Copenhagen, and art at Parque Lage Escola de Arte in Rio de Janeiro. She has worked in dozens of countries and speaks Spanish and Portuguese and okayish French and Italian. She lives in Arlington, VA.

Mira is a passionate advocate for the PANS/PANDAS community, driven by firsthand experience with the devastating impact these disorders have had on children and families close to her. Recognizing the urgent need for increased medical research, expanded treatment options, and greater awareness, she has become actively involved in organizations dedicated to advancing our understanding of this complex illness. Mira is particularly focused on fostering collaboration among medical teams, as the multifaceted nature of PANS/PANDAS requires a coordinated, interdisciplinary approach across institutions.

A graduate of Harvard Business School, Mira built a distinguished 20-year career as an institutional derivatives trader with major global banks. She began her professional journey as a capital markets analyst on the trading floor at Salomon Brothers in New York City before advancing to senior risk management roles at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. Her expertise spanned a range of fixed-income products, including swaptions and government and exotic bond options. Mira’s love of solving complex challenges and her passion for travel led her to pursue international business opportunities and live in financial capitals such as London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Frankfurt. In between ventures, she took two years off to backpack worldwide, broadening her perspective and seeking new experiences.

Fittingly, Mira met her husband on a plane. The couple now resides outside Boston with their two children, who share their parents’ commitment to advocacy for the PANS/PANDAS community.

Marina was born and raised in Michigan with her younger brother, Joseph. After growing up watching her brother suffer from PANDAS that was misdiagnosed for 12 years, she felt compelled to pursue a career in neuroscience. Marina received her BS from Carnegie Mellon University in cognitive neuroscience as a student-athlete, and her MS from Tulane University also in neuroscience. She dedicates both of her degrees in neuroscience not only to her brother, but to all PANS/PANDAS patients and their families.

Marina currently lives in Washington D.C. and is an advisory member of the POND Brain Bank at Georgetown and is the Post-Mortem Core Manager for Target ALS. She is currently applying to medical school and hopes to specialize in neurology. In her free time, she loves playing tennis, volunteering, traveling, running, cooking, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Marina first learned about the Alex Manfull Fund at the Autoimmune Encephalitis Post-Streptococcal Evaluation & Treatment Conference in 2019, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to continue advancing awareness and research of PANDAS as a member of the board.

Daniela Sosa-Sarkar is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as a Licensed Psychologist in Caracas, Venezuela. She received her degree and license in psychology from the Venezuelan Catholic University in 1996 and obtained her Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in 2000. 

During her doctoral studies, she worked at The Latino Mental Health Program and Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where she participated in different capacities for the length of her studies. 

Daniela has years of experience working/training in different settings: hospitals, psychiatric emergency services, community mental health centers, and private practice. She has also worked as a teacher at the Catholic University in Venezuela, developing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Violence and Trauma as well as Cognitive Behavioral Interventions.

In her private practice, she specializes in individual psychotherapy for adults. Her clinical focus is on trauma and stress-related disorders, as well as mood, anxiety, and behavioral disorders. In 2021 she obtained a Certificate in Integrative Mental Health to expand her understanding of the biological correlates to Mental Illness. That same year, her 11-year-old son August was diagnosed with tick-borne illness, and subsequently with PANS. 

Her personal and professional experiences have provided her with a profound sensitivity and respect toward individual differences and an understanding of mental illness within a broad and integrative framework, where the mind cannot be dissected away from the biological body it inhabits nor from the social environment that surrounds it. 

As a mother of a child with post-infectious neuroimmune disorder and a mental health practitioner and advocate, Daniela has a unique understanding of human suffering from different perspectives and vantage points. 

She is a founding member of the Virginia Alliance for Pans/Pandas Action, an advocacy group advancing legislation for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of the post-infectious neuroimmune disorder (PANS/PANDAS)

Daniela was born and raised in Caracas Venezuela. She relocated to the United States in 2002. She lived in Miami, Florida for over 7 years. In 2010 she moved to Virginia, where she lives with her husband Sonny, and her three children Mila, August, and Sofia. She is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Bill Stadler began his career in mental health services in the Boston area, developing highly individualized program models of residential support for people with mental health as well as cognitive and physical challenges. Bill and his wife Christine lived in the Portsmouth area when they were first married. During that time, Bill co-founded a "Theatre in Education" company using theatre and group discussion to address multiple social challenges in students' lives including: Living with a Learning Disability, Child Abuse, Teen Suicide, Peer Pressure, and Substance Abuse. Performances took place in schools and public settings in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Along with family growth, Bill’s career focus changed as he spent several years working for Fidelity Investments, as a Financial Planning Consultant in the Portland, ME and Greenwich, CT offices. Bill is a Certified Financial Planner®, a Registered Financial Life Planner® through the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, and an Enrolled Agent, credentialed through the IRS. He’s currently working with Mercer Advisors in Woodbridge, CT.

Bill and Christine travelled to China in early 2002 to adopt their daughter, Annika, who recently graduated from The George Washington University, in Washington, DC. Bill, Chris, Annika, their dog Coco and cat Libby, currently make their home in Trumbull, CT.

Having known Alex since her birth, Bill feels it's a privilege to honor her life in this way.

Shari Strulson is a dedicated advocate for children and families affected by PANS/PANDAS, With a background in elementary education, Shari spent over 13 years nurturing young minds and fostering a love for learning in her classroom. She holds an M.A. in Childhood Education from Hunter College and a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University. Her life took a transformative turn when her own child was diagnosed with PANS/PANDAS. Faced with the challenges of navigating the complexities of this condition, Shari became determined to raise awareness and provide support for other families experiencing similar struggles. She transitioned from the classroom to advocacy, leveraging her educational background to inform and empower parents, educators, and healthcare professionals about the realities of PANS/PANDAS. In 2022, Shari joined the California Coalition for PANS/PANDAS advocacy where she helped spearhead legislation that resulted in the landmark passage of a California law mandating insurance coverage for PANS/PANDAS treatment. Shari is originally from Philadelphia and lived for many years in NYC and Connecticut before moving to Redondo Beach, California in 2017 with her husband and 3 boys (ages 15, 12, and 10). In her free time, she loves to cook and take her wonderful labrador, Lola, for long walks.