ACD requires 100% board giving from all current board members. We are proud to share that each of our board members meets or exceeds this expectation through both personal contributions and gifts from their extended families, businesses, and personal networks. All board member positions are volunteer. Board members are not compensated for their board duties.
Dan Coller – Board Chair
Dan has experience from the private sector, managing companies in the building technology industry for the past 15 years. Working with clients in biotech, pharmaceutical and technology sectors provided knowledge in research grants and clinical trials. Coller also has significant experience with financial control and oversight with heavily regulated contracts with the US Navy, State of California, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and dozens of federal and state programs. Coller obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, and lives in San Diego, Calif., with his wife Erin Coller, their eight-year-old son Cadman who was diagnosed with Creatine Transporter Deficiency in 2017, and their five-year-old daughter Emma.
Randy Allen – Vice Chair & Director of Impact and Donor Relations
Randy has nearly 20 years of experience as a sales and business development leader in the healthcare industry. From medical devices to medtech, Randy has always been attracted to sectors that are in need of new technologies to solve old problems. A native of Ohio and graduate from Ohio University, he now lives in Northern California with his wife Jennifer, their 5-year-old son Jack and their 3-year-old son Lucas, who was diagnosed with Creatine Transporter Deficiency in 2019.
Kim Tuminello – Director of Advocacy & Co-Founder
Kim is a Co-Founder of the Association for Creatine Deficiencies (ACD) and currently serves as the Director of Advocacy. Her passion for these rare diseases comes from both of her own children being diagnosed with GAMT. Kim is a graduate of San Diego State University with a B.A. in Communications and has over 25 years of sales management and recruiting experience. She has taken her passion for helping children with Creatine Deficiencies to the state and national level, in advocating for Newborn Screening. Kim resides in Carlsbad, California with her husband Grant, and two children, Ty and Paige.
Celeste Graham – Director of Education
Celeste has a background in special education with an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Child and Family Development and a master’s degree from Western Carolina University in Special Education. Celeste is passionate about education—within and outside of the CCDS community and empowering parents. While serving as an ACD Ambassador, she attended multiple events representing the CCDS community in different capacities. She has also advocated at the local, state, and federal levels for rare disease legislation. Celeste has worked in a variety of settings with children with disabilities in public schools and currently works with an advocacy nonprofit, helping link families to resources. Celeste lives outside of Charlotte, NC with her husband (Phil). They have three children, Blaine (1), Paisley (8) and Levi (10). Levi was diagnosed with CTD at 5 years old.
Erin Coller – Director of Communications
Erin has nearly 20 years of experience in public relations and corporate communications with expertise in areas including media relations, corporate communications, social media and crisis communication. She has held in-house and public relations agency management roles in industries including energy and utilities, real estate, non-profits, banking, technology and entertainment. A graduate of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, Coller earned a bachelor of arts degree with a double major in public relations and communication. She lives in San Diego with her husband Dan, their eight-year-old son, Cadman, who was diagnosed with Creatine Transporter Deficiency in 2017, five-year-old daughter, Emma, and terrier mix Nelson. Erin is passionate about advocacy and research efforts on behalf of CCDS and is hopeful for the future of everyone affected by CCDS because of the work ACD and its research partners are doing.
Mikelle Law – Director of Finance & Compliance
Mikelle has over 20 years of experience in technology sales and currently leads a sales organization for a software company. Outside of her day job, she leads a volunteer team that advocates for, educates, and supports women and diverse candidates in technology. She received her BA in European Studies with a minor in French from Brigham Young University. She and her husband Leif reside in Los Angeles with their three children–Max, Mason, and Sadie. Her son Max was diagnosed with GAMT in 2010, and she is passionate about helping patients and families affected by creatine disorders.
Jenny Lin, MD – Medical Board Advisor
Dr. Jenny Lin is a pediatrician who has been caring for children and their families for over 20 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley and went on to obtain her medical degree from the University of Rochester. After completing her residency training in pediatrics at Stanford University, she has been practicing general pediatrics in the community ever since. Dr. Lin has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by families dealing with complex medical issues due to her own personal experience. Her daughter was diagnosed with AGAT deficiency as an infant, which inspired Dr. Lin to become an advocate for children with rare diseases. She is excited to serve as a medical advisor to the ACD Board and use her expertise and personal experiences to improve the lives of children with creatine deficiencies.
Seung Chun – Research Board Advisor
Seung has nearly 15 years of drug development experience in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on rare diseases, mainly initiating clinical trials and soliciting regulators’ feedback on drug development plans. She received BS in biology from the University of California, San Diego, spending most of her undergraduate days at a neurodegenerative diseases research laboratory. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband (Chris) and their son, Asher (3), diagnosed with CTD at two years old in 2022.
Staff
Our staff positions are made possible in part by a grant from the CZI Rare As One Network and other supportive grants.
Heidi Wallis – Executive Director
Heidi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. Prior to working for ACD Heidi worked as a grant analyst and project manager in the Utah Newborn Screening Informatics program. She serves as a member of the Utah Newborn Screening Advisory Committee, Mountain States Regional Genetics Network Utah team, ClinGen DAPC Working Group, and ClinGen CCDS Variant Curation Expert Panel. Heidi’s vision for the future is that all creatine deficiencies will be screened for at birth and that each disorder will have a safe and effective treatment. Heidi lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, Trey, and their four children. Samantha (18) was diagnosed with GAMT deficiency at 5-1/2 years of age and Louis (10) was diagnosed with GAMT deficiency and began treatment shortly after birth.
Sangeetha Iyer, PhD – Scientific Advisor
Dr. Sangeetha Iyer received her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh and went on to complete her postdoctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin. She has over ten years of experience in model/assay development and drug screening for human disorders. She has worked extensively in the drug discovery space including work across multiple therapeutic modalities such as gene therapy and large molecule as well as small molecule drug candidates. Dr. Iyer brings her expertise in working with rare disease patient groups, clinical KOL’s and scientific discovery processes to her role with the ACD.
Emily Reinhardt – Patient Registry Coordinator
Emily has over ten years of research experience, with particular emphasis in pre-clinical and translational neuroscience research. She considers herself a scientist, first and foremost. She loves to get people excited about science, especially children! Through her love of science, she has grown passionate about using data to improve the lives of people within her community. Emily is a graduate of Kansas State University, earning both her BS and MS in Psychology with a focus in Behavioral Neuroscience. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, Andrew. As a California transplant, she enjoys regular visits to the beach, gardening all year round, and daily walks with her senior dog, Dottie.
Faith Ochoa – Non-Profit Programs Coordinator
Faith joined ACD in 2020 as their first full-time staff member. She has worked in the non-profit realm since 2013, specializing in communications and project management. She graduated from Biola University with her BA in Intercultural Studies in 2012 and her MA in Spiritual Formation in 2018. Faith has a background working as a paraprofessional and caregiver for children and individuals with special needs. She enjoys that her role with ACD provides her the opportunity to bring together her professional skillset and heart for advocacy. Faith lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband Vince and their two children, Ari (3) and Margot (1).
Kim Tuminello – Director of Advocacy & Co-Founder
Heidi Wallis – Executive Director
Sangeetha Iyer, PhD – Scientific Advisor
