The FSH Society |
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The Staff of the FSH Society
Nancy Van Zant
Nancy can be contacted through the Society’s Executive & Development office: FSH Society, Inc.
Jenny Lazzaro
Jenny can be contacted through the Society’s Executive & Development office: FSH Society, Inc.
Daniel Paul Perez
Daniel can be contacted through the Society’s Research Programs office:
Carol A. Perez, M.Ed.
Carol can be contacted through the Society’s Patient Resources office: FSH Society, Inc.
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FSH Society, Inc. • 64 Grove Street • Watertown, MA 02472 • Tel: 617 658-7878 • Fax: 617 658-7879
Nancy holds a BA from Earlham College, Richmond, IN; and an M.S. in Library Science from the University of Illinois. She lives with her husband, Kent, in Brookline, Massachusetts, on the edge of Boston. She is a regular hiker in the Rockies in the summer and a cross-country skier in the winter. Nancy started with the FSH Society in June of 2007 and comes to the Society from a career of leading fundraising at academic medical centers including the National Jewish Center for Medicine and Research (Denver), the Kennedy Krieger Institute (Baltimore), and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston). She has raised funds for many initiatives in biomedical research as well as capital projects, clinical programs, endowed chairs and fellowships. At the Society, Nancy focuses on patient outreach, communication, and fundraising.
Jenny joined the Society in August 2007 as a part-time Office Manager in its Executive & Development Office in Watertown. She graduated from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in May 2009, with a B.S. in Counseling and Psychology. Since graduating, Jenny has taken on added responsibility as the Society’s Patient Liaison. She is excited to be working more closely with the FSHD community in this capacity. She possesses strong interpersonal skills, and a desire to connect with and learn from those around her. Additionally, Jenny comes to the Society with a strong background in administrative support services and software proficiency. Born in Massachusetts, Jenny and her family moved to Maryland when she was in high school; in 2002, as an adult, she moved back to Massachusetts and currently resides in Cambridge. In her spare time, Jenny is actively involved as a volunteer at a Boston-based social service agency. And as an amateur photographer, she takes pleasure in exploring New England’s quaint scenery. 
Daniel Paul Perez is a graduate of Harvard College. He has an extensive background in software and database design, working on corporate MIS and financial systems, marketing research software and data acquisition. He was chief architect and designer of Oracle's multi-dimensional database application and worked on the Human Genome Project in Massachusetts. He also worked as a database specialist on software designed for monitoring clinical drug trials. Mr. Perez started his career in neurobiology and muscle research at Harvard. He subsequently moved into large scale information systems and databases developing skills in traditional management information systems as well as large scale databases and software design. Mr. Perez's expertise in data warehousing and databases led to his contributions in bio-informatics and databases for the Human Genome Project in Massachusetts. Mr. Perez’s dedication to founding the Society began when he met fellow FSHD patient Dr. Stephen Jacobsen in 1987. Daniel developed the by-laws of the Society, incorporated the organization as a nonprofit corporation and organized the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board. Mr. Perez has testified nearly forty times before Congressional Committees seeking funding for FSHD research and meets regularly with researchers, clinicians and the heads of the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies to help organize meetings, symposia, research plans, white papers, and research on dystrophy research. In 2001, Mr. Perez was a key architect and force in the passage and implementation of the Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research, and Education Amendments of 2001 ("MD-CARE Act"), signed into law on December 18, 2001. The MD CARE Act mandates the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies working on facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and muscular dystrophy to rapidly accelerate research on these diseases. Mr. Perez serves as a Special Government Employee and Member of the fifteen member Federal Advisory Committee authorized by the "MD-CARE Act" called the Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee (MDCC). Daniel and his wife, Sue, live in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Mrs. Carol A. Perez is an experienced administrator and counselor in rehabilitation. Mrs. Perez served as Coordinator and Executive Director of the FSH Society from 1992-2007. Mrs. Perez has been Secretary since June 2007, and is in charge of Patient Resources. Initiating the New England FSHD Support Group in 1989, her dual role as service provider and consumer serves to fuel her activism to advocate for the FSHD community in all arenas. Mrs. Perez lives with her husband, Charles, in Lexington, Massachusetts.