My healthcare journey began not in a lab or policy office, but at the bedside of my two children, both diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and multiple co-morbidities. Years of navigating a fragmented and often dehumanizing medical system—while advocating for access to life-saving procedures and targeted therapies—transformed me from a caregiver into a system-level strategist and public health advocate.
I am the founder of Health Revolution USA, a mission-driven consulting firm dedicated to transforming public health through policy reform, strategic communications, and wellness-centered coalitions. I co-founded the Foundation for Childhood Pancreatitis, helped secure FDA approval of a life-saving drug for my children’s rare CFTR mutation, and served on the board of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Greater NJ Chapter, where I helped launch their CF Caregiver Support Initiative. On a national level, I played a key role in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Presidential campaign, leading community outreach for chronic illness and health reform, founding the Kennedy Victory Garden Project, and elevating Farmers for Kennedy—an effort to amplify the voices of regenerative farmers and embed soil health and food sourcing into the national policy conversation. Today, through the Victory Garden Alliance, I continue to champion food sustainability, nutrition, community healing, and environmental health as core solutions to America’s chronic illness epidemic. I believe deeply in the power of regenerative agriculture, decentralization, and community-first models to heal both people and land.
We must urgently improve how medical, scientific, and public health data are communicated and accessed. I envision a consumer-centered, transparent model that empowers providers, scientists, caregivers, and patients alike. This includes improving access to real-time safety data, post-approval drug monitoring, and translating scientific knowledge into understandable, actionable insights. Equally important is a renewed focus on patient and caregiver education to support self-advocacy and informed decision-making. Health systems should serve people—not bureaucracy—and prioritize accountability, literacy, and collaboration across every layer of care and innovation.
One of the most overlooked aspects of chronic illness is the mental health impact, not just for the child, but for the entire family. The medical trauma, the emotional toll, the constant uncertainty—none of it is truly addressed in our current system. And in many ways, that piece has been more difficult for us than the day-to-day demands of physical care.
Most medical teams simply don’t know how to approach it. For a long time, I lived with the quiet belief that I would outlive my children. That was my reality. Young people and children were dying almost every day around me, and I knew them online. We are a close community, although 2020 did tear us apart more than other communities. But thanks to major breakthroughs in medicine and pharma, that may no longer be the case, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful. Still, it’s a whole new kind of challenge to retrain your mind and heart for hope. That rewiring doesn’t come easily. It’s been one of the toughest parts of all. My son has said that my illness has become my friend, and all my human friends have moved on.