CAF Welcomes Two New Staff Members
December 1, 2014 – CAF is happy to welcome two new additions to the Foundation’s staff: Sandy Gilbert joined us on November 10, and Mary Woldegiorgis joined us November 17.
Sandy Gilbert
Sandy Gilbert
As our Patient Outreach Director, Sandy will work on several exciting initiatives developed under a cooperative agreement between CAF and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). One of these initiatives is to ensure that the CAF Patient Registry is as complete and up to date as possible, which will be a benefit both in terms of better understanding patient needs and more effectively communicating with our patients and families. Another CDC-supported initiative is to keep the thalassemia patient community up-to-date with important medical information which may lead to improvements in their health.
In addition to her work on the cooperative agreement, Sandy will work with thalassemia experts to develop CAF-approved Standards of Care guidelines for the treatment of thalassemia. This should help to provide uniform and consistent thalassemia treatment across the country – and will be especially useful for healthcare providers without much thalassemia experience. Sandy will also oversee development of thalassemia patient focus groups, which will further help CAF to better understand and serve the needs of its patient population.
Sandy received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a double major in Biology and Economics. She earned a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also conducted post-doctoral research in genetics at the University of Chicago, where her work led to the identification of several genes which underlie neurological disorders in mice and in humans.
Prior to joining CAF, Sandy worked for many years in the pharmaceutical industry developing medical education programs. In that role, she helped to educate physicians and nurses about new treatments for a variety of diseases. She also has experience in the clinical trial setting, after managing several clinical trials for heart failure.
In her free time, Sandy likes to keep active. She has completed a number of half-marathons and several triathlons. She is also a big fan of Broadway shows.
Mary Woldegiorgis
Mary Woldegiorgis
*Mary currently serves as the National Communications Director of the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation.
Mary will be leading our efforts to conceptualize, build and maintain a mobile and social fundraising strategy to increase funding for patient advocacy programs, medical research to advance treatment, and education initiatives for both the patient community and healthcare professionals. With a keen interest in community building, Mary is excited about launching new digital platforms for the thalassemia community to share personal stories and exchange meaningful dialogue in honor of CAF’s legacy of integrating community support structures into day-to-day life. Mary studied International Development at UCLA and has a strong background working with nonprofits both domestically and internationally, specializing in fundraising and communications. Mary loves hiking and the outdoors and is thrilled to be joining teams across the nation prepare for our next annual CAF Care Walk!
CAF is excited to welcome Sandy and Mary to our team; their expertise and enthusiasm make them valuable new members of the CAF community.