Board of Directors

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Geraldine Bliss

Founder & President

Geraldine’s son, Charles, has Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, caused by a partial deletion of the SHANK3 gene.  His severe form of epilepsy, Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, has had a devastating impact. CureSHANK was born from her promise to Charles to help him get better.

Abby Lievense

Founder & Treasurer

Abby's son, Darus, has a SHANK3 frameshift mutation on exon 21.  Although he has a happy disposition, this condition has caused global regression and has hindered him from having any semblance of a typical childhood.  Abby is committed to delivering treatments and cures to all that suffer with this dreadful condition.

Paulina Rychenkova

Founder & Secretary

Paulina's daughter Daria was born with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. From the moment of her birth, through her open-heart surgery, and years of therapy, Paulina never wavered in her conviction that disease-modifying treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders are possible. CureSHANK is a key step on the path towards such treatments.

Talya
Emery Silva

Director

Talya's son Asa has a single extra letter in his SHANK3 gene causing devastating results. So far he is physically healthy and strong, but he is severely impacted by enduringly poor receptive/expressive language; autism; intellectual disability; psychiatric and sleep challenges; and regressions. Talya is dedicated to CureSHANK's mission in hopes of improving quality of life for Asa and all those who suffer the same genetic fate.