Tomago Collins holds undergraduate degrees from Yale College in Women’s Studies and Political Science, and is active in several education reform initiatives. He currently serves on the boards of Playing for Change; Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation and Colorado Make A Wish Foundation. He also works closely with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.

Collins worked as a sports copy editor and features columnist for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, and lead writer and editor for CNN International. He edited and provided analysis for ‘Scorecasting – the hidden influences behind how sports are played and games are won‘ (Random House 2011), a book written by award-winning Sports Illustrated Senior Writer L. Jon Wertheim that explores behavioral economics and sports. Collins worked as VP of Media and Player Development for Kroenke Sports Entertainment.

Chancellor of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus since 2012, Don Elliman boasts a successful track record in business, government and higher education.

A longtime executive in publishing, Elliman worked at Time Warner for 32 years, retiring as an Executive Vice President of Time Inc. Other positions he held include Publisher of People magazine and President of Sports Illustrated.

After Time Warner, Elliman served for four years as CEO of Ascent Sports and then Kroenke Sports Enterprises, overseeing all activities of the Pepsi Center, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche.

He then served four years in Colorado state government, the first two as Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and the final two as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado.

Prior to becoming Chancellor, Elliman was Executive Director of the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology, now the Gates Institute.

Elliman became interim Chancellor for the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus in 2012 and Chancellor in 2013. He assumed responsibility exclusively for the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in 2014.

Chancellor Elliman has served as chair of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Board of Directors and co-chair of the campaign to raise funds for the new hospital. He continues on that board as well as the boards of the Fitzsimons Innovation Community, UCHealth, University of Colorado Hospital Authority Board, Colorado Prevention Center, Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the Gates Institute, and the Higher Learning Commission.

With nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare administration, Jena Hausmann is one of the leading women in healthcare in the US. As President and Chief Executive Officer for Children’s Hospital Colorado, she oversees an integrated healthcare system for children, which is affiliated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

With 700,000 patient visits annually and 593 licensed beds, Children’s Hospital Colorado has consistently ranked in the top ten children’s hospitals in the nation. Jena oversees the Children’s Hospital Colorado at the Anschutz Medical campus, the Children’s Hospital Colorado network of care in 17 locations in the metropolitan Denver area, the Children’s Hospital Colorado pediatric services at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, and the newly opened Children’s Hospital Colorado South Campus, a full service generally licensed hospital in south Denver.

During her tenure, unprecedented increases in patient volume have been achieved. With employees now numbering over 5,000, Jena is proudest that Children’s Hospital Colorado continues its focus on the precious children and families it serves through a culture of intimacy, connection and purpose. In a reaffirmation of the values inherent in Children’s Hospital’s child and family focused culture, the scores for patient satisfaction and employee engagement rank among the highest in the US.

Jena joined Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2004 as the Vice President of Strategic Planning and Network of Care Operations and assumed the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2008. In May of 2015, Jena was named President and Chief Executive Officer.

She was motivated to become a healthcare administrator after watching a loved one go through the system in their final moments of life. After earning a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota in 1996, Jena completed an administrative fellowship at the Fairview Health System in Minneapolis, MN. There, she helped redesign the care delivery and financing models for nursing home residents through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant.

Following the fellowship, she served as the Director of Provider Relations at The University of Minnesota Medical Center, an organization consisting of a then recently-merged 500 bed community hospital and a 500 bed academic medical center. After 11 months in the role, she joined the senior management team and remained there for the next six years providing leadership over a large number of operational areas as well as planning and business development activities. The cultural and operational challenges in this merger of two large entities into a comprehensive, integrated health system prepared Jena for her executive role at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

In 2008, Modern Healthcare featured Jena as one of 12 “rising healthcare management stars.” Jena currently serves on the board of directors for the Metro North Chamber of Commerce. In 2012, she served as the March of Dimes’ March for Babies revenue chair and she served on the YMCA Metro Denver board from 2009-2012.

As a leading woman in healthcare, she annually mentors as many as 30 individual women at the CU School of Medicine as well as throughout the Children’s organization to help them understand their roles and opportunities and to demonstrate personally and professionally the ability of women to succeed in executive roles in healthcare.

Jena, her husband Kevin, and three children, Ellie, Andrew and Carson, find their life’s purpose is to provide much love and laughter each day.

Peter started his journey in the development business with MDC Holding Inc, the parent company of Richmond Homes, in 1978. Six years later, Peter created a company of his own, Beacon Hill Investments, and the Metropolitan Homes brand. Since the mid 1980’s Peter has developed over a billion dollars in real estate, including roughly 3,000 apartment units and over 1,500 for sales units.

Peter’s many projects include the award-winning Vallagio at Inverness, a 62 acre TOD project adjacent to the Dry Creek Light Rail station, and several projects in the Lowry neighborhood including Mayfair Condominiums, Lowry North Apartments, and Custom Single Family Homes in the Northwest Neighborhood. Currently, Metropolitan Homes is developing a 1.6 acre parcel across from Boulevard One, into 25 townhomes and a 41 unit condominium building called Crestmoor Heights, and several apartment projects in the Denver Metro area.

Peter is Honorary Dean of the School of Construction at Denver University, and Former President of the Colorado Apartment Association. When Peter is not creating great developments, he is helping others through his philanthropic work, and bettering himself. Peter is the most recent chair of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation Gala and is a prominent contributor to the Children’s Hospital. Peter is also an accomplished chef, enthusiastic artist, and enjoys boxing.

Peter serves as a Global Down Syndrome Foundation Board Member and has served as the chair of Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show.

An expert in cardiovascular research, Leinwand is principal investigator of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant and National Institutes of Health Cardiovascular Training Grant. She established and co-directs the University of Colorado’s Cardiovascular Research Institute (CU-CVI), a collaborative group of physicians, molecular biologists and geneticists. The team works to integrate research and clinical applications, as well as initiate effective treatment programs and preventive therapies.

“I believe that the Global Down Syndrome Foundation is poised to make a difference in the lives of people with Down syndrome through its support of basic and clinical research,” Leinwand says. “Research in Down syndrome is under-funded and tools are now available to make fundamental advances in understanding the mechanisms that result in the many challenges faced by people with Down syndrome that should in turn, lead to improvements in their lives. I am committed to these efforts as a scientist and friend to the Down syndrome community.”

Leinwand has authored more than 185 scientific publications and founded a biotechnology company, Myogen, which conducts clinical trials on heart medications. She is the former director of the Colorado Initiative for Molecular Biotechnology and served as the interim director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome. Leinwand received her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, her PhD from Yale University and did post-doctoral training at Rockefeller University.

While an understudy in New York in the Circle-In-The-Square production of John Patrick Shanley’s “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” John C. McGinley was spotted by director Oliver Stone and soon after was cast in “Platoon,” the first of a long list of collaborations between Stone and McGinley which includes “Wall Street,” “Talk Radio,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Nixon” and “Any Given Sunday.”

John C. starred for three seasons on IFC’s hit half-hour comedy-horror series, “Stan Against Evil,” on which he also served as a producer. He is an audience favorite for his hilarious portrayal of ‘Dr. Perry Cox’ in the Emmy-nominated medical comedy series, “Scrubs,” which ran for nine seasons. John C. starred for two seasons in TBS’s workplace comedy series “Ground Floor,” which reunited him with creator Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”) and he recently starred in the last season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Frank O’Sullivan.

John C.’s impressive career in film spans a diverse range of characters in over seventy films to date, including such features as “Get A Job,” “Alex Cross,” “Wild Hogs,” “Identity,” “The Animal,” “The Rock,” “Nothing to Lose,” “Set It Off,” “Seven,” “Office Space,” “Mother,” “Wagons East,” “Surviving the Game,” “On Deadly Ground,” “Point Break,” “Highlander II,” “A Midnight Clear” and “Fat Man and Little Boy.” He received critical acclaim for his role in Warner Bros.’ “42,” the life story of Jackie Robinson.

John C. is a partner at McGinley Entertainment Inc., an independent film production company with several projects currently in development. John C. first worked both sides of the camera, serving double duty as actor and producer for the romantic comedy “Watch It!” (with Peter Gallagher and Lili Taylor).

In addition to film and television, John C.’s background is heavily rooted in theater. He received stellar reviews for his starring performance alongside Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale in the Broadway revival of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

John C. currently hosts the Connective Tissue podcast which fosters critical thinking through candid conversations with a diverse range of guests, including filmmakers, musicians, and business leaders.

As the father of Max, his adult son with Down syndrome, John C. is committed to building awareness and acceptance of people with Down syndrome. He currently serves as an Ambassador for Special Olympics and is a board member of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. John C. is also one of the original creators, in conjunction with Special Olympics, of the groundbreaking “Spread the Word to End the Word” national campaign to eradicate the “R” word. He has blogged repeatedly on the Huffington Post, advocating acceptance and awareness of people with special needs as well as the importance of eliminating the “R” word.

In 2011, he won GLOBAL’s Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award for his incredible contributions to the differently-abled community. GLOBAL is delighted to have John C. as spokesperson and champion for people with Down syndrome.

G.H. Jay Mills is the founder and owner of Jay’s Valet Parking LLC, one of the largest valet parking services in the Rocky Mountain region. Jay’s Valet Parking LLC currently operates in three states and employs several hundred people.

Jay is also a licensed real estate broker/owner and has earned the rare CRS and GRI designations. Jay served the United States as a decorated and honorably discharged Army veteran and is the father of an awesome young man named Maxx. Jay was fortunate to have many role models growing up, who encouraged him and helped him develop his passion for helping others. His passion is continuing his personal growth and to be surrounded by good, kind and loving people.

Over the past several years, Jay has volunteered for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation – from the Dare to Play Football with Ed McCaffrey where you’ll find him refereeing the big game day, to the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show, where he spends countless hours helping to make the fundraiser a success. Jay joined the board of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation in 2011.

Charlie Monfort is an owner, vice chairman, and general partner of the Colorado Rockies. In 1992, Charlie, Oren Benton, and Jerry McMorris were the original general partners and ownership group that brought the Major League Baseball club to Denver and the Colorado region. He has been one of the Colorado Rockies’ managing general partners since inception.

Charlie and his brother Dick Monfort have done extensive community outreach through their family-directed Monfort Family Foundation. In September 2004, the Monfort Family Foundation gifted $10 million to Children’s Hospital Colorado for the construction of a new medical facility in Aurora, CO. The oncology floor of the new hospital is named in memory of Rick Wilson, a cousin of the Monfort family. In addition, the family funded a display of artwork, photography, and Rockies memorabilia to enhance the seventh floor of the hospital. The foundation is a longtime provider of funding and endorsement for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Metro Denver and Weld County. In 2012, they matched dollar-for-dollar on fans’ collected contributions for Coloradoans devastated by summer wildfires.

Also active in higher education, the Monfort family supports the Monfort School of Business at the University of Northern Colorado and the Monfort Excellence Fund at Colorado State University; both impact students, faculty, and the Northern Colorado community through scholarships for exceptional students and support of outstanding faculty. Other organizations that have benefited from the Monfort family’s years of philanthropic work include CU Cancer Center, Craig Hospital, United Way, Denver Art Museum and Habitat for Humanity.

Charlie is a staunch advocate for the differently-abled and served on the board of Special Olympics for over a decade. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Utah and is an active supporter of the Denver Dream program.

Charlie was named president of Monfort International Sales Corporation in 1988, and under his guidance, it became one of the largest beef exporters in the world and the leading exporter of beef products to Asia. In 1990, Monfort became president of ConAgra Refrigerated Foods International, Inc., which consolidated Monfort International Sales Corporation with all of ConAgra’s international refrigerated foods companies. Charlie resigned from ConAgra in late 1997 in order to concentrate on his leadership role with the Rockies.

Charlie has a bachelor’s degree in marketing & business management from the University of Utah (1982) and served as president of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He continues to make his home in Greeley, CO, and has four children: son Kenny, daughter Ciara, and twins – son Lucas and daughter Danica.

Jamie Nielsen has been employed by AJS Ventures, LLC since 2006 and in her position, she is actively involved in the management of three investment portfolios, cash forecasting, income tax preparation, managing the insurance needs of both for-profit and non-profit entities, and managing daily operations, as well as a variety of projects.

Since Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s initial formation in 2006, Jamie has worked closely with GLOBAL’s management assisting and guiding the organization as it continues to move through rapid change and growth. Jamie never hesitates to support GLOBAL’s events, feels fortunate to have cheered and supported every awe-inspiring Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show since its inception, and her enthusiasm for GLOBAL’s mission is contagious.

Jamie has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Saint Mary’s College of California and started her accounting career working for Arthur Andersen in the Boston, MA office. Jamie subsequently worked as a Manager at Clark Enterprises, a private investment firm based in the DC metro area.

Jamie, her husband Chris, and their two sons, Ben and Cal, enjoy doing all things Colorado, especially fly fishing, soccer, and hockey. Go Avalanche!

Ricki Rest sums up her volunteer work by saying, “I have chaired fundraisers for many organizations and have been on practically every board in town.” Her record more than confirms this. She has served on the boards of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, the Women’s department of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, The Advisory Board for Jewish Family Services, and the Women’s Board of National Jewish Medical and Research Center. While on this board, Ricki developed programs for board members to interact with young patients and their families. Ricki was responsible for creating the tributes to Golda Meir award recipients Arlene Hirschfeld and Carol Mizel. Most recently Ricki was an active member of the Board of Trustees of Shalom Park and chaired many fundraisers for this institution, along with creating tributes for many honorees.

During the last several years, Ricki has devoted herself to her family and working in real estate acquisitions and investments, while continuing to do ”a little something” for many organizations.

When her grandson, Chase Turner Perry, was born with Down syndrome in February 2006, along with continuing to work, Ricki has kept her philanthropic activity to a minimum in order to participate in every endeavor that will benefit Chase and others born with Trisomy 21. Most recently she participated in the Advisory Committee of the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Educational Fund and now furthers her commitment to assisting in awareness and fundraising for the continued development of the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome, the first pediatric facility in Colorado specializing in the medical treatment of children born with Down syndrome along with the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, an institute created specifically for the purpose of eradicating the ill effects of Down syndrome.

A proud grandmother of eight, Ricki is a loving mother, wife and daughter.

John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MHSc, MBA, is the Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, and the Dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was previously the Robert H. and Gloria Wilkins Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery and Senior Vice President of Duke University Health System and the Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP), leading thousands of School of Medicine faculty, community physicians, psychologists, and advanced practice providers who are the clinical talent force for Duke University. He is a physician-scientist and member of the National Academy of Medicine. With a career spanning over 25 years, his journey is underscored by a relentless pursuit of excellence across clinical practice, research, education, and leadership domains. Throughout his tenure, he has inspired and mentored diverse teams and fostered a culture of innovation. As a transformational leader, Dr. Sampson has orchestrated collaborative change initiatives and successfully converted visionary ideas into actionable plans.

As a surgeon-scientist, he holds a deep commitment to advancing new therapies into the clinic and compassionately treating patients with brain tumors and other diseases of the nervous system. He has authored nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals and the held the distinction of being the highest NIH-funded investigator in his field for several consecutive years. Educating and nurturing the next generation of healthcare leaders is a cornerstone of Dr. Sampson's career. His dedication to training surgeons, physicians, scientists, and students is evident in the numerous alumni who now occupy leadership positions across the nation's top academic programs.

As the Inaugural Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke, he championed faculty and student led innovative educational programs such as the Surgical Autonomy Program; the Learner Mentorship, Leadership, and Coaching program; and the Global Neurosurgery Program. These initiatives not only advanced patient care and education but also extended the impact of these trainees to underprivileged regions globally. He also pioneered the Neuro-innovations Program, which provided training for students at all levels on entrepreneurial activities; and executed on a strategic initiative to develop the WellSpentMD App, which effectively reduced burnout by rewarding clinicians and learners with congratulations and encouragement. Dr. Sampson's commitment to innovation extends beyond education and clinical practice, as evidenced by his leadership in several entrepreneurial ventures and board positions in health systems, foundations, and private and publicly-traded companies outside of Duke.

Dr. Sampson's academic journey began with a medical degree in Canada, followed by a PhD in neuroimmunology and MHSc in clinical research at Duke University. He did his research training under the internationally renowned neuro-oncologist, Darell D. Bigner, and Nobel Laureate, Gertrude Elion. Recognizing the importance of health sector management, he further honed his skills with an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, earning the distinction of Fuqua Scholar as a top tier graduate.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Dr. Sampson finds joy in family time, a passion for racing cars and critiquing Hi-Fi music with his sons, and a commitment to physical well-being through Peloton cycling and trail running, complemented by the practice of meditation.

As the 12th chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder, Justin Schwartz is committed to transforming lives through the mission of Colorado’s public flagship university. 

Schwartz joined the campus July 1, 2024, from The Pennsylvania State University, where he most recently served as executive vice president and provost.

He previously served as Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of Penn State's College of Engineering from 2017 to 2022 and has spent his career as a researcher, educator, entrepreneur and academic leader in large state universities.

Schwartz holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate in nuclear engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and ASM International. Schwartz holds seven patents. 

A highly visible, transparent and engaged leader, Schwartz is focused on advancing campus research and leadership in sustainability, supporting innovation and interdisciplinary education, and ensuring that all students, faculty, staff and alumni survive and thrive as valued members of an equitable and just CU Boulder community.

Outside of work, Schwartz’s interests include hiking, endurance sports and photography.

John J. Sie is founder and former Chairman of Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG). Founded in 1991, the Colorado-based company is owned by Liberty Media Corporation and is the parent to numerous premium movie networks, including Starz and Encore. John is a cable television pioneer and leader. A consummate entrepreneur, John has successfully launched and managed many corporations, business lines and products. John is currently retired and has devoted himself to several impactful philanthropic initiatives and to his family.

John, a native of China, came to the United States at the age of 14 in 1950. He stayed at a Catholic orphanage on Staten Island, N.Y. until he graduated from high school in 1953. He received B.E.E. and M.E.E. degrees from Manhattan College and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1957 and 1958, respectively. John is a member of the honor fraternity Sigma Xi and the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.

John began his professional career in 1958 when he joined the RCA Defense Electronics Division on advanced microwave solid state devices. In 1960, he co-founded and later became chairman and CEO of Micro State Electronics Corp, which later became a subsidiary of the Raytheon Co. In 1972, John joined Jerrold Electronics Corp, a subsidiary of General Instrument Co., as General Manager and Sr. Vice President of the Cable Television Division. In 1977, he joined Showtime Entertainment as Sr. Vice President of sales and marketing.

In 1984, John and his family moved to Colorado to join Tele-Communications Inc. (now Comcast and Liberty Media) as Sr. Vice President in charge of strategic planning, programming, marketing, technology, and government relations. Many people consider John the father of digital television – in 1989 he submitted the very first white paper on digital High Definition Television (HDTV) to Congress and the FCC that would dramatically change the landscape of television in the United States and the world.

Throughout his professional life, John received numerous awards and honors:

2017 Collectors’ Choice Honoree, Denver Art Museum
2015 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, Global Down Syndrome Foundation
2014 Humanitarian Award, Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver
2014 Slice of Pi Honoree, Denver School of Science and Technology
2010 Community Cultural Enrichment Award, Mizel Museum
2009 Chinese American Hero, Asian Week Magazine; Man and Woman of the Year, The Villager
2008 Asian Pacific Americans in Business, Voices from Colorado
2003 Inductee, Cable Television Hall of Fame
2002 International Bridge Builder Award, Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver
2001 Chairman’s Award, Cable Television Administration and Marketing Association (CTAM); Stanley B. Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award, National Association of Minorities in Communications (NAMIC); Bridge Builder Asian American Leadership Award, The AURA Fund and aMedia, Inc.; Bill Daniels Business Leader of the Year, The Denver Business Journal
1986 Grand Tam Award CTAM
1982 Robert H. Beisswenger Memorial Award (Vanguard Associates Award) by the National Cable Television Association (NCTA)
1960 RCA David Sarnoff Fellowship
1958 Microwave Research Institute Fellow, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

John is committed to bridging the US-China relationship through mutual understanding, dialogue and respect. He is a member of the prominent Committee of 100, a national non-partisan organization composed of outstanding American citizens of Chinese descent. In 2009, John established the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. John continues to support the Chinese Executive Media Management Program, a mini-MBA curriculum, he helped establish in 2000 at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.

In 2005, John and his wife Anna established the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation. The Anna and John J. Sie Foundation supports the sharing of knowledge amongst peoples and cultures throughout the global community, with an emphasis on Down syndrome, education, media, business, and technology. The Foundation supports Children’s Hospital Colorado, the University of Colorado, the University of Denver, Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy, Denver School of Science and Technology, Denver Art Museum and numerous other civic, social and educational institutions.

In 2008 and 2009 respectively, the Foundation became the founding donor of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. The Crnic Institute is the first academic home for research and medical care for people with Down syndrome. Its mission is to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition.

Frank Stephens is an active spokesman for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and the recipient of GLOBAL’s highest honor, the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award. He is also a long-time member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Virginia. An accomplished public speaker, Frank has been invited all over North America and Europe promoting inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Frank is also an accomplished actor. As a member of his local theater group known as Artstream, Frank has acted in various original plays over the last ten years. Frank also had a feature role in the film Touched by Grace and has made occasional guest appearances on the Emmy Award winning A&E reality show, Born This Way.

Frank’s articles have been featured in publications like The New York Times, London Daily Mail, and The Huffington Post. He contributed to the Amazon bestseller, “Stand Up”, which featured stories of outstanding young advocates.

In 2017, Frank testified on behalf of GLOBAL at the first U.S. Congressional hearing on the importance of Down syndrome research, which helped result in the first significant increase in Down syndrome funding from the National Institutes of Health in nearly 20 years. His famous line, “If you take one thing away from today, know this: I am a man with Down syndrome and my life is worth living,” received the first-ever standing ovation at a congressional hearing and his testimony on C-Span went viral receiving over 200M views.

Frank has been interviewed on behalf of GLOBAL and many other disability organizations by national outlets including BBC, Fox News, CNN, and Inside Edition.

Mary Beth Wallingford has been the Managing Director of AJS Ventures, LLC since 2005. AJS Ventures is a private family investment firm. In her role with AJS Ventures she is responsible for the day to day operations, financial supervision, and management of several employees.

Prior to joining AJS Ventures, she was Vice President Controller for Fischer Imaging Corporation, a medical imaging systems manufacturer. Mary Beth started her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen and Co. and went on to hold key positions in the public accounting, financial services, and the pharmaceutical and medical device industry.

Mary Beth was Chief Financial Officer for Bantek, the largest independent service provider for ATM machines. She served as Vice President and Controller for Geneva Pharmaceuticals, a $338 million unit of the Swiss pharmaceutical and chemical giant Novartis, and was Controller for First Columbia Financial, a $2.7 billion holding company primarily in the savings and loan business. Leading companies financially through rapid growth and change is a hallmark of Mary Beth’s career.

Mary Beth is on the advisory council for the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation and a board member and treasurer of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. She has attended many Global Down Syndrome Foundation programs and events and is honored to be part of a vision to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.

Mary Beth graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree of science in business administration with a major in accounting. She and her husband Steve are the proud parents of a grown child and reside in the Denver area. They enjoy a variety of activities together, including following the Colorado Rockies and High Point University Women’s Lacrosse.

Richard is responsible for providing legal counsel to the Foundation, negotiating and drafting agreements, and advising on a wide range of legal and policy issues. He oversees outside counsel in specialties including government relations, intellectual property, biomedical research, and not-for-profit operations.

Prior to joining Global in 2015, Richard had been an attorney at the Starz television networks for nearly twenty years, serving as Senior Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs. At Starz, Richard was primarily responsible for negotiation and drafting of affiliation agreements with all major cable, satellite and internet distributors for carriage of the Starz networks. Richard was also responsible for the company’s government relations and regulatory compliance activities, and had also served as Counsel for Starz affiliate Encore International. Prior to Starz, Richard had served as a supervisory attorney at the Federal Communications Commission’s Mass Media Bureau in Washington, DC (1994-96). Prior to the FCC, Richard was in private law practice for 16 years in Washington (1978-94), specializing in cable television, broadcast, and copyright law and policy, and representing major Hollywood movie/television studios (the MPAA), broadcast stations, and cable systems before the FCC and other agencies and courts.

Richard graduated from Brandeis University (BA English Literature/Creative Writing, 1975), and Syracuse University College of Law (JD 1978). He’s an avid golfer and music fan.

Michelle Sie Whitten is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (Global). Global is dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through Research, Medical Care, Education, and Advocacy. Its primary focus is to support the first academic home in the United States committed to research and medical care for people with Down syndrome made up of key affiliates – the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the Rocky Mountain Alzheimer’s Disease Center, both at the Anschutz Medical Campus, and the Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

GLOBAL publishes the award-winning magazine – Down Syndrome World™ and is a leading national lobbying and advocacy organization for people with Down syndrome. Specifically, Global is the lead voice in requiring a comparable, fair share of federal government support for research, improved medical care, and improved educational standards for people with Down syndrome. Global organizes the award-winning Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show – the single largest annual fundraiser for Down syndrome, and administers the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award each year. Programs established by Whitten, and organized and funded by Global include the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Dance Class, Ed McCaffrey Dare to Play Football and Cheer Camps, Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, the Dare to Play Soccer Camp, Dare to Play Tennis Camp, and more.

Michelle has also served as the Executive Director of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation since 2005. Since that time, the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation has become the largest private source of grant money for Down syndrome-related research and programs. Michelle was a key architect in establishing the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

For her Down syndrome-related work, Michelle has received several awards including the 2014 Triumphant Woman Award from the Excelsior Youth Center, the 2013 Colorado Cross Disability Coalition Award, the 2013 National Down Syndrome Congress’ President’s Award, the 2011 inaugural National Football Foundation Community Outreach Award, seventeen ICON awards from 2011 to 2015, the 2010 Rainbow of Hope Award from Keshet of the Rockies, the 2009 Developmental Pathways Frances Owens Family Involvement Award, and the 2007 Arc Thrift Community Leadership Award.

Prior to her career in the non-profit sector, Michelle was President and CEO of Encore International, Inc., then the China division of Liberty Media Corporation. She worked in the cable industry from 1993 until 2005 and is considered a pioneer in the China media industry. For her work during that time, she received the 40 Under 40 Achievement Award, the Real Women: Outstanding Entrepreneur Award and the Women in Cable & Telecommunications Walk of Fame Award.

Michelle sits on the boards of arc Thrift of Colorado, the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, Denver Mayor’s International Council, and Constellation Philanthropy. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Regional Studies – East Asia and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration, both from Harvard University. She studied Mandarin Chinese at Peking University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University.

Michelle is married to Tom Whitten, a China and contemporary art expert. They live in Denver, Colorado and have two children, one of whom has Down syndrome.

Nicole Baumer, MD, MEd is a child neurologist and neurodevelopmental disabilities specialist. Dr. Baumer is the Director of the Anna and John J. Sie Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She completed her medical training at Harvard Medical school, pediatrics training at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Training at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Baumer also studied Special Education, and has a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She specializes in clinical care of children with Down syndrome, autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders. Her research is focused on neurodevelopment in Down syndrome, and on interventions to optimize health, learning, and development. Dr. Baumer’s older sister, Heather, has Down syndrome and has been a huge inspiration in her life and career.

Tom Blumenthal was born in Santa Monica, California in 1943, but grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. He majored in Biology at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and graduated in 1966. He was an NSF fellow during his graduate work at Johns Hopkins University from which he received his PhD in Genetics in 1970. His thesis was in the area of bacteriophage genetics.

Dr. Blumenthal’s research currently concentrates in the areas of mechanisms of pre-mRNA processing in C. elegans and how that relates to organization of genes on chromosomes. Working in the C. elegans model system, Dr. Blumenthal’s lab discovered the first eukaryotic operons, now known to exist in many other phyla even including primitive chordates. His lab focuses on mechanistic aspects of coordination of multiple kinds of RNA cleavage and splicing events in eukaryotic polycistronic pre-mRNA processing. He has published more than 100 papers and one book in the areas of genetics and molecular biology.

In 2012, Dr. Blumenthal became Executive Director of Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center at Anschutz Medical Campus. At the Crnic Institute, Dr. Blumenthal leads a “Dream Team” of experts with more than 80 years of combined experience in caring for children with Down syndrome and developmental disabilities including Dr. Huntington Potter who studies the relationship between Alzheimer’s Disease and Down syndrome, and Dr. Katheleen Gardiner, who studies gene expression alterations in Down syndrome. As Executive Director of the LCI, Dr. Blumenthal also manages the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome, including Sie Center clinical director Dr. Fran Hickey, program coordinator Dee Daniels, and senior physical therapist Patricia C. Winders.

Prior to this engagement, Dr. Blumenthal was the Chair of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder since 2006, where he continues to hold his position as professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, in addition to running his RNA lab at CU Boulder. From 1997 to 2006, Dr. Blumenthal served as the Chairman of the Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Dr. Blumenthal is currently on the Editorial Boards of the journals RNA, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Transcription, and Worm, and the online book, Wormbook. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the American Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the RNA Society and the Scientific Advisory Board of Wormbase, the C. elegans database. He also served as a member of the University of California Science and Technology Committee and the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Biological Science Divisions of the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. He was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010.

Dr. Blumenthal was a Helen Hay Whitney Foundation postdoctoral fellow with James Watson at Harvard, where he showed that bacteriophage QB replicase contains protein synthesis elongation factors. In 1973, he became an Assistant Professor at Indiana University, where he remained until 1996, rising through the ranks to Professor and Chairman of Biological Sciences. In 1980, as a Guggenheim fellow, he did a sabbatical with Sydney Brenner at the MRC in Cambridge, where he began working on the nematode C. elegans. He studied developmental gene regulation and later began his current projects on mechanisms of splicing and chromosomal gene organization. In 1993 he did a sabbatical with Barbara Meyer at Berkeley where he worked on C. elegans 3’ splice site recognition.

Peter Bulova completed his undergraduate training at Brown University. He completed his residency and chief residency and earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a Professor of General Internal Medicine and teaches medical students, residents, and fellows at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Bulova is currently involved in research on Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome, sits on the NIH National Down Syndrome Registry Data Access Review Committee, and is an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, including the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research and the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Bulova also serves on the Executive Board of the Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group and speaks nationally of the care of adults with Down syndrome.

Since 1990, Dr. Capone has been with the Kennedy Krieger Institute where he currently serves as Director of the Down Syndrome Clinic & Research Center. He is interested in a wide range of topics relevant to people with Down syndrome, including Health Care, Development-Neurobehavior, Mental Health and Sleep Medication trials in children & adults. Dr. Capone lives in Towson, Maryland with his wife, Mary and son, Daniel.

Nobel Laureate Tom Cech has been on the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder since 1978. In 2000, he was named president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and remained in the position until 2009. Currently his lab in Boulder investigates the structure and replication of telomeric DNA. A telomere protects the end of a chromosome from degenerating or fusing with another chromosome.

Says Cech of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, “The entire mission of the Linda Crnic Institute is important, but I am most involved with the research efforts. Further research of the genes expressed on chromosome 21 will lead to better understanding of Down syndrome, and this better understanding will pave the way to intervention to eliminate its ill effects.”

After receiving his PhD at Berkeley, Cech expanded his knowledge of biology with a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Mary Lou Pardue at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1978, Cech and his wife Carol, a fellow Grinnell graduate and biochemist, both joined the faculty of the University of Colorado at Boulder. There, he settled into the work that would eventually overturn conventional wisdom about RNA. Cech shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with RNA. In addition to this award, Cech has won a number of other international awards and prizes, including the Heineken Prize of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (1988), the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1988) and the National Medal of Science (1995). In 1987, Cech was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and was also awarded a lifetime professorship by the American Cancer Society.

Brian Chicoine, M.D. is the co-founder and Medical Director of the Advocate Medical Group Adult Down Syndrome Center in Park Ridge, Illinois. The Center has served over 6000 adolescents and adults with Down syndrome since its inception in 1992. Dr. Chicoine graduated from Loyola University of Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He completed his Family Medicine residency at Lutheran General Hospital where he is now a faculty member. He has published many articles regarding health of people with Down syndrome. He has co-authored two books “Mental Wellness of Adults with Down Syndrome,” and “The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome” published by Woodbine House Publishing.

“I am very excited to join the Crnic Institute and work in collaboration with the teams at the Sie Center and Global Down Syndrome Foundation,” said Espinosa. “It is rare to find this perfect combination of a research institute, a clinical care operation and a powerful non-profit agency working in close coordination toward a common goal. I am confident that we will advance biomedical research in the area of Down syndrome and the associated co-morbidities in major ways.”

Previously Espinosa held the position of Associate Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he will continue as a Visiting Associate Professor. He will also continue as the University of Colorado’s Director of The Functional Genomics Facility and as the Co-Leader of the Molecular Oncology Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Espinosa obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and did post-doctoral training at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. In 2009, he was appointed as an Early Career Scientist of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization that plays a powerful role in advancing biomedical research and science education in the United States.

In addition to being an advocate for people with Down syndrome, Espinosa is also a contributor to The Huffington Post, an avid rock climber, skier and outdoorsman.

During his career, Gold has received many citations including the University of Colorado Distinguished Lectureship Award, the National Institutes of Health Merit Award, the Career Development Award, and the Chiron Prize for Biotechnology. In addition, Gold has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1993 and the National Academy of Sciences since 1995.

SomaLogic is developing reagents that focus on proteins to detect the early onset of diseases quickly, effectively and economically. Dr. Gold received an AB in Biochemistry from Yale University and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Connecticut.

Gold is excited about his involvement with the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and sees a positive future for Down syndrome research.

“I am so pleased to be part of this endeavor, with such good people,” says Gold. “Years ago I thought that interventions in the cognitive lives of people with Down syndrome was close to impossible, and today, thanks to lots of reading and listening, I believe that positive interventions are a certainty. The Linda Crnic Institute will certainly lead this effort.”

Terry Harville earned a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, before earning his MD at the University of Florida. He completed a residency in Pediatrics and Fellowship in Pediatric Immunology, Rheumatology, and Transplantation Biology; also at the University of Florida. Dr. Harville joined the faculty of Duke University, where he pioneered hematopoietic transplantation in patients with rare forms of Combined Immunodeficiencies. Subsequently, he joined the faculty of Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, as Director of Pediatric Rheumatology and Immunodeficiencies. He was asked to take over the Directorship of the Transplantation Laboratories in order to provide better transplantation services in the state of Arkansas. Dr. Harville has more than 160 published abstracts, book chapters, and peer-reviewed manuscripts. Autism Spectrum of Disorders and other diseases of Neuro-atypicality, including Down syndrome, have been amongst his research and clinical care emphases. He also is considered an expert in the diagnosis of immunodeficiency disorders and autoimmune disorders, including celiac disease.

I’m a pediatric ear, nose and throat doctor. I specialize in caring for children with sleep conditions and Down syndrome. It’s important for me to be on the same page as the parents. I work hard, alongside families, to achieve the best, most comprehensive care for my patients. I focus on the child as a whole and help the families achieve comprehensive care. My sleep training lets me evaluate and manage sleep conditions beyond obstructive sleep apnea. I enjoy taking care of special populations and have focused my research on children with Down syndrome. Pediatric ENT fits me because I can make a significant impact with small interventions that improve the quality of a child's life. I work to understand obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep disorders in children with Down syndrome. I also study ear problems and swallowing dysfunction. My team investigates surgical management of persistent obstructive sleep apnea after the adenoids and tonsils are removed. I received the 2018 Otolaryngology Top Research Publication award for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Vishal Jhanji is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is a corneal specialist and a clinician scientist by training. Dr. Jhanji completed his ophthalmology training from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India and his fellowship from the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, University of Melbourne, Australia. He worked as an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 2017, Dr. Jhanji joined as a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Jeanne Lawrence is an internationally recognized leader in the field of epigenetics, chromosome regulation, and non-coding RNAs, whose work reflects her inter-disciplinary background in developmental biology and clinical genetics. She is currently Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. After receiving a B.A. in Biology and Music from Stephens College, she earned her M.S. in Human Genetics and Counseling from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from Brown University.

Dr. Lawrence’s work bridges fundamental questions in epi-genome biology with human clinical genetics, as she is interested in translating basic science discovery to problems that impact people, particularly Down Syndrome. In her earlier work, she received awards and patents for the development of single-copy gene and nuclear RNA FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) technology, which made possible the investigation of gene and RNA organization directly within cell nuclei. This allowed her lab to first show that RNA from the X-linked XIST gene is expressed exclusively from and “coats” the inactive X-chromosome in female cells, where this novel RNA induces heterochromatin modifications which silence transcription across the chromosome. These studies were key to establishing the precedent that a large “non-coding” RNA (XIST RNA) could function itself as a regulator of chromatin. XIST now remains the preeminent paradigm for ncRNA regulation of the epigenome.

Most recently, her lab has demonstrated that the large XIST gene could be accurately targeted into one extra chromosome 21 in iPS cells from a Down syndrome patient. Most importantly, the RNA effectively silenced expression of genes across the extra chromosome 21. This novel approach now provides several new avenues for translational research into human Down Syndrome cell pathology in vitro, and opens the longer-term possibility of “chromosome therapy” in vivo for aspects of trisomy 21 (and other trisomys). Dr. Lawrence’s lab is currently working to demonstrate feasibility that XIST- mediated silencing of a trisomic chromosome can correct or mitigate pathology in mouse models of DS, and is also the engineered human DS pluripotent stem cells as a correctable “disease-in-a-dish”, to understand cellular differences that underlie various aspects of Down Syndrome.

Dr. Lawrence has been honored for development of highly sensitive FISH technologies now used round the world and has received awards from the National Center for Human Genome Research, American Society of Cell Biology, German Society for Biochemistry, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Charles H. Hood Foundation and the John Merck Fund. She has served on the NIH Advisory Council for Human Genome Research, numerous NIH review panels, and currently serves as as monitoring editor for the Journal of Cell Biology.

An expert in cardiovascular research, Leinwand is principal investigator of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant and National Institutes of Health Cardiovascular Training Grant. She established and co-directs the University of Colorado’s Cardiovascular Research Institute (CU-CVI), a collaborative group of physicians, molecular biologists and geneticists. The team works to integrate research and clinical applications, as well as initiate effective treatment programs and preventive therapies.

“I believe that the Global Down Syndrome Foundation is poised to make a difference in the lives of people with Down syndrome through its support of basic and clinical research,” Leinwand says. “Research in Down syndrome is under-funded and tools are now available to make fundamental advances in understanding the mechanisms that result in the many challenges faced by people with Down syndrome that should in turn, lead to improvements in their lives. I am committed to these efforts as a scientist and friend to the Down syndrome community.”

Leinwand has authored more than 185 scientific publications and founded a biotechnology company, Myogen, which conducts clinical trials on heart medications. She is the former director of the Colorado Initiative for Molecular Biotechnology and served as the interim director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome. Leinwand received her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, her PhD from Yale University and did post-doctoral training at Rockefeller University.

Barry Martin is an Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine at University of Colorado School of Medicine where he sees patients for primary care and for consultations. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine and has more than 20 years’ experience providing primary health care for adults with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities and Down syndrome. He served as Medical Director of the former Denver Adult Down Syndrome Clinic. Currently, he is the medical director of the Denver Health and GLOBAL adult Down syndrome pilot clinic. Dr. Martin is a member of the National Down Syndrome Congress and the Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group.

Dr. McCourt Graduated from State University of New York Medical school in 2007. Emily McCourt is the Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Vice Chair of Pediatric Ophthalmology, and The Ponzio Family Chair for Pediatric Ophthalmology. In 2017, 2018,2019,2020, and 2021 Dr. McCourt was awarded the Patient Family Experience Excellence in Patient Care at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Dr. McGuire is a Down syndrome behavioral health expert with more than 30 years of experience in the fields of mental health and developmental disabilities. He is the former Director of Psychosocial Services for the Adult Down Syndrome Center in Chicago, Illinois. He helped establish the center, which serves over 4,000 unique patients annually. Dr. McGuire keynotes at events around the world and is the co-author of two prominent books: Mental Wellness of Adults with Down Syndrome, and The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome (2011), both by Woodbine House. He received many awards including the National Down Syndrome Congress Theodore D. Tjossem Research Award in 2003 and the World Down Syndrome Day Scientific Award in 2010. McGuire continues to see couples, families, and individuals in a private practice in the Chicago area. Dr. McGuire received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Lina Patel is an Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, practicing at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Patel is the Director of the Down Syndrome Behavioral Health Collaborative, a virtual clinic providing tele-behavioral health services to children, teens and young adults with Down syndrome. She provides consultation with schools, parent training regarding the management of challenging or unsafe behaviors, toilet training, and desensitization to medical devices (such as hearing aids and CPAP) and mental health support. She has worked with hundreds of individuals with Down syndrome. Outside of her clinical work, she conducts research as the Director of Neurodevelopmental, Behavioral and Cognitive Assessment at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome. Additionally, she has presented to numerous organizations across the country and internationally and is the coauthor “Potty Time for Kids with Down Syndrome: Lose the Diapers, Not Your Patience”.

Moya Peterson is a Clinical Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Schools of Nursing and Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She founded and staffs the adults with Down syndrome specialty clinic. She also teaches in the graduate program at the school of Nursing, and much of her teaching centers around people with disabilities and in particular adults with Down syndrome. Dr. Peterson completed her PhD in 2006 with her dissertation about adults with Down syndrome and their families' concerns about health issues in adulthood. It was the spark that started the clinic when she found there were no specific healthcare providers for adults with Down syndrome in the Midwest.

Dr. Huntington Potter is Professor of Neurology and Director of Alzheimer’s Disease Research in the Department of Neurology and the Linda Crnic Center for Down Syndrome at the University of Colorado, Denver. He discovered and is devoted to studying the mechanistic relationship between Alzheimer’s Disease and Down syndrome. Recognizing that these disorders are two sides of the same coin and studying them together will best hasten the development of new treatments for both.

Prior to joining UC Denver, Dr. Potter studied, researched and taught for 30 years at Harvard University. He received his AB Cum Laude in Physics and Chemistry and his MA and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology before spending 13 years on the faculty of the Neurobiology Department. In 1998, he joined the Faculty at the University of South Florida as the Eric Pfeiffer Chair for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease. He designed and directed the NIA-designated Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at USF and was elected President of the Faculty at the College of Medicine, and President of the USF Tampa Faculty Senate. From 2004-2008, he was CEO and Scientific Director of the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute, during which time the Institute built the largest free-standing Alzheimer’s disease research institute in the world and developed 7 new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease in preparation for human trials, before joining USF.

Dr. Potter is credited with the first demonstration of the Holliday intermediate in genetic recombination, the perfection of electroporation for gene transfer, and the discovery of the essential role of inflammation and the amyloid-promoting activity of the apoE-4 protein in Alzheimer’s disease. He also discovered that Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome, which invariably leads to Alzheimer’s by age 30-40, are mechanistically related to each other and to cancer through the development of cells with abnormal numbers of chromosomes, which will be the focus of his research at UC Denver. He is author of over 100 scientific articles and books, is the holder of 15 U.S. and foreign patents, has sat on scientific advisory and review committees in academia, industry and government, and has received numerous awards for his work. In 2010, Dr. Potter was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His electron micrographs of DNA are on permanent exhibit in the National American History Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

Dr. Michael Puente is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Colorado. He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 2015. While completing his Residency program at Tulane, he received the award for most outstanding Resident Research Presentation. His research interests include Pediatric cataracts, Down syndrome, pediatric health disparities, eye care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and LGBT issues in ophthalmology.

Michael S. Rafii is Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI). He received his MD and PhD degrees from Brown University and conducted neurogenetics research at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Rafii is a physician-scientist whose research focuses on developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) including a genetic form of AD that occurs in people with Down syndrome (DS). He is Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium - Down Syndrome (ACTC-DS), an international network of over 20 expert sites. Dr. Rafii also serves as director of the Medical Safety Unit of the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and co-director of the Clinical core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). He provides safety oversight to ATRI’s entire portfolio of clinical trials. He is a scientific reviewer for the NIH and the Alzheimer's Association. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio (NPR).

Carl V. Tyler Jr. is a clinician-researcher and professor at the Cleveland Clinic. His life work has been devoted to improving the health and health care of persons with developmental disabilities through clinical care, research, and professional and community education. His clinical training in psychiatry, family medicine, and geriatric medicine provided a rich clinical foundation and framework to understand the difficulties and complexities in providing health care to this population. Following medical school and residency training, Dr. Tyler completed two academic fellowships at Case Western Reserve University; the first focused on aging and disability while the second was a 3-year NIH-sponsored fellowship in practice-based research design and methodology. Dr. Tyler is also the Director of the Developmental Disabilities-Practice-Based Research Network.

Anna Marie White, MD, is certified in internal medicine and pediatrics by the American Board of Internal Medicine. She is affiliated with UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Presbyterian, and UPMC Shadyside. She completed her medical degree and residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her research interests include street medicine, dementia in Down Syndrome, and mindfulness and low back pain.

Sarah Curfman has more than 20 years of experience as a nonprofit leader in Minnesota and across the country. She is the Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Minnesota (DSAMN), a statewide nonprofit and advocacy organization dedicated to empowering, connecting, and celebrating individuals with Down syndrome and their families. She began her role as Executive Director of DSAMN January 1, 2019. Prior to joining the team at DSAMN, she led Bridge Interim LLC, a specialty consulting firm providing interim leadership and capacity building services for nonprofit organizations; and served as the Associate Director of the CLA Foundation. Prior Bridge and the CLA Foundation, she worked with nonprofit and government clients for more than a decade as a Managing Consultant for CLA, a professional services firm.

Along with her professional work in the nonprofit sector, Sarah is engaged in the community as a board member and volunteer. She currently serves on the board of World Savvy, a national education nonprofit; and on the finance and investment committees of Northside Achievement Zone, a 501c3 federal Promise Neighborhood. In addition, she continues to work with the CLA Foundation as an advisor and grantmaking consultant. She is a past president and long-time member of the Junior League of Minneapolis and is a past board member of several Minnesota-based nonprofits.

Sarah lives in Shakopee with her husband (Zach Pontzer) and their three kids (Olivia, Rosie and Felix.) Sarah has been connected with DSAMN and local Down syndrome community since 2017, when her son, Felix, was born with Down syndrome.

The DSCBA’s mission is to inspire and support people with Down syndrome, their families, and the community that serves them while fostering awareness and acceptance in all areas of life.

Teresa’s journey with the DSCBA began in 2015 and since then, she has served in a variety of leadership roles, including Director of Programs and Data Integrity, before stepping fully into the Executive Director role. Teresa leads a team of 30-plus amazing individuals who share a passion for empowering, inspiring, supporting, and celebrating individuals with Down syndrome and their families within the nine counties of Northern California’s greater Bay Area.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Teresa finds happiness in her personal and family life, together with her husband Todd. They share their home in charming St. Helena, California, with their two canine companions, Phoebe and Tino. Teresa and Todd have a blended family of six young adult children.

Jennifer Ford was named Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas (DSG) in 2014. She began with the DSG in 2007. After a couple of years on staff, Jennifer utilized her Texas Educator Certificate and taught elementary special education in Castleberry ISD. While the opportunity to work with children and families within the district was rewarding, Jennifer still had a special connection with the DSG. Returning to the Guild in 2011, Jennifer oversaw multiple aspects of the organization’s endeavors as the Operations Manager before taking the reigns as the Executive Director.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. In her senior year, Jennifer worked full-time for the local CASA organization and remained on staff following graduation until relocating to the DFW area. It was working for CASA that allowed her to realize her passion for the non-profit sector.

In efforts to continue her professional development for her role with the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas, Jennifer has earned certifications in both Non-Profit Management and Non-Profit Leadership through CNM Connect and Southern Methodist University.

Jennifer has not only been a voice for local families, but she has worked to help the efforts for those with Down syndrome by serving on national committees for the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC), and Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action (DSAIA). She also currently serves as a lead teacher through her church’s special needs ministry.

Heidi Haines is dedicated to making a positive impact on the world, a commitment evident in her role as the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association since 2023. With twelve years of experience in nonprofit advocacy, policy development, partnership building, self-advocacy group creation, team management, and nonprofit administration, Heidi is well-equipped for her position.

Her nonprofit journey began in 2011 at The Arc of Colorado, where she served as the Director of Advocacy before taking on the role of Executive Director at The Arc Tennessee. Since 2016, Heidi has also been a National Legislative Advisor to Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE). Heidi is a board member of Down Syndrome Affiliates in action and a member of the Colorado State Advisory Council for Parent Involvement in Education.

Heidi resides in Colorado with her husband and her energetic 9-year-old daughter, enjoying the great outdoors together every chance they get.

Melissa "Missy'' Haughery was named executive director of Down Syndrome Alabama (DSA) in March of 2023, after a twenty-six-year career in education as a 12th grade English teacher. Down Syndrome Alabama is a state-wide organization dedicated to supporting individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and their communities by advancing advocacy, providing connections, and promoting education. DSA was named the Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action’s Affiliate of the Year in 2024, for being a professional, innovative example to other organizations, for strong commitment to its mission, and for outstanding engagement in the whole community. Through Missy’s personal philosophy of See Us, Know Us, Love Us, Down Syndrome Alabama is helping to educate communities through programs and events, where people with Down syndrome shine bright for everyone to see.

A native Mobilian, Missy graduated from St. Paul's Episcopal School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Language Arts/Secondary Education from Birmingham-Southern College, where she was vice-president of the Student Government Association and a member of Chi Omega. She received a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership from University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was a recipient of the School Superintendents of Alabama Scholarship for outstanding leadership and educational contributions. Missy serves on The Bell Center for Early Intervention’s Programming Committee, is a member of PEO, and recently completed the Nancy Walton Laurie Leadership Institute of Chi Omega’s Resilient Leader Flagship, which builds strengths-based awareness for community leadership. A natural-born cheerleader, Missy enjoys cheering on others to the finish line and celebrating their successes. Her contagious spirit brings that same ideology to Down Syndrome Alabama.

Missy and her husband Mark make their home in Vestavia Hills with their three children, daughter, Annmarie, and twin sons, Chapman and John. John has Down syndrome.

Toni Mullee is the Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Ohio (DSANEO), an organization that serves 1,100 individuals with Down syndrome and their families in the Cleveland area. She has served in this role since 2013. Toni is a native Clevelander. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dayton. Toni spent 15 years working in sales and customer service management for First Data Corporation in Washington D.C. and Cleveland before shifting her career focus to the nonprofit sector. Her nonprofit experience is varied, and she has held leadership positions with the Western Reserve Historical Society, International Women’s Air & Space Museum and St. Malachi Center prior to becoming Executive Director of DSANEO.

Toni serves on the board of the International Women’s Air & Space Museum, located in Cleveland, and is a committee member with Leadership Cleveland’s Bridge Builders program.

Toni resides in Bay Village, Ohio with her husband Tom. She is mom to two daughters and Nona to three grandchildren.

Amy Navejas, JD, has been a nonprofit executive in North Carolina for nearly her entire career. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she obtained dual degrees in Psychology and Political Science. She then went on to Campbell University’s Norman A. Wiggins School of Law where she received her Juris Doctorate.

Amy has served for over ten years in health care focused nonprofits, and quickly gained recognition for her passion and visionary headship. Her accomplishments include building financial reserves, stabilizing declining campaigns, client advocacy, management of a twenty-million-dollar trust, and most importantly, ensuring compassionate service delivery to clients in need. She serves on various Boards and Committees throughout the state and nation.

Amy is married to a retired Green Beret, and together, they have three wonderful children. Amy now serves as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Down Syndrome Alliance (NCDSA).

Debbie is the Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville. As a native to Jacksonville, Florida, she is one of the founding members of DSAJ and has been actively involved since its establishment in 1989. Debbie has served on numerous boards and committees representing the Down syndrome community both locally and nationally. She is passionate and enthusiastic about serving individuals with Down syndrome. Debbie has always received inspiration and hope from her family and her son Nick, who has Down syndrome. Debbie looks forward to the continued progress and achievements for all individuals with Down syndrome and to growing the acceptance and inclusion of these individuals within the community.

Sarah Soell is the Executive Director for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma. She has been a member of DSACO since 2006. As a parent of a child with Down syndrome, she has volunteered with the organization in numerous activities, having served on the Festival and 5K Committee, serving as co-chair for two years. Prior to accepting the role as executive director, she was president of the board for DSACO. Before joining DSACO as the new executive director, she worked for the University of Oklahoma as the associate vice president for Public Affairs for 17 years, where she coordinated numerous events and projects, advertising, and various other media related activities. Other past job experiences include working for the University of Houston, The Oklahoma Beef Industry Council and Oklahoma State University. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management and her master’s degree in hospitality administration with a specialization in meeting planning. She is involved in various other organizations including serving as a sustaining member of the Junior League of Norman, where she served on the board for two years, and served as Vice President of the Cleveland County 4-H Foundation. She is currently serving on the Governor’s Rehabilitation Council and is President of the Noble Public School Foundation Board. She and her husband, Preston, along with their three children reside in Norman, where they are members of the First Christian Church. Sarah was a member of the 2003 Leadership Norman Class and was selected as Oklahoma Magazine 40 under 40 in April 2008. In 2020, Sarah was a KFOR News Channel 4 Remarkable Women Finalist – https://kfor.com/contests/remarkable-women/remarkable-women-finalist-sarah-soell/ Sarah is a tireless advocate for the Down syndrome community. She advocates daily for the needs of the family and for each self-advocate. She ensures DSACO’s fundraisers, programs and activities all align with the mission to ensure the success of the organization. Under her leadership, DSACO serves more than 1000 families, has increased fundraising efforts by more than 50 percent and has made an impact on the community, elevating DSACO’s status and visibility. This past year, Sarah was named the Affiliate Leader of the Year by the National Down Syndrome Society and DSACO was awarded the National Affiliate of the year by the National Down Syndrome Congress.

Sarah never turns down a hug and will always ensure individuals with Down syndrome are accepted, respected, included, and given the opportunity and choice to create their own meaningful pathway to success.

Erin Suelmann is the Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis (DSAGSL) which serves, supports, and celebrates the lives of nearly 2,000 individuals with Down syndrome and their families, through every stage of life. Erin received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Colorado, and her master’s degrees in anthropology and in public health from the University of Arizona. She began her journey at the DSAGSL in 2012 as Director of Programs and Services and was promoted to Executive Director in 2016. Prior to her position at the DSAGSL, Erin served as Director of Programs at Immunize Colorado, a state-wide public health organization promoting the safety and importance of vaccinations. Prior to that position, she served as a case manager and educator for Teen Outreach Pregnancy Services in Tucson.

In addition to loving her leadership position at the DSAGSL, Erin has been proud to serve on several nonprofit boards of directors and committees over the years. She currently serves on the Gateway Coalition of Service Providers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. She formerly served as the chair of the St. Louis County Coalition of Service Providers Legislative Committee, as Secretary and Vice President of Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action, as President of Discovery Children’s Center, and as Membership Chair at the Colorado Association of Public Health.

She moved home to St. Louis in 2012 where she now resides with her husband and two young daughters. Her passion for the disability field comes from her life with her brother, Andrew, who happens to have Down syndrome and who now lives just a few houses away always looking to have fun! Erin is thrilled to now serve on the GLOBAL Membership Advisory Board and is excited to help GLOBAL and other DSAs advance their missions.

Amy Van Bergen has been a nonprofit leader since 1991 and served as executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida until her retirement from fulltime work in 2016. Prior to that she was an award-winning newspaper and magazine editor. In 2010, she helped found Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action, the first trade association for parent-support groups and she also served on advisory groups for both the National Down Syndrome Congress and National Down Syndrome Society. From 2017-2019m she consulted with Global Down Syndrome Foundation on the Medical Care Guidelines for Adults with Down Syndrome project.

Amy is the mother of five adult children, including her son Wils who has Down syndrome, as well as Mamey to six grandchildren. ​In addition to her nonprofit consultant work, Amy was named the NDSS Stephen Beck Jr. Advocate of the Year in 2016 and recently received the 2021 Lifetime Award of Distinction from Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action.

It is with a very heavy heart that we shared the sad news that our dear friend, mentor, supporter and champion, music legend Quincy Jones, passed away. Our hearts ache for his family and his loved ones. Quincy lived an enormous life and gave back to this world with all his heart. How lucky were we as a family and as the Down syndrome community to be on the receiving end of that love?

Quincy is iconic for his unparalleled talent - 28 Grammys and 80 nominations, collaborations with the likes of Frank Sinatra and producing legends such as Michael Jackson. But to my family and to our Down syndrome community he was equally known for his love for Sophia and all our children with Down syndrome who he often spoke about with conviction: “These children aren’t broken, they just need a leg up, the chance to reach their God-given potential.”

Quincy brought magic to GLOBAL and our Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show. Each year we give our highest honor, the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, and he introduced us to our first recipient – GLOBAL Ambassador DeOndra Dixon and her family, including big brother Jamie Foxx.

Jamie Foxx is an award- winning actor, singer, and comedian.

Foxx most recently starred in The Burial (nominated for a NAACP Image Award) opposite Tommy Lee Jones which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and is now streaming globally on Prime Video. He also lent his voice to the raucous comedy, Strays for Universal opposite Will Ferrell which played in theaters August 2023. In 2021, he voiced the lead role of the Oscar-winning animated film, Soul for Disney/ Pixar. Jamie is currently executive producing and starring in several Netflix projects: They Cloned Tyrone (streaming now) for which he was nominated for both a Gotham Award and NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance; Day Shift opposite Dave Franco (streaming now); and he wrapped production on Back in Action opposite Cameron Diaz which is slated for a January 2025 release.

In December 2021, Foxx reprised his fan favorite role of ‘Electro’ in Spider-Man: No Way Home that made $1.9B at the global box office.
Foxx currently executive produces and hosts Beat Shazam on Fox alongside his daughter, Corinne Foxx who serves as co-host and deejay. Expanding his relationship with Fox - he is also executive producing Alert: Missing Persons Unit which is going into its second season, and We Are Family with hosts, Anthony Anderson & his mother, Doris.

He also produced a riveting documentary about the life of music legend, Luther Vandross that just premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival called Luther: Never Too Much for Sony Music Entertainment.

In 2020, Foxx won “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” at the NAACP Image Awards and received a SAG Award nomination for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” for his riveting performance in Just Mercy for Warner Bros.
Additionally, Foxx’s memoir, Act Like You Got Some Sense is currently available everywhere books are sold.

Foxx has an overall deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce feature films with his producing partner, Datari Turner for Foxxhole Productions. He also inked a TV producing deal with MTV Entertainment Group/ ViacomCBS, where they will develop and executive produce original movies across the portfolio with a focus on BIPOC filmmakers.

Zachary Robin Gottsagen, “Zack,” made his first debut as the star of a natural childbirth instructional film on April 22, 1985. He has been a very enthusiastic performer since his first role as a frog at age three. Zack was the first child with Down syndrome to be fully included in the Palm Beach County school district and graduated from Dreyfoos School of the Arts, as a theatre major in 2004.

Zack starred in the live theatre production of “Artie” at the Royal Palm Playhouse in 2005. He became involved with Zeno Mountain Farms nonprofit film productions for over a decade, performing in many films including “Burning Like A Fire” and “Life of a Dollar Bill.” In 2012, Zack played the villain role in “Bulletproof.” During the filming of the movie, a documentary was made titled, “Becoming Bulletproof,” (2014) which went behind the scenes to follow Zack and other actors through their daily lives. In July 2015, the Smithsonian Museum invited Zack to be the keynote speaker for the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and showed the movie “Becoming Bulletproof.”

While filming with Zeno in Los Angeles, Zack met Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. They were so taken with Zack that they decided to write a film for him to star in. They wrote “The Peanut Butter Falcon” incorporating Zack’s love of wrestling and his amazing intelligence, humor, innocence, enthusiasm and joy for life into the lead character role. Set to be released later this year, Zack is thrilled to star in the adventure film alongside Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson.

Zack lives independently in Florida and works at the Alco Movie Theatre. His talent, passion, motivation and perseverance have been the impetus for Zack to build his expanding performing arts career. In Zack’s words, “Talent… that’s all I’ve got!”

GLOBAL was delighted to host a screening of “The Peanut Butter Falcon” at the Sie FilmCenter, with Zack, Tyler and Michael in attendance – the movie is a must-see! Zack is thrilled to be recognized for all his accomplishments at the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show in October with the 2018 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award.

As the first African-American woman to grace the cover of Vogue magazine in 1974, Beverly Johnson is used to breaking down barriers. The model, mother, actress and entrepreneur now has one more title to add to her impressive resume: International Spokesperson for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. Beverly joins music icon Quincy Jones and award-winning actor John C. McGinley in this capacity for the Foundation.

Beverly’s remarkable three-decade career began when she took the modeling world by storm in the ‘70s,transcending race and appearing on more than 500 magazine covers and thousands of editorial pages through the 1990s. But Beverly didn’t limit herself to print – she also worked the runway for Yves St. Laurent, Valentino, Calvin Klein and Halston. Ever the over-achiever, Beverly also appeared in feature films and television programs, including her new reality show Beverly’s Full House, now airing on OWN.

Throughout her career, Beverly has been a dedicated activist, lending her celebrity to important causes including AIDS awareness, Ask4Tell4, an education campaign surrounding uterine fibroids in women, and the United Negro College Fund. Beverly has also introduced a line of paraben-free hair-care products for women of color called Beverly Johnson Hair Care, now available at Target.

But when Beverly’s niece, Natalie Fuller, now 23, was born with Down syndrome, Beverly’s activism became personal. In 2011, Beverly joined Natalie strutting down the catwalk at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show. It was clear that modeling prowess – and beauty – run in the family. Beverly said the two-part event, held in Denver and Washington, D.C., motivated her to increase her involvement.

“It was the most inspiring charity event I have ever attended,” said Beverly. “And the awareness it brings to what people with Down syndrome can do is amazing.”

As an international spokesperson, Beverly will echo the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s call for increased research and medical care funding for individuals with the condition. Beverly plans to highlight – and work to reconcile – the lifespan disparity between blacks and whites with Down syndrome. While the average life expectancy for a white person with Down syndrome is 60, the life expectancy for an African-America born with Down syndrome is just 36 years.

“We are deeply moved by Beverly’s determination to create a better world for her niece and the millions more who have Down syndrome worldwide,” said Michelle Sie Whitten, Executive Director of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. “Her celebrity, poise and articulate manner will certainly help us to raise research dollars that will allow us to close the lifespan gap between blacks and whites.”

Beverly will continue to participate in Foundation events and visit officials in DC to help the Global Down Syndrome Foundation raise funds and awareness regarding the urgent need for improved medical care and research for people with Down syndrome.

John C. McGinley: Global Down Syndrome Foundation
2011 Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Recipient
Award-Winning Actor, International Spokesperson and Board Member, Global Down Syndrome Foundation
By 2000, John C. McGinley had amassed decades of stellar work on stage and screen, including six collaborations with Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone. John has said that Platoon was one of his favorite roles and one of the hardest. But despite being considered one of his generations finest movie actors, he joked that he wasn’t pretty enough for television. “They like Ken dolls and I look more like Ken’s creepy uncle.”

John wasn’t missing the small screen – he had plenty of interesting work. But by 2000, he had taken on his most significant role and it had nothing to do with his acting chops. His son, Max, now 12, was born with Down syndrome. John found himself wanting to stay home and be with Max. Something not easily done if you are on set, far from home, for months at a time.

“I went after Scrubs,” says John about the long running Emmy-nominated television show. “It was a great character – a curmudgeonly guy named Dr. Cox, who had a soft side. And I wanted to stay here and be with Max.” Divorced, John was a single dad who took life with Max seriously, taking him to school, to the doctor, play dates, and events. “I had a great life with this great kid,” says John who finally got the role after six auditions. “I got lucky and got a great gig near home.”

While John is an advocate for his child, he found himself taking on a more public role. He has supported hundreds of Buddy Walks, spoken at events and in the past raised money for the National Down Syndrome Society as a spokesperson.

More recently, John was recognized as “Parent of the Year” by ivillage.com, and he has joined the Special Olympics campaign: “Spread the Word to End the Word.” The campaign educates against the use of the “R” word. John’s written commentary on the “R” word was published by the Huffington Post and is one of the most compelling arguments written about the subject to date. In 2011 John received the Foundation’s Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award for his work related to people with Down syndrome and people with developmental disabilities in general.

John is proud to be a part of the Foundation’s mission and vision. As one of the Foundation’s International Spokespeople, John has created powerful public service announcements. He is determined to help the Global Down Syndrome Foundation create a more equitable and brighter future for people with Down syndrome.

Caterina Scorsone is a Canadian American Actress who has garnered the attention of audiences around the world portraying powerfully complex characters that bring real-world emotion to the screen. Scorsone began acting when she was eight years old on the long running Canadian children’s program, Mr. Dressup.

Best known for playing the reckless, yet compelling “Dr. Amelia Shepherd” on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (2010-present) and its hit spin-off Private Practice (2010-2013), Scorsone has cemented herself as a beloved staple of immensely successful medical dramas. In 2020, Scorsone guest starred as Dr. Shepherd on multiple episodes of Station 19, a new Grey’s spinoff set in a firehouse.

Scorsone has appeared in a number of films, including the 2014 action-thriller The November Man, opposite Pierce Brosnan, and the 2010 Martin Campbell crime-mystery Edge of Darkness. Prior to that, Scorsone found herself in Wonderland playing a grown-up, butt-kicking Alice for Syfy Network’s acclaimed 2009 miniseries of the same name. For her dynamic spin on one of literature’s most iconic characters, Scorsone earned a second Gemini nomination. Other credits spanning Scorsone’s body of work include a recurring role on STARZ’s drama series Crash starring Dennis Hopper, and the lead role of Jess Mastriani on W Network’s crime-drama 1-800-Missing from 2003-2006.

In recent years, Scorsone’s passion and purpose has been centered on her family, including her four-year-old daughter, Pippa, who was born with Down syndrome. While raising Pippa, Scorsone has become an advocate for those with cognitive diversities and disabilities. The actress consistently uses her platform to promote greater understanding and awareness in an effort to end stigmas around Down syndrome and other disabilities and encourage greater access and inclusion.

A proud native of Toronto, Canada, she currently resides in Los Angeles with her three daughters.

Caterina is a proud Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Awardee.

Frank Stephens is an active spokesman for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and the recipient of GLOBAL’s highest honor, the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award. He is also a long-time member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Virginia. An accomplished public speaker, Frank has been invited all over North America and Europe promoting inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Frank is also an accomplished actor. As a member of his local theater group known as Artstream, Frank has acted in various original plays over the last ten years. Frank also had a feature role in the film Touched by Grace and has made occasional guest appearances on the Emmy Award winning A&E reality show, Born This Way.

Frank’s articles have been featured in publications like The New York Times, London Daily Mail, and The Huffington Post. He contributed to Amazon bestseller, Stand Up, which featured stories of outstanding young advocates.

In 2017, Frank testified on behalf of GLOBAL at the first U.S. Congressional hearing on the importance of Down syndrome research, which helped result in the first significant increase in Down syndrome funding from the National Institutes of Health in nearly 20 years. His famous line, “If you take one thing away from today, know this: I am a man with Down syndrome and my life is worth living,” received the first-ever standing ovation at a congressional hearing and his testimony on C-Span went viral receiving over 200M views.

Frank has been interviewed on behalf of GLOBAL and many other disability organizations by national outlets including BBC, Fox News, CNN, and Inside Edition.

Elana Meyers Taylor is a four-time Olympian, five-time Olympic Medalist, and four-time World Champion. She made history as the first woman to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team competing with the men, as a 4-man bobsled pilot at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. Elana is the most decorated black athlete in winter Olympic history, the most decorated female bobsledder in Olympic history, AND the most decorated U.S. bobsledder of any gender! Her intensity for sports started when she attended George Washington University on a softball scholarship and went on to play professionally before transitioning into the high-speed sport of bobsled. In addition, Elana has an MBA in finance, Master’s in sports management, and was the former president of the Women's Sports Foundation, the largest organization that advocates for women in sports. She is married to fellow Team USA bobsledder and chiropractor Nic Taylor and is the mother of two-year-old Nico, who has Down syndrome.