Meet the Familial Dysautonomia NOW Board

   Ann Slaw, JD, President
Ann, a mother of a child with a rare, orphan disease, Familial Dysautonomia, witnessed the curative power of the naturally available substances, tocotrienols and EGCG, and nutrition therapy to reduce the triggers for FD crises. “Andrew is a poster child for FD NOW. Once Andrew started taking a form of vitamin E and EGCG and then modified his diet, his overall health improved dramatically.”

Ann graduated from the University of Illinois with honors in psychology and received her JD from Loyola University. She practiced at Protection and Advocacy, Inc., advocating for the rights of persons with developmental disabilities. She then was a Program Planning Attorney at the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) and then the Seminar Division Director at CLE Group, Inc., working with interactive technology as a training tool. She served as an Administrative Law Judge at the Illinois Department of Employment Compensation and was then elected as school board member for Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96. She is both a co-founder of “Special Kids, Special Families” and the FD Hope Foundation.

Ann founded FD NOW because she knows that there are additional treatments that will enhance the lives of those with FD, in two years or less, and that these breakthroughs can then be applied to other orphan and genetic diseases.

   Ken Slaw, PhD, Vice-President
Ken is the father of a child with a rare, orphan disease, Familial Dysautonomia (FD). “Natural compounds and diet have made a positive profound impact on Andrew’s life, but FD is degenerative. There is no time to lose.”

Ken is the Director of Strategic Planning Initiatives and Director of the Department of Membership at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an organization of over 60,000 pediatricians advocating for the health and well being of children. He is responsible for organizing and implementing the national strategic plan of the AAP, and has facilitated over 60 strategic planning processes for AAP Chapters, Sections, and allied medical societies. Ken is a chief architect and faculty member of the "Pediatric Leadership Alliance (PLA)", an extensive educational curriculum and program designed to teach leadership skills to physicians and allied health care professionals. He currently serves as President of the American Association of Medical Society Executives (AAMSE), is past Chairman of the Board of the Make a Wish Foundation of Illinois, is the past Chairman of the Leadership Council of Make a Wish of America and the past president of FD Hope.

Ken now serves as the Vice President of FD NOW and, knowing that the clock is ticking loudly, is committed to accelerating the next breakthrough in two years or less.

   Lynn Cabin , M.S.T., Treasurer
Lynn graduated with a B.A. from the University of Michigan and received her Masters of Science and Teaching from Illinois Institute of Technology. She taught mathematics at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect and New Trier High School in Winnetka. Lynn Cabin is currently the Director of Operations at Chicago Neurology Group.
 
Because she loves working with teenagers, Lynn volunteered at The Warming House Youth Center, a program which typically deals with teens-at-risk, and she later became President of the Board. As Director of Education at LINKS, North Shore Youth Health Service, Lynn was a guest speaker in numerous suburban high school classes, helping adolescents to make informed decisions about their fitness and wellbeing.
 
“Even though FD presents my nephew, Andrew, with daily and difficult challenges, he is, in so many ways, a typical teenager. That is the blessed gift of Dr. Rubin and Dr. Anderson at the FD Research Laboratory at Fordham University. It is my pleasure and privilege to work for FD NOW as we continue to raise money to fund fast-track research that will benefit Andrew and other kids like him.”

   Susan R. Bauer, JD - Advisory Board
Susan is an attorney who has practiced in the area of employment law for 15 years, focusing on job discrimination. She graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois University with a degree in political science/public law and then went on to law school at John Marshall, where she was Lead Articles Editor on the Law Review. She is the mother of three daughters, two of whom have disabilities. Susan is a co-founder of Special Kids, Special Families, which is a parent-run support and advocacy group for parents raising special needs children. She has been very active volunteering in her children’s school districts, and is also a co-author of a book entitled “Winning School Referenda,” a handbook written by Susan and other members of ELEDEX, Ltd. to help school communities pass referenda to increase school funding.

Susan has witnessed of the benefits of the treatments discovered thus far for children with FD and is determined to sustain the FD research momentum. 

   Ruth Woodruff, JD - Advisory Board
Ruth supports FD NOW because she believes that the committing to reachable short-term goals is the best way to achieve long-term success.  Ruth earned her B.A. in English and J.D. from Loyola University in Chicago.  She is currently the National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank Attorney in the American Bar Association's Center for Professional Responsibility.  Her past positions include Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Frank McGarr in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Adjunct Professor at Loyola University School of Law and at Roosevelt University, and Assistant Editor of the ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual of Professional Conduct.  She has researched and written for various national publications on legal and judicial ethics.  In addition, she served as Illinois State Project Director for Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, where she administered a state-wide law-related education program.

Tara D. Schimmel,MS.Ed.-New York Regional Representative
Tara graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in psychology from Columbia University.  She received her Masters of Science in Education and Professional Certificate in School Psychology from Queens College. She has worked successfully with students from preschool through high school in several districts on Long Island, NY. She currently conducts psycho-educational evaluations for preschool children who are suspected of having a disability.  As the mother of a beautiful and bright youngster with FD who is otherwise a "normal" child, Tara sees the benefits of treatments discovered by Dr. Rubin and Dr. Anderson on a daily basis.  She and her husband are truly grateful for the commitment that Dr. Rubin and Dr. Anderson have shown to the FD population and are honored to help ensure that their success continues at a speedy pace.