The Health Design Podcast Moyez Jiwa

Passionate. Unique. Loyal. Resilient. These words are commonly used to describe Sharron S. Rouse. Sharron is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the education and nonprofit industries. She is skilled in program coordination, leadership, community outreach, and curriculum development.
A native of the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, she has dedicated her life to influencing the world as a kidney disease, dialysis, and now transplant survivor. Sharron actively shares her story to bring hope and healing to anyone facing difficult circumstances in life. In 2022, she started SR Consulting Services LLC to provide support and guidance to educational and healthcare businesses and organizations.

To expand the scope of her reach, Sharron founded Kindness for Kidneys International, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to educating, encouraging, and empowering kidney warriors and their families. With the support of the community, Kindness for Kidneys has gained national attention for their monthly support groups, kidney education program, and annual holiday drives. Sharron remembers what it was like to be on dialysis during the holiday season, which is why Kindness for Kidneys serves over 500 kidney warriors and counting each year. Their annual Holiday Drive has been featured on local ABC and NBC news outlets.

Sharron has been a guest speaker for several national and international educational and business-related conferences. She currently serves on the NIH/NIDDK Safety and Monitoring Board for the System Interventions to Achieve Early and Equitable Transplants (STEPS) study, Women of Color in Pharma – TRUST Advisory Board, Quality Insights ESRD Network 5 Patient Advisory Council, Bayer FINE-ONE Standing Patient Council, Health Union Patient Leadership Council, and the Vertex Patient Advisory Board. As an ambassador for the American Association of Kidneys Patients (AAKP) and the American Kidney Fund, she has participated in many patient panel discussions, served as a guest speaker, exhibitor, and Co-Chair for the 2019 and 2020 AAKP National Patient Meetings, was a peer mentor for dialysis warriors at Emory University Hospital, and has represented the state of Maryland for Capitol Hill advocacy days in Washington, DC.

Sharron’s hard work and devotion to serving the community has granted her numerous awards including the Presidential Volunteer Service Award in 2020 and 2022, Who’s Who in American Education recognition, Honorable Mention for the Lyfebulb/CVS Kidney Care Innovation Challenge, the AAKP Support Group of the Year award, the Second Chance Show’s Prima award, and the 2023 Health Union Community Cultivator award. Sharron lives in Maryland with her husband Shawn and daughter Kyla.

Website: www.kindnessforkidneys.org

Dr Chrysopoulo ("Dr C") is a board certified plastic surgeon, breast reconstruction surgeon and microsurgeon, and President of PRMA Plastic Surgery in San Antonio, TX.

Dr C is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is an active member of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) for which he has served on several breast reconstruction educational committees. He has authored and co-authored several book chapters and scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals on breast reconstruction-related topics, and is routinely an expert speaker at regional, national and international academic meetings.

Dr C has dedicated his professional life to advocating for breast cancer patients, and strongly believes that shared decision-making between the physician and patient is crucial in achieving the best treatment outcomes. To this end, he founded Toliman Health, a digital health company committed to helping physicians, healthcare organizations, and industry improve patient experience and outcomes via empowering shared decision-making technology. Toliman’s flagship product, the Breast Advocate® App, is the world's first shared decision-making app for breast cancer surgery and breast reconstruction. Breast Advocate® provides anyone with a breast cancer diagnosis, or at risk of developing breast cancer, a much-needed voice in their breast cancer surgery decision-making. Dr C also leads the Shared Decisions and Personalised Care Expert Group at the World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS).

Connect with Dr C:

Website: https://linktr.ee/drchrysopoulo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drchrysopoulo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drchrysopoulo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drchrysopoulo

Annie-Danielle Grenier raises awareness and advocates for rare diseases, living with a few herself.

She mostly does this as a writer, public speaker and through her blog turned website: Ma vie de zèbre (My Zebra Life). Annie-Danielle launched Ma vie de zèbre in 2013 because she had difficulty finding information in French on hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, her only rare diagnosis at the time, and what little she could find wasn't relatable to her province of Québec (Canada). She wanted to changed that!

Annie-Danielle is very active as a patient partner, involved in many management, education and research projects and doing things like shaping policies, educating future healthcare professionals, working in bioethics research, and much more.

Annie-Danielle was a translator and editor (in French and in English) and before that worked many years in show business (on stage but also behind the scenes). She has a bachelor's degree in psychology, but also studied in Arts and literature and in event production.

Annie-Danielle's atypical life experiences give her a different view on things, which she loves to share with people and, she hopes, can inspire. Her motto is that life's obstacles are not obstacles to happiness!

Business and collaboration offers can go through here: Annie-Danielle Grenier raises awareness and advocates for rare diseases, living with a few herself.
She mostly does this as a writer, public speaker and through her blog turned website: Ma vie de zèbre (My Zebra Life). Annie-Danielle launched Ma vie de zèbre in 2013 because she had difficulty finding information in French on hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, her only rare diagnosis at the time, and what little she could find wasn't relatable to her province of Québec (Canada). She wanted to changed that!

Annie-Danielle is very active as a patient partner, involved in many management, education and research projects and doing things like shaping policies, educating future healthcare professionals, working in bioethics research, and much more.

Annie-Danielle was a translator and editor (in French and in English) and before that worked many years in show business (on stage but also behind the scenes). She has a bachelor's degree in psychology, but also studied in Arts and literature and in event production.

Annie-Danielle's atypical life experiences give her a different view on things, which she loves to share with people and, she hopes, can inspire. Her motto is that life's obstacles are not obstacles to happiness!

Business and collaboration offers can go through here. Annie-Danielle Grenier raises awareness and advocates for rare diseases, living with a few herself.
She mostly does this as a writer, public speaker and through her blog turned website: Ma vie de zèbre (My Zebra Life). Annie-Danielle launched Ma vie de zèbre in 2013 because she had difficulty finding information in French on hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, her only rare diagnosis at the time, and what little she could find wasn't relatable to her province of Québec (Canada). She wanted to changed that!

Annie-Danielle is very active as a patient partner, involved in many management, education and research projects and doing things like shaping policies, educating future healthcare professionals, working in bioethics research, and much more.

Annie-Danielle was a translator and editor (in French and in English) and before that worked many years in show business (on stage but also behind the scenes). She has a bachelor's degree in psychology, but also studied in Arts and literature and in event production.

Annie-Danielle's atypical life experiences give her a different view on things, which she loves to share with people and, she hopes, can inspire. Her motto is that life's obstacles are not obstacles to happiness!

Business and collaboration offers can go through here: https://www.adgrenier.com/en/

Samira is a healthcare strategy and design leader who has incubated and operated numerous healthcare startups. She is the founder and CEO of Manta Cares Inc., a global community of caregivers and survivors dedicated to transforming the cancer experience, a company that emerged from her experiences as a cancer survivor. Manta Cares designs and develops tools and resources that enable cancer survivors to regain control and peace of mind. As part of the Manta mission, she hosts the podcast Patient from Hell, which Spotify ranks within the top 10% of all globally shared podcasts.

She is also a Venture Partner for Sozo Ventures, a global venture fund that invests in category-defining companies. Before holding those positions, she was VP of Product at Visby Medical, where she launched a multi-million dollar infectious disease test.

Samira started her career at McKinsey & Company and has degrees from MIT (Biological Engineering), Stanford University (Design), and Wellesley College (Art History). In her spare time, she can be found practicing martial arts, sketching, writing poetry, and playing with her two rescue dogs.

Shruti Mitkus is the Director of Genetic Education and Navigation at Global Genes, a leading rare disease patient advocacy organization. Shruti is a human molecular genetics scientist and genetics educator. She earned her doctorate in Human Genetics from University of Maryland Baltimore and completed her post-doctoral training at the National Institute of Mental Health, researching the genetic mechanisms of neuropsychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

After working in many different areas related to genetics, such as basic research, pharmacogenomics, genetic diagnostics, and variant interpretation, Shruti felt driven to engage more closely with patients and communities. She transitioned to patient advocacy and now directs programs that inform families about the molecular genetic causes of their illness, guide them through the diagnostic process and educate them about gene-based treatments, work that she describes as “genetic advocacy”.

While Shruti loves the science of genetics, she is most passionate about translating her knowledge of genetics in an approachable manner and addressing barriers to access genetic testing and cutting-edge treatments. She is an ardent believer in the power of education to empower and ultimately improve the lives of patients and families.

Shruti can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shruti-mitkus-rarediseasegenetics/

Estela was diagnosed with a progressive neuropathy called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) at four years old, followed by her younger sister two years later.

In 2002, she graduated from FIT with a Bachelor’s in Interior Design. Today, her professional background in design, marketing, trend forecasting, and creative direction brings an unexpected approach to connecting the disability community to wellness, empowerment, and health.

After volunteering for eight years, Estela joined the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation full-time in 2018 as their Program Development Manager. Later in 2018, she testified in front of the FDA on the patient experience and the importance of funding CMT studies and potential therapies.

As moderator for the CMT-Connect webinar series, Estela enjoys sharing resources and expert information with the CMT community on various valuable topics. On the EmBrace It Podcast, she interviews community thought leaders and aims to empower women living with disabilities in all facets of life. Estela and co-host Lainie Isbia also provide original inclusion workshops focusing on improving advocacy & DEI through communication tools, starting with “How to Communicate with Anyone About Disability.” They’ve worked with many top brands, such as Levi Strauss, Pinterest, Lockheed Martin, The Abilities Expos, SUNY Farmingdale College, Health Union, and more.

In 2019, Estela gave her first TEDx talk titled “RePurpose Your Pain” on turning adversity into life’s most beautiful work. She co-teaches inclusive and adaptive design at the Fashion Institute of Technology for their Design for Social Impact program. Estela is represented by Gamut Management, an all-inclusive talent agency.