Our Board
Stacy Dylan
CtoC Co-founder
President
Stacy Dylan, co-founder of Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis, is passionate in her support of patients with chronic medical conditions. As an advocate for her son Lowell, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of two, she saw the need to create a community for families, caregivers, and individuals who face the challenges of coping with an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. C to C fills that need, providing a network of support while educating the public about the seriousness of these diseases, and fundraising for research that will lead to new treatments for both the pediatric and adult population.
Lowell has undergone many serious surgeries, as well as periods of time when he could not eat solid food, countless procedures, medical tests, hospital stays, and doctor’s visits both in Los Angeles and out-of-state. He has been on many medications and has either lost response or had negative reactions. Stacy Dylan and Dana Zatulove met in 2010, when they joined Team Challenge, the endurance training and fundraising program of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and trained for the Napa-to-Sonoma half-marathon. The plan to start their own foundation was hatched during their long training runs.
Stacy received her BA in Art History from Hampshire College in 1989, where she met her husband Sam, with whom she has two sons. She received her MA in clinical psychology in 1995 and has practiced as a licensed marriage and family therapist.
Dana Zatulove
CtoC Co-founder
Vice President
Dana Zatulove’s son Brian was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at eight years old. Upon learning that her son had a lifelong chronic illness, she felt she had to take action to help find a cure for all those who live with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. As a parent, Dana knows the difficulty of watching a child suffer from this debilitating condition, and is dedicated to raising awareness and funds to find a cure for Crohn’s and colitis. She looks forward to expanding the scope and range of Connecting to Cure’s mission.
Dana received her BA in Sociology from the University of Oregon.
Joshua Hart
CtoC Treasurer
Joshua Hart has been living with Crohn’s for 40+ years, having developed symptoms at the age of three and diagnosed with Crohn’s at five. He has been involved in the IBD community for many years, serving as a counselor for Crohn's and colitis camps at the Painted Turtle Camp and other camps for over 20 years.
Joshua is a hands-on financial professional who has worked in both public and privately held companies in the entertainment and internet industries. He is currently VP of Finance at Streamland Media, a global comprehensive post-production business with offices in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Copenhagen and the United Kingdom. The Company provides critical post-production services including finishing, sound design and editing, color editing, dailies and visual effect services.
He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a BA in Business/Economics.
Alex Akers
Board Member
Alex Akers was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease during high school and he has lived with active IBD ever since. Following his diagnosis, Alex immersed himself with all things IBD, including participating in a variety of advocacy and fundraising events with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation (CCF). He met the Co-Founder of C to C, Stacy Dylan, and her son Lowell at IBD Day on the Hill when they were there meeting with legislators to affect change in policy that affects those living with these chronic illnesses. Alex also served on the CCF's National Youth Leadership Council during college and then joined the Los Angeles Board of Trustees. He has been a volunteer at C to C events since its inception and is now a board member. Alex is an advocate for all Crohns & Colitis patients, parents, and caregivers.
Alex is a Management and Technology Consulting Professional in the Media and Entertainment industry, where he has worked with the major studios on large scale technology initiatives. He currently works at KlarisIP, a boutique consulting firm specializing in IP rights and royalties, digital assets, and metadata.
Andrew Berman
Board Member
Andrew Berman's wife Marci has Crohn's disease. He is a past President of the Board of Trustees of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America Los Angeles/Orange County Chapter and a former Board Member.
He is an entertainment industry veteran with over thirty years of experience in global sales, marketing, and distribution of entertainment content, having worked with such companies as MGM, TMS/Sega, Starz Media, Fremantle Media, Genius Brands International, and his own entertainment firm ARB International.
He graduated from California State University at Northridge in 1981 with a BA in Radio, Television and Film. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for The Aged, serves on the Board of Directors for Stephen S. Wise Temple, co-chair of the Erasing the Stigma gala for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services and is a licensed California Real Estate agent.
Lesley Bloom
Board Member
Lesley Bloom is the mother of Danya, Jack, and Erika. All three children have Crohn’s disease. They were each diagnosed at different stages of their lives, but the pain and suffering are the same. They have an intense bond greater than most siblings that helps them fight this life-long battle.
When Stacy and Dana asked her to join the board of Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis, she jumped at the opportunity to help. Not only has being part of C to C helped raise money for research, but it has connected her to other families who support each other.
Lesley is the Admissions Director at Pressman Academy Day School, where she meets a wide variety of families and leads tours of the school.
Lesley obtained her BA in Child Development from Cal State Northridge.
Benjamin King
Board Member
Benjamin is an Actor, Director and Writer. He is presently most recognized as the father, “Pete Rooney” on the Disney Channel series “Liv and Maddie” which he worked on from 2012 through 2015. While on the show he was given a lifelong dream opportunity to direct, and he is now writing pilots and films with his writing partner who lives in New York.
Benjamin has been married for 16 years with two teenage daughters and three pups. The support and understanding of his family allows him to spend time helping whomever he can who is affected by IBD, most notably through his association with Connecting to Cure Crohn’s and Colitis.
Benjamin is a native of Los Angeles, who was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis when he was 15. Then at the age of 37 he had his colon removed and was subsequently re diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, for which there is still no cure.
He is honored to help facilitate support groups for Connecting to Cure, for both patients and family members who are touched by these diseases. He is passionate about spreading awareness to help remove the stigma associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He desperately looks forward to the day there is a cure and vaccine for these age indiscriminate and often sinister diseases that strike so many people, who suffer in silence due to the private and deeply personal nature of IBD.
Jill Nordquist
Golf Event Chair
Jill Nordquist’s oldest son Noah was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when he was 12. With no family history of the disease, it became Jill’s mission to understand how and why children get the disease, and in 2013 she began to fundraise and learn more about treatments. Because of Noah's passion for sports and his love of golfing, Noah and Jill started the Chip In for Crohn’s Golf Tournament in 2014. In addition to raising funds the tournament increases awareness of the disease and has been featured on the local news. Seven years after Noah's diagnosis, Jill's younger son, Jackson, was diagnosed with Crohn's at age 16. Jackson has also played a major role in fundraising efforts.
Jill is a marketing executive with over 20 years of corporate brand management experience. Jill has worked for Dep Corporation, Mattel and Jakks Pacific. Jill is currently Senior Vice President at Jakks Pacific, Inc.
She graduated from Occidental College with a BA in English & Comparative Literary Studies.
Andrew Wolfberg
Board Member
I graduated from Loyola Law School in 1995 and have been a lawyer since 1995. My law practice is focused on estate planning and probate.
I live in Los Angeles with my wife and two children. I am a volunteer coach and referee with AYSO and an Alternate At-Large Area Representative for the Pacific Palisades Community Council.
I previously served as the Vice President of the Pacific Palisades Community Council. I served as the President of the Brentwood School Alumni Association and was an ex-officio member of the Brentwood School Board of Trustees. I am a former board member of OPICA the first Adult Day Program and Counseling Center in Los Angeles serving adults challenged with memory loss. I was a big brother with the Jewish Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Los Angeles. I was the neighborhood representative for the Paul Revere Charter Middle School Traffic Safety Committee.
I have family members with IBD and seen them fight through the physical and emotional challenges.
Patrick McGovern
Board Member
Patrick is the Chief Strategy and Business Officer at Wondros, working closely with clients to develop actionable strategies to create and share diverse content across a wide variety of platforms. He brings over a decade of creative and strategic consulting experience to his projects, providing expertise on brand and identity development along with creative campaign building and distribution. Patrick has led a variety of strategic and social initiatives for Stand up to Cancer (SU2C.org), an organization committed to fostering collaboration in cancer research; The California Endowment’s Building Healthier Communities initiative; the Rockefeller Foundation’s Poverty Reduction through Information and Digital Employment (PRIDE) initiative; ONE, the grassroots campaign of over 3 million people committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease; and (RED), the largest private sector contributor to The Global Fund. His principal focus is on community health campaigns, and in his work at Wondros he leads a design studio where he works with multidisciplinary teams to craft digital experiences and programs that foster learning in health care communities. Patrick collaborates with writers, designers, scientists, artists, policy makers, and healthcare professionals in order to transform ideas into social movements that drive systemic change.
Patricia Cooper
Board Member
Patricia is the Executive Director of the California Biotechnology Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) connecting California policy makers, opinion leaders, and other healthcare stakeholders with the latest healthcare research and data from industry experts and research institutions. She brings three decades of experience leading design and implementation of strategic communications plans for healthcare education campaigns with healthcare influencers, policymakers and stakeholders that maximize outreach to diverse audiences throughout California. Her organization is known for quality, evidence-based materials that lack hyperbole, validate healthcare reports and studies, and increase stakeholder engagement on important healthcare issues. As Senior VP of Public Affairs at Weber Shandwick, Patricia presided over healthcare strategic communications planning and development on campaigns throughout the country. As a member of the Wondros Partner Network she has collaborated with Wondros on campaigns for the California Endowment around STEM education, Song for Charlie educating on the dangers of Fentanyl, and Listos for CA Office of Emergency Services. She currently lives in Sacramento, California and is a proud graduate of University of Oregon with a BA in History. She is a longtime supporter of the advocacy, support and research funding Connecting to Cure brings to the IBD community.
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Mona Ziadeh
Board Member
Mona has a masters in social work degree with a specialty in behavioral health through USC and a certification in addictions treatment counselor. She works as a clinical social worker at UCI Medical Center's Neuropsychiatric Center in their medical psychiatry unit. She was diagnosed with UC in 2015, and had a Jpouch procedure completed in 2022.
Kareena Karnani
Board Member
Kareena is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and serves as a director for a local tax firm in Pasadena, CA. In her free time, she enjoys working out, traveling the world, and trying new restaurants. Her daughter, Milan (Millie), was diagnosed with IBD at the age of three. We look forward to supporting members of the IBD community through this journey. Kareena lives in South Pasadena, CA with her husband Shashi, and their two children, Dhiren and Milan.