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Our Staff & Board of Directors

 

 

 

Melissa Compton, Executive Director

Melissa has been involved with the Lone Star Bleeding Disorders Foundation since learning her son has hemophilia in 2003. She began volunteering, and has served as Hemophilia Walk Manager and Program Coordinator before becoming Executive Director. Melissa graduated from Texas A&M University, where she met her husband Brian. She and Brian have two children, son Kyle, and daughter Sarah. She is thrilled to be serving the bleeding disorders community of Texas.

 

 

Heidi Hensley, Director of Community Relations

Heidi has worked for the Lone Star Bleeding Disorders Foundation since 2008. She is privileged to serve such an amazing community! It is important to her to raise awareness for the bleeding disorders community as well as help provide families with education, support and advocacy. Heidi graduated from Texas A&M University. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have four children. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and playing tennis.

Kelley O’Hara, Outreach and Education Coordinator

Kelley has been involved with the Lone Star Bleeding Disorders Foundation since her son’s hemophilia diagnosis in 2000. She became involved with the First Step program helping newly diagnosed families and served on the board as a trustee. Kelley graduated from Texas A&M University with a psychology degree then became a nurse as a second career. She is married to Ryan and they have a blended family of five children. She is excited to be back involved with the bleeding disorder community.

Tara Stillman, Development Manager

We are excited to welcome Tara Stillman to our staff as Development Manager! More to come on Tara soon!

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors for the Lone Star Bleeding Disorders Foundation is the governing body. The Board, along with its advisors, meets bi-monthly to discuss governing and programmatic issues for the organization.

  • Amanda Wolgamott, President
  • Allison Pohl, 1st Vice President
  • Raymond Stanhope, 2nd Vice President
  • James Setliff, Treasurer
  • Laura Portales, Secretary
  • Celia Patino, Trustee
  • Aaron Gonzales, Trustee
  • Laura Castillo, Trustee
  • Sabrina Farina, Social Worker Gulf States HTC, Treatment Center Advisor
  • Trinh Nguyen, Texas Children’s Comprehensive HTC, Treatment Center Advisor,

News from HFA

  • May is Hepatitis Awareness Month

    In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated the month of May as Hepatitis Awareness Month to bring awareness and attention to those living with viral hepatitis. In the 1980s and ’90s, thousands of people with hemophilia contracted HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) from the contaminated blood supply transmitted by clotting factor products. The post May is Hepatitis Awareness Month appeared first on Hemophilia Federation of America.

  • FDA Approves One-Time Gene Therapy for Adults with Hemophilia B

    From Pfizer: Pfizer Inc. announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved BEQVEZ™ (fidanacogene elaparvovec-dzkt) for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe hemophilia B who currently use factor IX (FIX) prophylaxis therapy, or have current or historical life-threatening hemorrhage, or have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes, and do not have neutralizing The post FDA Approves One-Time Gene Therapy for Adults with Hemophilia B appeared first on Hemophilia Federation of America.

  • Advocacy News: March 2024

    Word From Washington Federal Agencies According to the latest KFF Medicaid Unwinding Enrollment Tracker, more than 19 million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since states were allowed to resume eligibility verifications following the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). At least 70 percent of Medicaid terminations continue to be for procedural reasons (such as not returning The post Advocacy News: March 2024 appeared first on Hemophilia Federation of America.

  • Update on Smithsonian Institution Project to Archive Bleeding Disorders History

    Hemophilia Federation of America announced, in April of 2019, a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution to document the history of the bleeding disorders community, with a focus on the tragic experiences with contaminated blood, and we’re pleased to announce the first phase of the project is complete.   HFA began an initiative to collect artifacts and The post Update on Smithsonian Institution Project to Archive Bleeding Disorders History appeared first on Hemophilia Federation of America.

  • Advocacy News: February 2024

    Word From Washington State of the States The post Advocacy News: February 2024 appeared first on Hemophilia Federation of America.