The Fatty Liver Foundation is the only national, non-profit patient advocacy organization dedicated to improving the identification, diagnosis, treatment, and support of Americans with fatty liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) through awareness, screening, education and patient outreach. FLF’s goal is to improve the lives of both asymptomatic and diagnosed patients by raising awareness among the general public and medical communities, promoting non-invasive screening methodologies, educating patients, and championing the development of responsive lifestyle support systems for individuals of the growing epidemic of fatty liver disease. FLF was founded in 2017 by NASH patient Wayne Eskridge and his wife and caregiver Rosemary Wickowski, pictured below.

Activities:

• Supporting people with NAFLD/NASH live as healthy as possible through education, coaching, lifestyle, and peer-driven navigation programs via FLF’s Wellness League 
• Promoting early detection and diagnosis of NAFLD/NASH via FLF’s Screening for Undiagnosed NAFLD/NASH or SUNN-1 Program
• Being patient advocates that empower people who are at-risk or diagnosed with NAFLD/NASH by providing accurate and up-to-date information on supporting liver health, communicating the utility of non-invasive screening tools and techniques, facilitating opportunities to participate in clinical trials, and helping to accelerate development of drugs and non-invasive screening tools
• Systematically gather and share the lived medical and social experiences of people living with NAFLD/NASH in the United States via FLF’s annual State of NAFLD/NASH Care in America survey

Wayne Eskridge

Co-Founder and CEO, Fatty Liver Foundation

Boise, ID, USA

Wayne Eskridge, an electrical engineer worked in software and electronics through a 50 year professional career.  He served in many technical and managerial roles beginning as a computer programmer, through multiple levels of technical and managerial positions in businesses of all sizes. He held executive positions in both public and private corporations with worldwide responsibilities, and from startups to Fortune 500 firms. He recently served as a member of the AASLD Patient Advisory Group, which represents the patient community to the medical professional society.

Eskridge was first diagnosed with liver disease in 2010 and, as a result of his own experiences, he became aware of an acute need for an educational resource from a patient perspective.  At the core of his motivation is the fact that an estimated 100 million Americans already have fatty liver disease and are unaware of it.  While there is currently no medical treatment for NAFLD/NASH, lifestyle changes can be effective. Prevention through education is the only practical solution today. His desire to help others avoid his experiences led him to the decision to become a patient advocate and to create the Fatty Liver Foundation.

Rosemary Wickowski

Co-Founder and Secretary/Treasurer, Fatty Liver Foundation

Boise, ID, USA

Rosemary Wickowski is a journalism graduate of the University of Michigan. She is the wife of Wayne Eskridge. Her professional career was primarily with Hewlett Packard where she rose to executive positions in marketing. She served HP in many capacities from product manager for multiple product lines, manager of PR and trade show activities, through sales and marketing manager for the corporation. After leaving HP she founded an internet retail company which she operated until she decided to devote herself to the fatty liver education project led by her husband.

Matt Yust

Chief Financial Officer, Fatty Liver Foundation

New York, NY, USA

Matt joins Fatty Liver Foundation from PILnet, the global network for public interest law, where he served as Chief Financial Officer and oversaw the financial management operations for an $8 million annual budget. He previously served in other senior executive roles at non-profit organizations, including as Director of Finance and Operations at Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Director of Finance and Operations at Clinton Foundation; Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at James Beard Foundation; and Chief Financial Officer at Family Care International.

Henry E. Chang

Executive Director, Fatty Liver Foundation

New York, NY, USA

Henry is a pioneer in HIV/AIDS patient advocacy and a visionary leader with more than 30 years of experience in leading impact initiatives in global health, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, public-private partnerships, and public health policy development.

Prior to joining FLF, Henry worked in patient advocacy and non-profit organizations, government research agencies, life sciences industry, and management consulting companies in executive leadership and advisory positions, including the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Doctors of the World/Médecins du Monde USA, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company, Health Business Solutions, and AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power/Los Angeles (ACT UP/LA).

Henry is currently serving as a patient representative of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Practice Guidelines Committee and a board member of Hep Free NYC and the Touch of Hope Foundation in India. Henry received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in biochemistry and molecular biology, and attended a PhD program at UCLA where he completed his clinical research fellowship in infectious diseases at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Neeraj Mistry, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Officer, Fatty Liver Foundation

Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Neeraj Mistry is a public health physician and serves as the Chief Medical Officer of the Fatty Liver Foundation. In this role, he oversees the scientific and sociological evidence to promote the bio- psychosocial and environmental model of health and embraces a more holistic approach to disease prevention and management, in addition to medical interventions.

He also holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Global Health Department at Georgetown University in Washington DC. His previous roles include Managing Director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, which focused on advocacy, resource mobilization, and partnerships. Dr. Mistry was a founding member and former Vice President of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC). He brings extensive experience having worked in developing and developed countries, in the public and private sectors, and across clinical practice, management, and policy.

Tiffany Mensah, MSPH

Program Coordinator, Fatty Liver Foundation

Atlanta, GA, USA

Tiffany Mensah is a current master’s student of the Health Education and Health Communication program at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to returning to university, Tiffany served as a Quality Assurance Analyst at Epic Systems, where she successfully managed the development of a series of infrastructure projects that would support the foundation of a population health analytics application.

Passionate about creating sound health education that is both empowering and accessible to all, she interned with Empowerment Resource Center to develop digital content to help combat HIV transmission in Atlanta, GA. As a graduate student, she is rounding out her skillset and ability to promote behavior change through robust health education campaigns.

Victor Ankoma-Sey, MD / Director of Liver Transplant Program, Houston Methodist Transplant Center / Houston,TX

Robert Fisher, MD / Professor & Chief of Transplant Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center /  Boston,MA

Meagan Gray, MD / Transplant Hepatologist, University of Alabama at Birmingham / Birmingham, AL

Nadege Gunn, MD / Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist, Austin Gastroenterology & Pinnacle Research / Austin, TX

Grace Terrell, MD, FACP / CEO, Envision Genomics Inc.; Internist, Cornerstone Internal Medicine / High Point, NC

Brent Tetri, MD / Professor Internal Medicine and Gastroenterologist, SLU Care Physician Group / St. Louis, MO

John Vierling, MD, FACP / Prof. of Medicine & Surgery, Chief of Hepatology, Baylor College of Medicine / Houston,TX

Theodore Walters, MD / Medical Oncologist & Hematologist, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute / Boise, ID