Director of Patient Programs – Ivy LopezWelcome Ivy Lopez, Director of Patient Programs!It is with great excitement we announce that Ivy Lopez will join TMS in August as the Director of Patient Programs. In this new role, Ivy will be responsible for leading the overall programmatic delivery of education and learning for our community of patients, caregivers, and health care providers. We are confident that Ivy’s expertise and passion will help engage our mast cell disease community and expand our outreach.She is a highly qualified Advocacy Professional with over 14 years of experience in public health, wellness education, program development and stakeholder engagement. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she has been practicing nursing for over a decade and holds a Masters Degree in Adult Education and Community Development from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.Ivy has spent the majority of her nursing career in Public Health in various roles providing program development and facilitation of community health education workshops focused on addressing chronic health challenges in underrepresented communities. In other roles she has provided direct consulting and management of multiplecommunity projects for stakeholders in South Central Alaska including hospitals and community health centers. Most recently, she has held various clinical educator and training and development roles with global biopharmaceutical companies which focused on disease states areas in Immunology and Neuroscience. In her last role, Ivy led the design of a Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit to initiate the incorporation of D&I activities within National Field Teams.In her spare time, Ivy has partnered with community non-profit agencies to design and facilitate monthly virtual wellness workshops for teen mothers with the goal of reducing isolation, improving connectivity and support networks during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also developed and co-led free community health and wellness seminars within underrepresented communities in the Seattle area. Presently, Ivy resides with her husband Jon and their son Nathaniel in Western New York.Ivy is passionate about education and committed to health equity, diversity and inclusion. She has dedicated her life to serving and empowering patients and other healthcare stakeholders. She looks forward to leveraging her clinical and administrative expertise to work alongside the TMS community, providing continued support to patients, families and medical professionals in this new role.We welcome Ivy and look forward to working together towards a brighter future for all.