Leadership & Team

Kathy Crispell, MD, President

Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Specialist

Kathy Crispell, MD, was a Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant specialist at the Portland VA Medical Center and a faculty member at Oregon Health and Science University. She did her Cardiovascular training and Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant training at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). During that time, she participated in research studying DCM in families. She remained at OHSU until 2003, when she was recruited by Northwest Kaiser Permanente (KPNW). While there, she was the Chief of Cardiology, Director of Cardiovascular Services and Chief Medical Officer. During her time in these roles, Dr. Crispell started an Advanced Heart Failure Program and a Cardiac Mechanical Assist Program.

Dr. Crispell retired from KPNW in 2015 but has continued to work part-time at the Portland VA Medical Center and, most recently, back at OHSU as an Adjunct Associate Professor, doing part-time work caring for patients with Advanced Heart Failure and after transplant. She has also done volunteer Global Health work in Myanmar and Ethiopia since 2015. She was voted DCM Foundation Board President in February 2024.

Greg Ruf

Founder and Executive Director

In 2014, Greg was diagnosed with DCM and required an ICD. Through genetic testing, it was revealed he had three mutations responsible for his DCM. A number of his relatives carry genetic mutations that can cause DCM.

Greg retired from his work as a business entrepreneur, and in 2017, he launched the DCM Foundation to bring education, hope, and resources to DCM patients and their family members. Greg hopes that by raising awareness and supporting DCM research, a means will be found to halt, reverse, or even completely prevent DCM from developing in at-risk individuals.

In July of 2021, Greg had a successful heart transplant. Greg lives in Dublin, Ohio, with his wife Brenda. 

Gregory Hershberger

Treasurer, Operations and Policy Expert

Gregory Hershberger retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons in October 2004 as Regional Director for the North Central Region, located in Kansas City, after 26 years of service. As Regional Director, he oversaw the operation of 18 Bureau of Prisons facilities and a network of community corrections assets located throughout 12 midwestern states. Mr. Hershberger earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Master’s Degree from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.

Mr. Hershberger was diagnosed with DCM in early 2017, which necessitated the implantation of an ICD-Pacemaker. His experience moved him to assist the Dilated Cardiomyopathy Foundation to demystify the origins and treatment of the disease for others experiencing the same disorder.

He and his wife Catherine, reside in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Rebecca M Graciano

Becky joined the DCM Foundation board in the spring of 2023 after recently learning she has dilated cardiomyopathy caused by the BAG3 genetic mutation. Her interest and passion in genetic cardiomyopathy have motivated her to join the DCMF to help support and oversee the Foundation’s mission of providing hope, research, and advocacy to DCM patients and their families.

A medical physicist by training, Becky holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee. She holds numerous honors and certifications in her field and is currently employed as Senior Medical Physicist for the John Muir Medical Center in California.

Becky and her husband live in California with their two children and are involved in a number of charitable activities.

Neal K. Lakdawala, MD, MSc, FAHA

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Director, Fellowship in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Neal K Lakdawala, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a cardiovascular genetics specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Dr Lakdawala completed a residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, a clinical and research fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a master’s degree in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. 

His research fellowship focused on identifying Mendelian causes of dilated cardiomyopathy and studying the early contractile phenotypes of sarcomere mutations. His recent research has focused on defining the natural history of genetic cardiomyopathies and the conduct of clinical trials in this rapidly evolving space. His clinical expertise includes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, cardiac sarcoidosis, congestive heart failure, and heart transplantation.

Ana Morales, MS, CGC

Ana Morales is an Associate Professor in the Department of Genomic Health at Geisinger, a board-certified genetic counselor, and a Translational Health Sciences PhD candidate at George Washington University. She is committed to advancing cardiovascular genomics through service, research, and education.

Ana currently serves as Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded IMPACT-FH study, which applies implementation science to promote cascade genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolemia in primary care. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Clinical Science Working Group of the NIH Genomics-enabled Learning Health System Network, where she advances implementation science for the genetic evaluation of cardiomyopathy.

Ana has co-authored national guidelines for the genetic evaluation of cardiomyopathy and has published in peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from genetic testing to variant interpretation and genetic counseling. Her work has contributed to publications in leading journals including Circulation, Genetics in Medicine, and JAMA Cardiology. Ana is also an experienced educator, having served as Course Director for the Cardiovascular Genetics course at The Ohio State University and currently serving as Co-Director of the Research Course for the Geisinger Genetic Counseling Program.

Bo Nemelka

Bo is an experienced health care strategist working with many of the nation’s largest health organizations. He has significant expertise in strategy development and implementation, health innovation and growth, and payment reform analytics and modeling. In his role as a managing director at Third Horizon, Bo leads strategy and growth initiatives with clients across the country.

Bo has a Master of Public Health in health management from Yale University and a bachelor’s in business from Utah State University.

Prior to joining Third Horizon, Bo worked at two community-based, not-for-profit health systems: Intermountain Health and Sanford Health. Bo’s work focused on advancing access, affordability, and quality, working with each organization’s strategic stakeholders and executive leadership teams. Prior to his work with health systems, Bo spent nine years with Leavitt Partners. As managing principal for the Salt Lake City office, Bo led a team of consultants delivering strategy engagements for clients looking for help improving public and community health and value-based care. Additionally, Bo helped start the Leavitt Partners Chicago Office and then assisted the firm in merging with Health Management Associates in 2021.

Bo and his wife have five children and enjoy working on their family farmhouse in South Dakota.

Chris Rudolph

Chris Rudolph worked for Bank of America for 30+ years in internal auditing and led a 500 person operations center as a regional manager in the SW region. He has experience in management, finance, and he was also a Chief Development Officer for several non-profits after his banking career. He is  currently very involved on the board and Development Committee for the Arizona Center for the Blind  and Visually Impaired (ACBVI). He is also an active member of the Mayo Clinic Heart Transplant support group, and a regular  volunteer for the Arizona Donor Network of Arizona.  

Chris is a DCM patient with the MYBPC3 gene mutation. He had his first heart transplant in 2007 and his second transplant in 2019.

Since retiring, Chris has been very involved in professional fundraising as a primary focus for over ten years. He has experience with building donor relationships, stewardship, individual, corporate and  foundation giving, and obtaining grants.

Greg Ruf

Founder and Executive Director

In 2014, Greg was diagnosed with DCM and required an ICD. Through genetic testing, it was revealed that he had three mutations responsible for his DCM. A number of his relatives carry genetic mutations that can cause DCM.

Greg retired from his work as a business entrepreneur, and in 2017, he launched the DCM Foundation to bring education, hope, and resources to DCM patients and their family members. In 2023, Greg launched the Genetic Cardiomyopathy Awareness Consortium to increase awareness about the role genetics plays in cardiomyopathy and the need for more patients to get genetically tested. Greg hopes that by raising awareness and supporting DCM research, a means will be found to halt, reverse, or even completely prevent DCM from developing in at-risk individuals.

After a period of worsening heart failure, on July 15, 2021, Greg had a successful heart transplant. Greg lives in Dublin, Ohio, with his wife Brenda of over 35 years, and together they have three grown children and many wonderful grandchildren.

Buddy Butler

Marketing Director

Buddy Butler works with his spouse, Nikki, at Nikki Butler Design. He was previously a partner in Narrative by New South Media. He has worked in the development of brand strategies for more than a dozen destinations in Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Prior to joining Narrative, he served as senior vice president of the Stonewall Group, a full- service marketing agency.

Butler served on the West Virginia Tourism Commission from 1999 to 2002 and is chair of the West Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association. In 2002, he was named a “Distinguished West Virginian” by Governor Bob Wise for his work in tourism. He received a bachelor’s in communications from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in organizational communications from Ohio University.

Nikki Butler

Director of Digital and Social Media

Nikki Butler is a multi-talented graphic designer with more than 25 years of experience in creating and promoting brands for destinations, businesses, and individual entrepreneurs. She is especially adept at creating multi-page catalogs and publications from initial concept to finished product. Nikki Butler Design provides graphic design, website design, digital media, brand development, social media, marketing and content development services.

Nikki founded Nikki Butler Design in 2011. Before having her own business, she was a Senior Graphic Designer with Stonewall Retail Marketing in Marietta, Ohio, for 10 years. While at Stonewall, she worked on campaigns for West Virginia Tourism, Tamarack, Adventures on the Gorge, Greenbrier County CVB, Visit Southern West Virginia, and many others.

Sharisse Jimenez

Manager of Spanish Community Outreach

Sharisse is a certified genetic counselor with over 6 years of experience working in both clinical and genetic testing laboratory settings. In her clinical roles, she has seen firsthand the difference in the quality of care and the greater amount of barriers non-English speaking patients encounter in the health care system.

Her passion for working with the Spanish-speaking population stems from her roots: her family is from Puerto Rico so her interest in increasing awareness and access to genetic testing and counseling is very personal. As Manager of Spanish Community Outreach, she works to increase engagement with Spanish-speaking communities, answer questions about resources and programs, and create resources that are fully available in Spanish. 

In her free time, she enjoys hot yoga, traveling with her husband, and biking through Denver, Colorado where she lives.

Shauna Planck

Genetic Cardiomyopathy Registry Manager

In 2017, Shauna was diagnosed with an LMNA mutation, which caused cardiomyopathy. Since then, she’s had an ICD implanted and has been inspired to raise awareness and provide support for others navigating this disease.

Shauna’s background is in consulting. She’s worked with healthcare, non-profit and biopharma organizations to improve processes and support meaningful projects. As the Genetic Cardiomyopathy Registry Manager for the DCM Foundation, Shauna manages the registry’s daily operations and helps participants with their questions. She’s passionate about using this work to support research and provide better resources for families affected by DCM.

Shauna lives in Denver, Colorado, and loves spending time outdoors with her family.

Christy Johnson

Coordinator of Gene-Specific Groups

Christy was diagnosed with Desmoplakin Cardiomyopathy in 2020 after going into sustained ventricular tachycardia out of what seemed like the clear blue sky. Although Christy is the proband in her family, her “healthy” father had died of an arrhythmia in his sleep at age 51, and her aunt died of heart failure. It was not until Christy’s diagnosis that the genetic link was discovered. 

Christy’s struggle to get information about her diagnosis and traumatic events related to her condition ignited her passion to help others with genetic cardiomyopathy. She started the DSP Cardiomyopathy Support Facebook group in 2021 and now volunteers with the DCM Foundation to help start and build more gene specific groups to provide information, connection and support. She chairs the Board of Trustees of the SADS Foundation and the SADS ARVC Steering Committee. In her previous career, Christy was a high-tech consultant and product and program management leader. She lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband, two daughters, and Molly-dog.

Stephanie Fallon

Patient Resource Consultant

Stephanie was diagnosed with DCM at the age of 15 and has lived well with cardiomyopathy for more than 40 years. In 2012, she learned she has the MYH7 gene mutation, which can cause DCM. Of her three children, two have DCM caused by the same gene. Of her three grandchildren, one has DCM with the MYH7 gene mutation.

For more than 20 years, Stephanie worked as an accountant. Then, more than 10 years ago, she started a DCM Facebook group to help DCM patients and family members share stories and treatments. She now manages two DCM patient Facebook groups totaling more than 7,000 members. 

Today, Stephanie also works part-time as a patient resource consultant for the DCM Foundation, responding to cardiomyopathy patient questions, sharing information and educational resources, and providing patients and family members with hope and support.