This July marks Ann Geffen’s five-year anniversary with the TANGO2 Research Foundation. On behalf of the board of directors, I want to congratulate and thank Ann for her remarkable service over these past five years. As Executive Director, Ann brings all of herself to the role each day, leading with characteristic diligence, compassion, and an unwavering dedication to the foundation’s mission and the broader patient and research community.

In just five years, Ann has made a significant impact across all areas of the foundation’s operations, including patient engagement, research network expansion, fundraising, hiring, the creation of a cohesive and consistent communications strategy, and a host of other capacity-building initiatives. Thanks to Ann’s tireless efforts, we are a much stronger and more capable organization than we were at the outset.

Back in 2020, we were still an all-volunteer organization led by parents and a single clinician. While we had some early successes and were making progress, all of us wanted to move faster and do more, but were constrained by our time or expertise – usually a combination of both. We had just been accepted into CZI’s Rare As One initiative as a Cycle One grantee and recognized that it was time to hire an Executive Director who could advance our mission every day. Myself, along with fellow Executive Committee members Kasha Morris, Giorgio Pochettino, Kara Cameron, and Blake Moore, began a thorough search for this “right person”. We ran a competitive hiring process and out of more than 200 applicants, we narrowed the pool to around 40, and then each of us conducted deeper reviews to refine the list further. In the end, we built consensus around Ann—and as they say, the rest is history. (Executive Committee – job well done!)

With Ann leading the way, we have matured in virtually every aspect as a patient-led rare disease organization. We are well positioned to continue making meaningful and impactful progress in improving the lives of patients and families affected by TANGO2 Deficiency Disorder. We look forward with hope and optimism to the breakthroughs and advancements that the next five years will bring under Ann’s continued leadership.

Please take a moment this week to reach out to Ann and thank her for the incredibly important work she has done—and continues to do—for the TANGO2 community.

Sincerely,

Mike Morris

TANGO2 Research Foundation Co-Founder & President
Ryan’s Dad