Exiting board members give combined 100 years of service

For ANRF Board of Directors, all  who serve in a volunteer capacity, it often becomes a longer-term commitment than originally planned. Because of their unrivaled passion for the mission and the wanting to see the continued development of research, discoveries and inroads to a path to a cure for arthritis and related autoimmune diseases, many continue their work on the board beyond a typical term. This year, the board terms concluded for an exceptional group of volunteers who together have given 100+ years of service to the ANRF.  Below is a brief overview of each of their backgrounds and what they have brought to the board. 

Carl F. Ware, Ph.D.

Even through a successful career of developing his own research and establishing a role as a leading immunologist, for more than 16 years, Carl F. Ware, Ph.D., has remained an active, engaged and invaluable member of the ANRF Board of Directors. While his final term as a board member ended this spring, his contributions and legacy will continue.

Dr. Ware, the Director of the Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center at the SBP Medical Discovery Institute (www.SBPDiscovery.org), located in La Jolla, CA, will continue to serve on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) which is responsible for reviewing applications and selecting the research ideas to receive grant funding for the next year. Through an established fellowship, his legacy continues each year as one of the funded researchers is recognized as the Carl F. Ware fellow. In the new cohort just announced, Anna Patrick, M.D., Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University Medical Center receives the honor.

A professor and internationally recognized immunologist known for patented discoveries of TNF-related cytokines and regulatory proteins of the immune system and therapeutics targeting these cytokines, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recognizes Dr. Ware as an expert on the subject of the “TNF Superfamily.” His list of discoveries, honors, achievements and awards runs long and includes the MERIT Award from the US Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, a prestigious recognition given for outstanding record of scientific achievement. Most recently he received the Distinguished Fellow” from the American Association of Immunologists for 2022 and an Honorary Lifetime Membership in the International Cytokine and Interferon Society.

For a more on Dr. Ware, see his Scientific Advisory Board member page.

Kevin Donohue

Kevin Donohue, a Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley, saw first-hand the devastation that rheumatoid arthritis can cause as he watched his grandmother suffer from the disease for several years. In response, he vowed to help eradicate the disease and one way he kept that commitment was serving on the ANRF Board of Directors since 1999, including more than three years as president.

Through his volunteer service to the ANRF, Donohue helped guide the organization’s growth, including from funding just four grants in 1999 to 19 grants this year, and helping grow the organization’s presence from local to national. A former U.S. Marine Corps pilot, the Southern California resident is married to his wife Karen, and together they have a son.

Donohue embodies American values and a commitment to service, also volunteering for other organizations important to him. He holds a B.S. degree in Marketing from Susquehanna University.

Mark Shulten

In 1995, when Mark Schulten, then a young professional and financial advisor, joined the ANRF Board of Directors, the nonprofit was funding just two grants on an annual basis. Since that time, Schulten has played an integral part of guiding ANRF investments and leading the Board’s finance committee. His diligence and guidance is evidenced by the ANRF’s consistent growth in investments and its ability to gradually, strategically and smartly being able to fund an increasing amount of early-career scientists and their ideas — now at 19 for the 2022-23 year.

Schulten was initially drawn to the organization after seeing close family members deal with the effects of arthritis. He was an active leader throughout the entire time of his Board volunteer involvement (1995-2022) and in addition to serving on and leading the finance committee, he served on the executive committee as Treasurer. He graduated from the UCLA with a degree in Economics and earned a Credential in Financial Planning from the University of Denver. Actively involved in many charities, including serving as a trustee for the Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation, Mark and his wife, Lisa have two children and recently moved to Nevada.

Kelly Rouba-Boyd

Kelly Rouba-Boyd served in several roles throughout her involvement with the ANRF, culminating in the past 12 years as a member of the Board of Directors. She served on the Executive Committee, on different committees and brought the patient voice to the table. She also served as a national spokesperson and persevered in her role as advocate, as Ms. New Jersey in December 2006, Mrs. Mercer County (New Jersey) in 2016 and 2019 and participating in New York’s Fashion Week for Tumble and Tipsy, a pop culture clothing brand of designer’s Michael Kuluva, who also lives with rheumatoid arthritis.

Since the age of 2, Rouba-Boyd has lived with rheumatoid arthritis, navigating the challenges of the chronic disease, becoming an advocate for people with disabilities both in a volunteer capacity and in her career with the State of New Jersey as a Program Officer. Throughout her time on the board, she has done an exceptional job of being an advocate for the 300,000 youth in the U.S. living juvenile arthritis and has shared her experience at times for the Board to better understand critical situations.

Rouba-Boyd supports ANRF in many including through her (and her friends) generosity, as each year she holds a successful Facebook birthday fundraiser to benefit the organization and arthritis and related autoimmune disease research.

Debbie Sampson

For more than 10 years, Debbie Sampson dedicated time and energy to her role as a member of the ANRF Board of Directors, graciously giving of her time and contributions. For two years, in 2018-19 & 2019-21, she served as president of the board and also sat on different committees throughout the years. She was an important part of many successful initiatives that led to connection and fundraising. Sampson volunteers and advocates for organizations she believes in and serves as a financial controller for a local chapter of a national organization in Orange County, Ca.

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