Erdheim-Chester Disease Global Alliance

ECD Global Alliance Board of Directors

Kathy Brewer, President
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Masters in Engineering (1983), B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (1981). Kathy worked in the aerospace industry for 15 years, where she spent 10 years as an engineering software development manager. Since 1998 she has been involved in non-profit work and various contract work, and is currently a partner in a management consulting firm. She lost her beloved husband, F. Gary Brewer, to Erdheim-Chester Disease in 2007. He remained undiagnosed throughout his life, with the diagnosis of ECD occurring as the result of an autopsy.
Juvianee Estrada-Veras, MD
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Dr. Estrada-Veras interests are the diagnosis and treatment of inborn errors of metabolism in children as well as other genetic disorders. Previous research interest include inborn errors of metabolism and non-Langerhans cell histiocytic disorders, especially Erdheim-Chester disease. Dr. Estrada-Veras was a collaborator with the NIH study, “Clinical and Basic Investigation into Erdheim-Chester Disease” and “Dabrafenib and Trametinib Trial for Treating Patients With Erdheim-Chester Disease and BRAF Mutation.”
Diane Schriner
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Graduated from Sienna Heights University in 2013 with a Bachelors of Business Administration, Accounting Major. Diane is currently employed at LECO Corporation in St. Joseph Michigan as a Senior Accountant and as an Executive Assistant to the President. She has a 26 year old son named Denzil and a 7 year old granddaughter named Magnolia. She lives in Michigan with her husband, Scott, who was diagnosed with ECD in 2016. In her free time, Diane enjoys playing Texas Hold-Em Poker, spending time with her husband and her family, traveling and spoiling her granddaughter.
David Smythe
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David Smythe is a former Managing Partner and joint founder of investment research business, Zenith Investment Partners, established in November 2002. Private equity firm, Five V Capital, bought a majority stake in Zenith in December 2019 and as a result David has sold his equity and stepped down from the business. David is skilled in helping the ECD Board of Directors in areas of management and financial growth. As an international member based in Australia, his position will also assist the community in international collaboration as well. David was diagnosed with ECD in 2019.
Janet Froetscher
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Janet Froetscher is the former CEO of Special Olympics, leading the organization in all of its functions to fulfill the mission of full inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities. She led a global team with operations and affiliates in more than 170 countries. During her tenure, Ms. Froetscher led the growth of the movement to more than 5 million athletes, holding more than 94,000 competitions annually, and including more than one million coaches and volunteers.

From 2008 to 2013, Ms. Froetscher was the President and CEO of the National Safety Council (NSC), an organization whose mission is to save lives and prevent injuries. Under her leadership, NSC created a new strategy and implemented initiatives which saved over 10,000 lives and prevented over 1 million injuries by focusing on issues such as workplace safety, distracted and teen driving.

From 2003 to 2008, Ms. Froetscher was CEO of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago where she led the merger of 54 United Ways into a single entity, the largest merger of a non-profit in the country. She also served as COO of the Aspen Institute where she also led the leadership development business and the strategic planning effort. Prior to that she was Executive Director of the non-profit consulting arm of the Commercial Club of Chicago bringing business expertise to City of Chicago government and the Chicago Board of Education generating enormous improvements in service and reducing costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. Her corporate experience includes account management, credit and syndications roles at Bankers Trust Company and First National Bank of Chicago.

Ms. Froetscher holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University both with high distinction. She is a Board member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (NASDAQ: CBOE) where she chaired the Nominating and Governance Committee and a member of the Board of Trustees for National Louis University. Ms. Froetscher is a member of the Chicago Network and Commercial Club of Chicago and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Paul C. Hendrie, MD, PhD
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Dr. Hendrie’s clinical and research interests include nonmalignant blood disorders, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndrome. He is a board-certified hematologist at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and a University of Washington School of Medicine associate professor of hematology and medicine. As an expert who studies and treats rare diseases, he works with a broad range of patients, some of whom participate in clinical trials. Dr. Hendrie has been a part of the ECD Global Alliance community since 2016.
Mohammad (Ishtiaq) Chowdhury
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Mohammad Chowdhury is a portfolio management VP at Lafayette Square responsible for managing and monitoring Lafayette’s existing credit exposure. Before joining Lafayette in September 2021, he was a VP in Deutsche Bank’s leverage finance business, covering media and telecom sectors. Previously, Mohammad worked at Credit Suisse in the leverage finance underwriting team, and before that, he worked at Moody’s as a rating analyst. He started his career at Citibank in 2013 in the corporate finance department.

Originally from Bangladesh, Mohammad received his BBA from Baruch College. He currently lives in Scarsdale, NY with his wife and two young sons. He was diagnosed with ECD in 2018.
Joe Fleishhacker
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Joe Fleischhacker is a medical device industry expert with over 40 years of experience. He was most recently owner and CEO of Lake Region Medical, which was founded in 1947 by Joe’s father. Joe currently serves on the Advisory Council for Graham Partners portfolio company, Velosity.