Gerard Honig is a research professional focused on improving health and reducing suffering through technology. He has focused his work on inflammation, immunology and gastroenterology since 2010. Most recently, at Celsius Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on drug discovery and development enabled by high-resolution molecular understanding of inflammatory diseases, he was responsible for advancing therapeutics and biomarkers to address unmet needs in inflammatory bowel diseases. Previously, at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, a leading patient advocacy organization, he developed and managed a diverse portfolio of research investments focused on ulcerative colitis & Crohn’s disease, and with Symbiotic Health, a startup company he founded focused on novel drug delivery systems for microbiome-based therapeutics, he developed a novel clinical modality for the treatment of C. difficile infection. Gerard received his PhD in neuroscience at the University of California San Francisco as a fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and subsequently trained in several leading immunology laboratories. He has received several prestigious awards and has authored 22 academic articles. Gerard has been working with the Peggy Lillis Foundation since 2015, volunteers on numerous additional boards and committees, and enjoys biking, Japanese martial arts and cooking.

Alicia is the Executive Director of the American Camp Association, NY and NJ. Before joining the ACA, NY and NJ, Alicia was with The Fresh Air Fund for 14 years, serving as director of camping and year-round programs for ten years. In this role, she oversaw six camp programs serving over 3,500 children annually and all year-round student/camper engagement programs. Alicia was involved with ACA, NY and NJ for many years before joining as Executive Director. She has served on the ACA, NY & NJ Board of Directors as a member and treasurer for nine years and volunteered as a standards visitor for 14 years. Alicia also served as an officer and president of the New York State Camp Directors Association, tirelessly advocating for issues that affected New York camps. Over the years, Alicia has been recognized by ACA, NY & NJ as a leader and advocate in camping with the Thelma Hurwitz Leadership Award and the Tri-State CAMP Conference Award.

She graduated from Brooklyn College (where she and Christian first met) and attended Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work in New York City. Alicia had dedicated over 30 years to working with/for at-risk youth. Alicia is a current Board Member and Past President of the New York State Camp Directors Association (NYSCDA). Ms. Skovera worked with people living with HIV/AIDS, and was a director at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center in New York City, where she provided counseling and consulting services.

Helen is Peggy’s sister. Helen was a registered nurse for 25 years and retired as Assistant Director of Nursing for Northwell Health. Helen holds a BS in Nursing from Molloy College.

Victoria is Director of Global Oncology Product Communications at Daiichi Sankyo. She has more than 20 years of healthcare public relations, advocacy and marketing experience that spans several disease areas including hematology/oncology, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and infectious diseases/vaccines. Over her career, Victoria has supported and developed relationships with top medical and third party organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association, National Meningitis Association, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the American Academy of Pediatrics and AARP. Victoria holds a Bachelor of Science in mass communication from Boston University.

Dr. Feuerstadt is a native of Long Island, New York and attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology with distinction in research. He then received his M.D. from Weill Medical College of Cornell University. From there, he completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. After completing his Internal Medicine residency, Dr. Feuerstadt joined the Montefiore Medical Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where he completed his Gastroenterology fellowship. Dr. Feuerstadt began with the PACT Gastroenterology Center, a partner of Hartford Healthcare Medical Group, formerly known as GCC, in 2011. His special interests include C. difficile infection and other infections of the small and large bowel, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), ischemic diseases of the gut and other diseases of the colon and small bowel including Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Bruce Hirsch, MD is a graduate of Cornell University Medical College. His infectious disease practice focuses on optimizing the complete health of a person. Illness is not just biology – we are often impacted in every aspect of our lives. The irony of infection resulting from antibiotics manifesting as Clostridioides difficile colitis has been one professional focus. Together with Gerard Honig, Dr Hirsch developed and described the effectiveness of transfer of fecally derived bacteria by oral capsules and was honored with an Innovators Award by the Peggy Lillis Foundation – the largest lay-person advocacy group for C. diff in the country. Dr Hirsch recently published research describing persistent enhanced morbidity and mortality for those hospitalized with C. diff throughout the 180 days follow up measured. The phenomenon of C. diff reveals our relationships with the microbial life that sustains us, with the well-intentioned but flawed health practices that sometimes hurt us and with our understanding that health and well being are precious and connected with the well being of others.

Kenneth Lawrence, BS, PharmD is a former Executive Director in Medical Affairs at Seres Therapeutics. Is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island for both his Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy Degree’s. Dr. Lawrence began his 20-year clinical pharmacy practice career as a critical care pharmacist later transitioning to Infectious Disease/Antimicrobial Stewardship. He is credited with starting the multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He has held roles in Clinical Development and Operations and most recently in Medical Affairs. For more than a the decade, his work has been dedicated to helping to expand the pipeline antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of AMR pathogens. He is passionate about increasing health equity and clinical trial diversity in drug development and incorporating antimicrobial stewardship strategies and patient advocacy into Medical Affairs to improve patient care and to increase equitable access to medications. Additionally, he is working with area high schools and pharmaceutical companies to highlight the need and benefit of encouraging more students from underrepresented minority groups to choose careers in STEM.

Carol is a certified Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner, retired accounting professional, musician, and C. diff advocacy champion. She is a C. diff survivor and has been advocating for awareness and education for many years. Carol is also the Chair of the Peggy Lillis Foundation Advocates Council.

Dr. Shlaes, author of Antibiotics, The Perfect Storm (Springer) and The Drug Makers
(Lulu), has had a forty-year career in anti-infectives spanning academia and industry with
a long-standing scientific interest in antimicrobial resistance. He trained in infectious
diseases at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He then joined the faculty
and ultimately became a Professor of Medicine there. Dr. Shlaes left academia to become
Vice President for Infectious Diseases at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1996. He was a
member of the Forum for Emerging Infections of the National Academy of Sciences for
seven years. In 2002, Dr. Shlaes became Executive Vice President, Research and
Development for Idenix, Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on the discovery and
development of antivirals. In 2005, he established a consulting company. During his
career he contributed in significant ways to the discovery and development of tigecycline,
avibactam, eravacycline and lefamulin. Dr. Shlaes has since retired from Anti-infectives
Consulting. He writes a blog – Antibiotics the Perfect Storm on Substack – and continues
to be active in antibiotic policy areas.

Debbie has over 26 years of domestic and international legal and regulatory experience with
FDA-regulated products. She served as the Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Rexall
Sundown, Inc., and at Kemin Health, L.C., where she was responsible for corporate compliance
for ingredients and finished products. These positions included transactional and IP experience,
and submissions to FDA, FTC, USDA and international and state regulatory bodies on e.g.,
safety, claims substantiation, clinical trial data, labeling, adverse events, recalls, inspections and
Warning Letters. Debbie started her career as an associate at Keller and Heckman where she
practiced in the area of FDA-regulated products. She has served as an officer and member of the
Executive Board and Board of Directors of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, and has
published and made presentations in areas of FDA-regulated products. Debbie has a B.A. from
Northwestern University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Maryann is a C. diff survivor having received an FMT in late 2018 following 3 years of C. diff
infection. She is married to her husband of nearly 28 years. Maryann has spent over 30 years in
a variety of executive management positions responsible for regulatory affairs interacting with
FDA and comparable international health agencies for dietary and nutritional supplements,
infant and clinical nutrition, and functional foods. It is her hope to work together with PLF so that
no one ever has to endure the trauma of this disease, and families struggling with it are able to
benefit in some small way from her experience and support. Maryann has been an Advocate
with PLF since 2019 and joined the PLF Board of Directors in 2023.

Dr. Young was born in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from Williamsville East High School. He received his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1985 and his M.D., and his Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from Stanford University in 1992. Dr. Young completed clinical training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital followed by postdoctoral research at MIT. He was previously on the faculty at Michigan State University before joining the University of Michigan in 2007. Research in the Young lab is directed at understanding the role of indigenous microbiota in influencing the health status of their host. A key research focus is on the relationship between the gastrointestinal microbiota and healthcare-associated pathogens including C. difficile. Dr. Young’s research spans the gap between the bench and the bedside, conducted both with material from human subjects and using animal models of disease. Outside of the lab, Dr. Young enjoys hiking and cycling. He is the proud father of two adult sons. Dr. Young is also an amateur musician, playing keyboards in a local band and dabbling in jazz with other local musicians.