Board of Directors

The Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation's Board of Directors is comprised of leaders in science, finance, fundraising, advocacy and non-profit leadership. Their expertise helps our work, assess our impact, and guide our pursuit of patient-relevant outcomes.

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The MDF Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer leaders from the public and private sectors, many of whom are either living with myotonic dystrophy or have loved ones with the disorder. Their families represent many manifestations and varying degrees of severity of the disorder. The Board works closely with the MDF Staff and Scientific Advisory Committee to offer insight into the subtleties of the disease.

Andy Berglund, Ph.D.

Scientific Advisory Committee Chair
Board Member

Dr. Berglund is the Director of the RNA Institute and an Empire Professor of Innovation in the Biological Sciences at the University at Albany. He received his BA in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado and his PhD in Biochemistry from Brandeis. He has studied the structure and function of RNA and the mechanisms of splicing throughout his career. He began studying myotonic dystrophy in 2002 when his first undergraduate student at the University of Oregon introduced him to the disease and the impact to his family. His group solved the first atomic resolution structure of the CUG repeats that cause myotonic dystrophy and they have many publications on the mechanisms of splicing in the context of myotonic dystrophy. In 2015, Dr. Berglund was one of the first DM Grant Recipients for his project, “Inhibiting transcription of CUG/CCUG expanded repeats with small molecules”. The Berglund lab has identified several classes of small molecules that rescue the molecular disruptions caused by myotonic dystrophy. The lab is working to understand the mechanisms through which these small molecules function and develop these molecules for future clinical trials for individuals with DM. For more information on Dr. Berglund, click here to visit his lab website.

Charles Thornton, M.D.

Board Member

Dr. Thornton is Professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester. He, along with Dr. Moxley, is a Co-Director of the MDA clinic at URMC. He received his BA and medical degree from the University of Iowa. His internship in Internal Medicine was carried out in the UCLA/SFV Program. He finished his residency in Neurology in 1985 at Oregon Health Sciences University and a fellowship in Neuromuscular Disease at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester in Experimental Therapeutics. He has received a number of grants for DM research and has published numerous results in professional journals. He is now beginning to focus on the treatment phase of research for myotonic dystrophy. For further information on Dr. Thornton, visit the URMC website.

Dr. Thornton is Professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester. He, along with Dr. Moxley, is a Co-Director of the MDA clinic at URMC. He received his BA and medical degree from the University of Iowa. His internship in Internal Medicine was carried out in the UCLA/SFV Program. He finished his residency in Neurology in 1985 at Oregon Health Sciences University and a fellowship in Neuromuscular Disease at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester in Experimental Therapeutics. He has received a number of grants for DM research and has published numerous results in professional journals. He is now beginning to focus on the treatment phase of research for myotonic dystrophy. For further information on Dr. Thornton, visit the URMC website.

Thomas (Tom) McPeek

Board Member
DM2 Virtual Support Group

Tom McPeek currently volunteers as MDF’s DM2 Virtual Support Group Facilitator. Unlike most regional support groups that are geographically focused, this group is for anyone diagnosed with DM2, no matter what City, State or even Country you live in. Tom was diagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2 in 2006 and has been active with the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation for over 10 years. He was elected to the Board in December of 2020.

Tom presented at the Food and Drug Administration’s 2016 DM Patient-Focused Drug Development Meetings in Arlington VA and has been involved in numerous presentations and panels for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation’s Annual Conferences and other venues. Tom remains active in his local Ohio community and continues to volunteer his time with organizations that serve his community. Tom’s hobbies include dog training, hunting, fishing, and working outdoors. Tom believes the key to surviving with DM2 is to stay positive and remain as physically active as your body will allow. Read more about Tom, his family, and his work in the DM community.

Tom McPeek is the DM2 Virtual Support Group Facilitator and a moderator for the MDF DM2 Facebook Group. Unlike our regional support groups, these groups cater to anyone living with DM2 and their caregivers regardless of where they live. Tom was diagnosed with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2 in 2006 and has been active with the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation for over 10 years. Tom was one of two DM2 presenters at the Food and Drug Administration’s 2016 DM Patient-Focused Drug Development Meetings in Arlington VA and has been involved in numerous presentations and panels for the MDF Annual Conferences and other venues. He was elected to the MDF Board of Directors in December of 2020.

Although Tom is currently unable to work do to DM2, he remains active in the local community and continues to volunteer his time with local organizations that help the community. Tom’s hobbies include dog training, hunting, fishing, and working outdoors. Tom believes the key to surviving with DM2 is to stay as physically active as your body will allow.

Haley Martinelli, Esq.

Board Member
DM2 Virtual Support Group #2

Haley Martinelli is an attorney in Cleveland, Ohio and lives with myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2). Haley was diagnosed with DM2 at the age of 23 and being the first in her family to be diagnosed, Haley turned to the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation for information and support. She now facilitates a DM2 support group held virtually for folks living with DM2 to join from anywhere. Haley has spoken at various MDF events and in 2022 she joined the MDF Board.

Joel Revill

Board Member

Joel Revill is Founder and CEO of Two Ocean Trust, a Wyoming chartered trust and investment company based in Jackson Hole. Joel began his career in 1992 as an Investment Banking Analyst at J.P. Morgan and spent the next twelve years based in New York, Tokyo and San Francisco advising corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions. He transitioned to the investment management industry in 2004 joining Standard Pacific Capital where he eventually became a Managing Partner. Joel earned Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Oregon in Finance and Japanese Language and Literature, studied abroad at Obirin University in Japan, and was a Master of Liberal Arts candidate at Stanford University. Joel is a Wyoming native and has served on numerous boards including the Jackson Hole Land Trust and First Bank of Wyoming. He and his wife and two children live in Jackson Hole, WY. Learn more about Joel and how he joined the MDF Board of Directors. 

John Fitzpatrick

Board Member

ohn Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Educate Texas, an initiative of Communities Foundation of Texas, previously served as Executive Director of the Capital Area Training Foundation (now Skillpoint Alliance) where he worked to build relationships between the business sector, educational interest groups, and community partners for the benefit of Central Texans. Concurrently, he served on the Austin ISD Board of Trustees and as the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President for Education and Workforce Development. He spent four years on Capitol Hill working on education and workforce development policies for the US House of Representatives and Senate. John began his career in education as a middle school teacher and coach. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Learn more about the Fitzpatrick-Vassalo Family and their Message of Hope.

Belen Esparis, M.D.

Board Member

Dr. Esparis is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine. In 2012, shortly after her daughter's diagnosis, Dr. Esparis attended her first Annual MDF Conference in San Francisco. Since that meeting, Dr. Esparis and her husband David relationship with MDF has only deepened. Aside from volunteering her time to create a Spanish translation for the MDF Toolkit, Dr. Esparis has spoken at multiple MDF Annual Conferences and continues to organize fundraisers to support research focused on treatments and a cure for DM. Dr. Esparis served on the MDF 2021 Strategic Planning Steering Committee and currently serves on MDF’s National Advocacy Committee. Dr. Esparis was elected to the Board in March of 2022. Learn more about the Esparis-Kugler Family.

John W. Day, MD, Ph.D.

Board Member

Dr. Day relocated to Stanford University, as Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and Pathology, in 2011 in order to build a comprehensive center for understanding and treating muscular dystrophy, serving as Director of Stanford’s Neuromuscular Medicine Program in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences. Dr. Day remains an active member of the University of Minnesota collaborations he helped forge as Director of Minnesota’s Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center. He is working to integrate California and Minnesota resources with the international network of myotonic dystrophy research to assure that this most common form of muscular dystrophy is conquered as soon as possible.

Dr. Day attended medical school at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1977. He attended graduate school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his internship in Internal Medicine in New York. He did his residency in Neurology and a Fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromuscular Disease at the University of California in San Francisco. In 2001, along with Laura Ranum, PhD and team, he participated in the identification and genetic characterization of myotonic dystrophy type-2 caused by a mutation on the third chromosome. He has published numerous articles on myotonic dystrophy in professional journals and is currently conducting a brain-imaging study of affected individuals. For further info on Dr. Day, visit the Stanford University website.

David Berman

Board Member

David Berman lives in Piedmont, California with his wife Sarah and daughter Zoé. Zoé was born in 2007 with congenital DM1, and Sarah has the adult-onset form of the disease. David has been working in the biopharmaceutical industry for nearly two decades. He has worked at various companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York, focusing on business development. Prior to that, he spent several years trading commodities in Hong Kong and Switzerland. David holds a B.A. from Emory University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. He joined the MDF Board in June 2018. Read more about David, Sarah and Zoé's journey.

David Herbert

Treasurer

With more than 20 years of leadership roles supporting Mayo Clinic global outreach and growth initiatives, David Herbert has broad expertise in domestic and international business ventures and partnerships, new product and service launches, diagnostic testing services, intellectual property management, and health and wellness digital markets. David is currently President and CEO of 46 North, LLC, a Rochester, Minnesota-based company supporting the launch and execution of high-growth health care, diagnostics, and health and wellness initiatives.

David served as Chair of Mayo Clinic Global Business Solutions (GBS) from 2011-2014, and managed business units providing Mayo Clinic knowledge-based products and services to companies and consumers around the world. David is a competitive cyclist and cross-country skier. He holds an emeritus position at Mayo Clinic and is looking forward to helping lead the implementation of MDF 3.0, in addition to pursuing opportunities in new and emerging health technologies. David has asymptomatic DM1 and his two daughters are living with the adult-onset version of the disease.Read more about the Herbert Family and family planning with DM.