Content Review and Evaluation Committee (CREC) The purpose of the Bronchiectasis and NTM 360 Content Review and Evaluation Committee (CREC) is to develop or solicit high-quality content for publication on the Bronchiectasis and NTM Initiative website and to coordinate review to ensure accuracy, timeliness and quality. The Bronchiectasis and NTM Initiative website content aims to provide valuable information on topics relevant to anyone affected by bronchiectasis and/or Nontuberculous Mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease, including patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and friends or family members of those affected. Timothy R. Aksamit, MD Medical Director Bronchiectasis and NTM360 COPD Foundation Timothy R. Aksamit, MD Timothy R. Aksamit, MD serves as the Bronchiectasis and NTM Medical Director of the COPD Foundation. He oversees bronchiectasis and NTM projects and studies from a clinical perspective, serves as principal investigator, and advises on research strategy, partnership integration, and the development of grant proposals. He serves as author and subject matter expert to educate patients, health care professionals, caregivers, and media on the Foundation’s work and research findings on chronic lung conditions. Dr. Aksamit is also a Consultant and Associate Professor in the Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine division of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, where he serves as the Mayo Mycobacterial and Bronchiectasis Clinic Director. Prior to accepting his position as Bronchiectasis and NTM Medical Director at the COPD Foundation, Dr. Aksamit served in a voluntary capacity as Chair of the U.S. Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry Consortium for several years. His service as Chair of the Consortium was critical to expanding the Registry and leveraging it to further research in the field, resulting in several published manuscripts and abstracts. Dr. Aksamit received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL and his medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. He received his medical training in internal medicine, pulmonary, and critical care medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he also served as Chief Resident. Before joining the staff at Mayo Clinic in 1998, Dr. Aksamit completed research at Hammersmith Hospital in London, U.K. He will continue his work with the Mayo Clinic while supporting the mission of the COPD Foundation and the Bronchiectasis and NTM Initiative. Close Peter Amari, BS, MCP Vice President IT Development and Design COPD Foundation Peter Amari, BS Peter Amari is the Vice President IT Development and Design. His 10 years of experience in website and graphic design has enabled him to be responsible for the continuous publication of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation. Peter has 19 years experience in retail pharmacy. During that time one of his responsibilities was to institute and oversee the pharmacy's HIPAA compliance as the HIPAA compliance officer. Peter has a BS in Business Management from the Univeristy of Phoenix. Close Alan F. Barker, MD Professor of Medicine Oregon Health and Science University Ashwin Basavaraj, MD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine Section Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Bellevue Hospital Director, Bronchoscopy, Bellevue Hospital Cathy Gray Carlomagno, BS Managing Editor Journal of the COPD Foundation Cathy Gray Carlomagno, BS Cathy Carlomagno has more than 20 years of medical communications experience, including writing, editing, publications management, public relations and communications strategy with national and international health organizations. After serving 13 years at a regional pediatric medical center as the institution’s primary spokesperson, publications editor and Director of Communications, she joined the American Thoracic Society as the Director of Communications and Marketing. In this role she worked closely with the staffs of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM) and the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (AJRCMB) promoting both journals. She worked with editors and authors to highlight AJRCCM and AJRCMB articles within the medical community and in medical, trade and popular press. She also served as editor of the Society’s newsletter and annual reports and co-Editor of the Society’s 100th anniversary commemorative book, Colleagues in Discovery: One Hundred Years of Improving Respiratory Health. Ms. Carlomagno received the American Thoracic Society Presidential Commendation award in 2005. She has also served as a medical communications consultant for various national health care organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she served as a writer/editor. Ms. Carlomagno is a member of the American Association of Medical Writers and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tarlov Cyst Disease Foundation. Close Keira A Cohen, MD Director, The Johns Hopkins Center for Nontuberculous Mycobacteria and Bronchiectasis Assistant Professor of Medicine Johns Hopkins University James Chalmers, MD Clinical Professor University of Dundee Michael W. Hess MPH, RRT, RPFT Senior Director of Public Outreach and Education COPD Foundation Michael W. Hess MPH, RRT, RPFT Michael W. Hess is the Senior Director of Public Outreach and Education and leads the Oxygen360 project for the Foundation. The goal of the project is to facilitate oxygen equipment innovation and research, promote policy improvements surrounding oxygen reimbursement, and enhance clinician education on the appropriate use of this critical therapy. The Foundation aims to redesign the oxygen infrastructure into a robust, resilient system that works for all stakeholders, from manufacturers to equipment distributors to the patients at the heart of our mission. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mike served in a unique position at WMed Health in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As Chronic Lung Disease Coordinator, he provided patient education, diagnostic testing, care coordination, and other respiratory care services as part of a primary care clinic while also designing and implementing community outreach programs to enhance respiratory health. Mike is a registered respiratory therapist and has a Master of Public Health degree from Western Michigan University. In 2019 he received the Ambulatory and Post-Acute Care Specialty Practitioner of the Year from the American Association for Respiratory Care. Close Christina Hunt, BS, RRT-NPS Director of Bronchiectasis and NTM Research and Education COPD Foundation Christina Hunt, BS, RRT-NPS Christina Hunt is the Director of Bronchiectasis and NTM Research and Education for the COPD Foundation. She is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and has worked in the field of respiratory care for more than 20 years. Throughout her career, Christina’s experience has included adult, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care units; critical care transport teams; and most recently, pulmonary rehabilitation. Educating others on all aspects of respiratory care is Christina’s passion: she has worked as a respiratory department clinical educator at a local hospital, and as both adjunct faculty and a clinical instructor for respiratory care students at a local community college. In 2018, Christina also developed a successful blog, BreatheLiveFit.com, to help people with chronic lung conditions live happier, healthier lives. Christina serves on the board of directors for Breath Matters Support Group of Virginia. She holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Human Food, Nutrition and Exercise from Virginia Tech. Close Elisha Malanga, BS Corporate Relations Officer COPD Foundation Elisha Malanga, BS In her role as Corporate Relations Officer, Elisha works to define the corporate strategy of the Foundation, including expanding funding opportunities for the COPD Foundation. Elisha works closely with the Foundation's Executive team as well as corporate partners and collaborators. She also leads the Foundation's retail support and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. Elisha continues to identify, nurture and expand Foundation partnerships with like-minded organizations. She is staff liaison to the Corporate Council and has extensive experience with Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded and other specialty grant submissions. Prior to joining the Foundation, Elisha helped to establish the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Research Program and in 2007, she received the ATS Presidential Commendation award. Elisha has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Richmond. Close Delia Prieto, BSEd, MSEd Vice President, Bronchiectasis and NTM 360 COPD Foundation Delia Prieto, BSEd, MSEd Delia Prieto is the VP, Bronchiectasis and NTM 360 at the COPD Foundation. She has been involved with the Foundation since 2009 and joined the team full-time in 2011. In her role at the Foundation, she manages several of the Foundation’s research programs including the Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry and BronchandNTM360social. Delia also serves as the primary staff liaison to the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee, the COPDGene Industry Advisory Consortium, and the SPIROMICS Industry Advisory Consortium. Delia has extensive experience managing patient registries and research consortia, and serves a critical role in connecting patients, health care providers, researchers, and industry partners to work collaboratively in an effort to advance research in the fields of COPD, bronchiectasis, and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease. She has a Master of Science in education degree from the University of Miami. Close Kristen Szymonik, BS, RRT, AE-C Senior Director of Research COPD Foundation Kristen Szymonik, BS, RRT, AE-C Kristen Szymonik is the Manager of Patient and Professional Education for the Foundation. In this role she develops and edits educational materials for patients and community outreach projects. Kristen is a registered respiratory therapist, certified asthma educator, and medical writer. Prior to joining the Foundation, she designed and implemented one of the first comprehensive asthma education programs in the Chicago suburbs, providing inpatient, outpatient, and community-based education for patients and families. Kristen served a term on the National Asthma Educator Certification Board, where she collaborated with medical professionals from all disciplines and backgrounds. As a medical writer, she developed numerous continuing education classes for health care providers, wrote study guides for national level board exams, and has presented lectures for health care providers on the management of asthma and allergies. Kristen also serves as an author and faculty member on a web-based nursing education forum. Kristen has Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory care from National-Louis University. Close Vincent Malanga, BS, MCP Chief Digital Information Officer COPD Foundation Vincent Malanga, BS, MCP Vincent M. Malanga is the Chief Digital Information Officer for the COPD Foundation. In this role Vincent serves as the senior technology strategist providing guidance and vision on emerging technologies, technology innovation, digital trends and infrastructure advances as well as defining, implementing, and evolving the technology solutions and procedures that comprise the COPD360 technology platform of which he is the chief architect. Vincent has over 25 years of experience in software architecture and development, database design, data and systems integration and enterprise architecture, and 15 years of experience in search engine optimization. Prior to joining the COPD Foundation, Vincent ran a successful technology consulting company and developed custom business solutions for many Fortune 500 companies including Ralph Lauren, Omnicom Group and Elsevier. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in numerous Microsoft programming languages and development tools, Azure Cloud Services, and Azure AI. He has been a guest blogger on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and has spoken at industry conferences. Vincent is also a co-author on numerous abstracts and publications from various research studies. Vincent has a Bachelor of Science from Hofstra University, continuing education credits from MIT Professional Education in Digital Transformation: From AI and IoT to Cloud, Blockchain and Cybersecurity, and has a Series 7 NASD (FINRA) license - General Securities Representative. Close Stephanie Williams, BS, RRT COPD Foundation Stephanie Williams, BS, RRT Stephanie Williams is the Senior Director of Community Education Programs for the COPD Foundation. In this role she works to make the COPD Foundation programs accessible to those in the COPD community. This includes managing the COPD Readmissions Institutes for health care professionals, designing programs such as virtual Harmonicas for Health, and engaging the COPD community through educational webinars, social media events, blog posts, and more. Over the course of her career, Stephanie has designed and implemented pulmonary rehabilitation and respiratory programs in a variety of patient care settings. Prior to joining the Foundation, Stephanie was the Director of Clinical Education and Clinical Effectiveness at Alana HealthCare in Nashville, Tennessee where she ensured staff respiratory therapists’ education was current while also developing educational programs for patients enrolled in both the home and facility-based non-invasive ventilation program. Stephanie was also the Director of Cardiopulmonary for White County Community Hospital where she started a pulmonary rehab program, a support group for COPD patients in the community, and a smoking cessation program. She is a registered respiratory therapist and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Tennessee Technological University. Close
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