Susan Marshall - Program Director
Back in the late 70’s, I graduated from college with a BS in Fashion Merchandising & Marketing. After briefly working in retail, I made a left turn and proceeded to spend most of the next twenty-four years working in the Telecommunications industry. I worked with application software designing it to be user friendly, and with no software background, that was a career change! Until the fall of 2003, I was a software Product Manager, where I enhanced my marketing skills by promoting a software product internationally, and even traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to train the technical sales team on my product!

As Corporate America goes, yearly budget cuts eventually discontinued several products including mine, and with department downsizing, my position was eliminated. I took this opportunity to investigate what my next and hopefully final career change might be. Since I was in no hurry to go right back to work, I became interested in volunteering at a non-profit that supports cancer patients and their families. Soon I was running events for them, securing sponsorships, and organizing their volunteers. Something deep inside of me felt real meaning about the work I was doing, and I knew I was making a difference. It was great to be around all the brave and wonderful cancer survivors! It was evident then that I was handed what my new career would be – to find a great non-profit with a cause that I could ‘feel’ and put my heart into.

So, the story goes…I contacted Sue Byrnes one night at 10:30PM (e-mailing my resume in response to her position posting), and then received a surprise response back at 11:00PM! We continued to exchange e-mails until 12:30AM, and ended up interviewing the very next day - all giving me a hint of what was to come. A few weeks later I was hired and already meeting members of The LAM Foundation Board of Trustees who are all LAM patients or family members. I then realized I was at my dream job, working to help some truly wonderful people! The real bonus, though, is working with great co-workers every day who are passionate about our cause.

                                                                      Glenda Randall - Development Director
My twenty-seven years in the investment management field was very rewarding in a monetary, personal achievement sort of way. When my department was downsized, I thought the world had ended. Add that to my recent divorce, and I felt as if I’d lost my identity completely, except, of course, for the joy of being a mom. Little did I know that my prayer for a more purpose-driven life was about to be answered. 

When a nonprofit attorney friend told me about a small nonprofit in Sharonville that was looking for a Development Director, I instantly called to make an appointment. I still remember seeing petite and delicate Sue Byrnes for the first time. After watching the LAM video, I knew I was in the right place. I also knew that ‘delicate’ was not a good word to describe Sue.  I came to my second interview with both barrels loaded...I brought proof of my many years of experience in the nonprofit world and I could almost say lymphangioleiomyomatosis perfectly. 

I left the next day for a California vacation with my son. While there, I drove to Stockton to meet LAM patient Holly Woehrle, four months after her double-lung transplant. We spent four hours together with her son Conley. I was definitely hooked now! When I got back to my vacation home, there was a message from Sue offering me the job. I instantly accepted! When I came to The LAM Foundation, I did not have a loved-one with LAM. However, after working with Sue and her daughter, Andrea, and everyone in the LAM community, I feel that every woman with LAM is my loved-one. In spite of the long hours, tight budget, minimal benefits and few job ‘perks’...I have never been more blessed, laughed so hard, hurt so deeply or been so moved. I am grateful - it gives my life purpose.

Sally Lamb - Patient Services Administrator
I was a Technical Writer for fifteen years before coming to The LAM Foundation. I worked many over-time hours writing documentation for a software company. I did my job to the best of my ability but always felt frustrated knowing that no one really reads user manuals! Even still, I was upset when the company laid me off in May of 2001. For me, it was easier to stay in an unrewarding job than it was to start over again in a new one. But I was forced to move on. Now I consider being laid off one of my greatest blessings. It led me to The LAM Foundation where my job makes me feel needed and appreciated. I feel connected to, and inspired by, so many wonderful women. I feel that everything I do helps in some small way. And with a last name like LAMb, I feel I am where I am supposed to be!

Nancy Reynolds - Research Coordinator and Website Manager
Sue contacted me soon after I retired from my job in education and asked if I would like to work for The LAM Foundation. I have known Sue and Fran Byrnes for over forty years and I was familiar with the effects of LAM on women since I knew Sue’s daughter, Andrea, and because I had taught in the same school district with LAM patient Susan Milligan for many years. I eagerly agreed to work at the Foundation and have been here since 1999. I enjoy working with the Foundation website and keeping up-to-date with the latest technology. I like solving computer problems and being creative. Working three days a week gives me time to enjoy tennis, golf and being with my dog, while still working at a rewarding job.

Amie Smith - Development Assistant
I guess looking back, I should have known that I would end up here. My favorite teacher (for 7 long years) is a LAM Board member, Sam Reynolds. My very good friend from high school was the son of a LAM patient Susan Milligan. My niece came home from school one day to announce her favorite teacher was retiring in order to start The LAM Foundation -obviously, then, Sue Byrnes. It’s great when all the pieces of the puzzle come together like they have for me.

Being a career restaurant server at the Cooker (the path down which I was headed) became an impossible choice for me after I was involved in a freak car accident that left me with four pelvic fractures and a whole new outlook on life. Although I could eventually return to the restaurant, it was obviously not something I could continue doing forever. In 2002, I graduated with honors in Communication (if you knew me, you’d know what an obvious choice that was) from the University of Cincinnati and then proceeded to stay in the restaurant business much to the chagrin of not only my back, but to most of my family and friends as well. When I expressed an interest in volunteering somewhere, Sam Reynolds told me about The LAM Foundation. I started here as a volunteer in November of 2002 and, needless to say, I really loved it! It’s very hard for most people to understand that I didn’t go back to school in order to find financial career success; I went back because I wanted to learn new things and absorb new ideas; I wanted to come out of college with an ability to be useful, to help others-qualities that a near-death experience will help you come to cherish.

When Cooker closed this past spring, I felt almost homeless-having been there, at that point, for 10½ years serving, bartending, supervising and training. I found a new home here when Sue hired me soon after the restaurant closed. I love being part of the LAM family and, even though I’m only part-time, I really feel like I’m making a contribution in some small way, that I’m helping such a wonderful group of women find hope.

Joanne Chappell - Controller
I have known about The LAM Foundation since its beginnings, as my oldest son, Rob, was in “Mrs. Byrneses” music class when Sue started the Foundation. Some of us moms organized the first LAM fundraiser, a giant garage sale, and Rob’s Cub Scout den held a bake sale. We proudly presented the Foundation with the proceeds, a $100 bill.

Little did I know at the time that five years later I would be given the wonderful opportunity to join The LAM Foundation staff as a part-time accountant. Although I was a CPA with over ten years finance experience, I had been a stay-at-home mom for a number of years, so was a little leery of “getting back into it.” I had no need to worry. I was welcomed with open arms, quickly got up to speed with current computer technology, and found the Foundation such a professional, yet caring, place to work. I was impressed with how far the Foundation had come in such a short time; from local garage sales and bake sales to millions raised by various LAM communities; from writing the NIH in hopes of establishing a national registry to funding nearly fifty research fellowships; from helping a handful of LAM patients to helping hundreds worldwide.

I attended my first Breath of Hope Gala in 2002, and choked back the tears as each LAM patient was introduced and came to the podium. I guess it made the Foundation’s cause seem so real and my small part in it so much more than just a job. I was fortunate to be able to help with this year’s Gala, and enjoyed meeting and talking with many of the LAM patients, families, and doctors. I look forward to getting to know more members of the LAM community in the future. I also hope and pray that the Foundation’s ultimate goal – a cure for LAM, soon becomes a reality..

Meg Coutinho - Database Specialist
I am a computer geek. Many years back, there was a fellow teacher at my school who was my friend. Her daughter was diagnosed with this strange disease that nobody could pronounce. She called and asked if I could help her learn to use a computer. She had been given an Apple IIe. The day that I helped Sue Byrnes save a file to a big, floppy 5-inch disk changed my life.

My name is Meg Coutinho and I have been a functional part of The LAM Foundation since its inception. Not to brag, but I have 'touched' every operational part of this organization. In other words, I was there to set up the original letters, mail merges, databases, newsletters, websites, and finances. Not that I did it all, mind you, but at some point in time over the past eight years I have made things happen for The LAM Foundation by being a dedicated geek and friend. The success of The LAM Foundation has broadened to the point that I have been replaced by 'the real thing'-an accountant, for example, who really knows finances-but my place here evolves as the needs of The LAM Foundation change. My arrival each week has been deemed 'Fix-It Friday' as I fill in a gap or add some new database design to make The LAM Foundation run and run and run...

My personal contact with LAM patients has been minimal, but I have found ways to help each of them keep up-to-date with LAM developments, the LAM community and doctors. Through the many hours over spreadsheets, I feel I have contributed to LAM research by crunching numbers and compiling data for scientists. 'My baby'-The LAM Foundation database - rivals none, giving LAM patients, their families and professionals a means of support that promotes hope. I may not know voices or faces, but LAM patient lives are real to me through my behind-the-scenes work.