Building Partnerships for Patients With Rare or Chronic Conditions

Dell Witcher has more than 30 years of communications experience. She founded Witcher Communications in 1991 in Birmingham, Alabama, providing a wide range of communication services to corporate and not-for-profit clients. Ms. Witcher began her career as a television medical anchor in Birmingham, then moved into communications at acute care and physical rehabilitation hospitals, culminating her in-house corporate career as Vice President of Corporate Communications for ReLife, Inc. She was diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency in 2008 and produced numerous educational videos on Alpha-1 while serving on the Alpha-1 Association Board of Directors from 2009 until 2014, at which point she served on the committee to merge the Alpha-1 Association with the Alpha-1 Foundation. She served on the Alpha-1 Foundation Board of Directors from 2014 until 2018. In 2020, she was elected to the Board of Directors of AlphaNet where she continues to serve as Treasurer, and in 2022 she joined the Board of Directors of the Disease Management Network.

Grant Wood has 18 years of experience leading the development of computer technology that supports healthcare providers and researchers in advancing and delivering genomic-based clinical care. This includes all aspects of clinical care delivery, genetics/genomics research, translational and implementation science, patient/consumer services, business strategy, and industry policy. He contributes to and leads collaborative activities with international groups on data standards, interoperability, and clinical implementation of genomics. He has co-chaired groups with the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, the Global Genomic Medicine Collaborative, and the CDC National Family Health History group. Mr. Wood is also an HL7 International Fellow. Mr. Wood joined the Disease Management Network Board of Directors and the AlphaNet Board of Directors in 2008 and currently serves as Secretary of both boards.

Miekeleen Hart worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 26 years at Merck and Company, Inc. as Vice President, US Human Health Strategic Planning and at Eli Lilly and Company as Director, North American Business Development. In 2006, she founded MDK Consulting, LLC, which provided strategy development and implementation services to healthcare companies. Ms. Hart joined the Disease Management Network board in 2011 and currently serves as Vice Chair. She is also Vice Chair of the AlphaNet Board and is Chair of AlphaNet’s Strategic Planning Committee. Ms. Hart also holds a Board member position at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement.

Robert Sandhaus, MD, PhD, FCCP, is a pulmonologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. He also serves as the Executive Vice President and Senior Medical Director of AlphaNet and the Clinical Director of the Alpha-1 Foundation, two nonprofit organizations serving the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency community. Dr. Sandhaus is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease.

Dr. Sandhaus founded the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Program at National Jewish Health and has served as Director for 42 years. His early research focused on the role of white blood cell proteases in the prevention and promotion of lung disease. This work led to a special clinical interest in patients with the rare genetic condition, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. He has published over 100 journal articles on subjects ranging from basic to clinical science of genetic lung diseases. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Sandhaus worked in research and development in the biopharmaceutical industry and ran clinical development programs at Cortech, NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, and Gilead Sciences.

Dr. Sandhaus has served on the boards of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, the Alpha-1 Foundation, AlphaNet, the Alpha-1 Project (TAP), the Alpha-1 Association, the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, and Global Implementation Solutions.

Mark Delvaux has spent his 37-year career in healthcare finance, consulting, and operations at and for health systems, medical practices, home health agencies, and rehabilitation facilities. Along with his role at DMN, Mr. Delvaux currently serves as President and CEO of AlphaNet, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing innovative health management services to individuals with the rare genetic condition, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. Throughout his career, Mr. Delvaux has brought together foundations, pharmaceutical companies, managed care organizations, and providers to improve patient health and quality of life while adding value for all.

At AlphaNet, Mr. Delvaux leads what he describes as the most effective model for patient engagement he has witnessed — a model that brings together a rare disease community and the pharmaceutical companies in that community to provide a powerful peer-to-peer disease management program. He believes every rare disease patient deserves access to such a program.

Marcia Ritchie spent 27 years of her career working for not-for-profit organizations dedicated to improving the lives of those with rare diseases. Ms. Ritchie was formerly Director, Management Operations, of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland where she worked from 1989 to 2003. She joined the Alpha-1 Foundation in 2003, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer was responsible for day-to-day operations. During her tenure, she helped build new programs to increase detection of those with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, advance translational research, expand global collaborations, and integrate the operations of the Alpha-1 Association, a patient education and support organization, into the Foundation post-merger. Ms. Ritchie retired from the Alpha-1 Foundation in 2017. In 2018, she was elected to the Board of Directors of Disease Management Network.