ABOUT US
The HeartBrothers Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping Heart Failure patients and their families navigate the complex journey of Heart Failure, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation. It is our sole mission to bring resources together to help Heart Failure patients and their loved ones survive life with Heart Failure and all its challenges.
OUR FOUNDERS
The First HeartBrothers & Sisters
HeartBrothers Co-Founders Pat Sullivan and Bob Romer met during their yearlong hospital stays on LVADs, vowing that if their heart matches came up—and if their bodies could endure the wait, procedure, and recovery—they would start a nonprofit foundation to create the financial, educational, and emotional support system surprisingly lacking yet so desperately needed by Heart Failure patients and their families.
Pat and Bob received their donor hearts on Thanksgiving Eve 2012 and Valentine's Day 2013, dedicated their renewed lives to fellow Heart Failure patients, launched the HeartBrothers on September 1, 2014 with their caregiver spouses, and created a team that has been embracing, uplifting, and supporting the Heart Failure community ever since.
Pictured: HeartBrothers Co-Founders Leslie Sullivan, Pat Sullivan, Bob Romer, and Susan Romer.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIKE ASHWORTH
President
Transplant Survivor
HAMID MAHDAVY
Vice President
Transplant Survivor
GLENN ROCKWOOD
Treasurer
Transplant Survivor
KYLIE REESE
Secretary
Family Member
DON MITCHELL
Board Member
Transplant Survivor
GREG COX
Board Member
Transplant Survivor
RILEY SULLIVAN
Board Member
Family Member
DAVID DENOFRIO, MD
ADVISORY BOARD
James Campbell
Senior Consultant
Brakeley Briscoe, Northborough, MA
Rich Carlson
President
Carlson Communications, Northborough, MA
Heather Cote, RN, BSN
Team Nurse
Beth Israel Lahey Health, Boston, MA
Deborah Fleck, RN, BSN
Cardiac Transplant Nurse
Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
Kerry Gaj, DNP
Medical Science Liaison
Natera, Boston, MA
Michael Kiernan, MD, MS
Medical Director
Ventricular Assist Device Program
Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
Linda Ordway, RN, MS, NP
Clinical Care Manager
Cardiomyopathy Center
Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
William Pollack
Chief Strategy Officer
Billaway, Andover, MA
Duc Thinh Pham, MD
Surgical Director
Center for Advanced Heart Failure
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
TEAM HEARTBROTHERS AMBASSADORS
Our 90+ Team HeartBrothers Ambassadors—Heart Failure survivors who journeyed through VADs, heart transplant, and beyond—provide emotional support and education to fellow HF patients and families.
In person or virtually, they visit hospitalized and homebound HF, LVAD, and heart transplant patients—delivering hope when all seems hopeless. These fully trained men and women educate patients on the physical and emotional Heart Failure voyage, the organ donation and transplant process, and draw from personal experiences to answer questions and empathize as only fellow survivors can.
To date, our volunteer Team HeartBrothers Ambassadors have provided emotional and educational support by visiting, hugging, listening to, and counseling 1000+ families. As our interactive map above illustrates, Team HeartBrothers Ambassadors are everywhere, and our numbers continue to grow.
Whether you're reading this seeking to connect with a HeartBrothers Team Ambassador for support or to become one yourself, get ready to feel healed, hopeful, and most likely, forge friendships to last a lifetime.
Scroll down for a peek at our Team HeartBrothers Ambassadors gallery.
