Meet the I AM ALS team

Aditi Narayan Minkoff (She/Her)

Vice President of Community Support

As Vice President of Community Support at I AM ALS, Aditi develops and evolves person-centered programs and tools that help people living with ALS, caregivers, and their loved ones to feel supported and empowered while coping with ALS. Aditi focuses on addressing unmet needs, and building strong partnerships to streamline the community care experience for people impacted by ALS. Prior to joining I AM ALS, Aditi served as the Director of Programs & Strategy at Livestrong, where she managed a suite of national supportive care programs benefiting cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Aditi earned a Master of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in Communication from George Mason University.

Allie Sebesta (She/Her)

ALS Support Specialist

As an ALS support specialist at I AM ALS, Allie provides invaluable resources to people impacted by ALS. Allie is passionate about helping people navigate chronic and serious health conditions and building a community of support for people affected by ALS. Allie earned her B.A. in Social work from The University of Southern Mississippi and her Masters in Science in Social Work from The University of Texas. Prior to joining I AM ALS, Allie spent a decade as a patient navigator with The American Cancer Society. Previously, she worked as a program coordinator for The Department of the State of Texas Health Service’s Crisis Counseling Program and also as a case manager with Texas Interfaith Disaster Response.

Andrea Goodman (She/Her)

CEO

Andrea Goodman is an experienced public health leader with a passion for driving equity, healthcare efficiency, and patient empowerment. In her role as CEO, she leads the I AM ALS community and helms the strategy for the organization’s future from start-up to sustaining movement. Andrea previously served as the Senior Vice President of Patient Support & Research Strategy at the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and she brings a deep commitment to evidence-based innovation to meet people where they are, center the system on patients and families, and- ultimately- cure disease. Andrea has also led patient engagement strategy for the advocacy community and served as Maternal and Child Health Director for the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, where she led consumer content and partners for the award-winning Text4baby service.

Andrea works from a lens and passion for patient power and health equity, and has contributed to multiple domestic public health campaigns throughout her career across a variety of content areas, all aimed at changing behavior and saving lives. She holds a Master of Public Health from The George Washington University and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.

Deb Paust (She/Her)

Community Organizing Associate

As a Community Organizing Associate, Deb provides valuable support and empowerment to the I AM ALS community teams as they develop impactful advocacy initiatives. Deb is passionate about connecting with people affected by ALS on a personal level to educate, engage and assist in achieving advocacy goals.

Prior to joining I AM ALS, Deb worked in Physical Therapy for more than 30 years before taking leave to be a full time caregiver to her husband Tim who had ALS. Deb has been an ALS advocate for more than 10 years, including serving as co-chair of the I AM ALS Legislative Affairs Team. Deb earned her Associates in Applied Science at Oakton Community College.

Emily Johnson (She/Her)

Communications and Operations Associate

As Communications and Operations Associate at I AM ALS, Emily supports the team across various efforts to build and mobilize a digital community of ALS advocates and ensure the sustainability of the growing organization throughout its day-to-day operations. Before making the jump to the nonprofit world with I AM ALS, Emily worked in publishing as a publicist, where she generated buzz about books and authors and helped them shine. Before that, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Linguistics from the University of Maryland.

Holly Curtis (She/Her)

Community Organizing Associate

As a Community Organizing Associate, Holly provides support to I AM ALS’s advocates as they design and implement various advocacy strategies. Holly is passionate about building communities where everyone feels looked out for and cared about. She is also passionate about emotional health and intelligence and bringing these aspects into community organizing. Holly received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from George Mason University and previously worked as a counselor at an eating disorder treatment facility.

Hope Feuling (She/Her)

ALS Support Specialist

As an ALS support specialist at I AM ALS, Hope provides support to people impacted by ALS. Hope is passionate about providing person-centered support, assisting with resource finding and engaging in patient advocacy efforts. Hope obtained a BA in Social Work with a minor in Psychology from the University of North Texas. She took a special interest in working within community navigation after personal experiences traversing the healthcare system as a patient and family advocate. Hope previously worked at the Gladney Center for Adoption as a residential care coordinator in the foster care group-home.

Michael Lecker, Ph.D. (He/Him)

Vice President of Organizing

As Vice President of Organizing at I AM ALS, Michael helps develop and implement I AM ALS’ community organizing and advocacy strategies that engage, educate, empower, and provide tools to people living with ALS and their loved ones. His goals are to grow and fuel the movement that will end ALS. Prior to I AM ALS, Michael was the Director of LGBTQ Health and Inclusiveness at Trillium Health in Rochester, NY. At Trillium Health, he developed, implemented, and managed programs that educated, empowered and recruited marginalized populations into primary and sexual health care programs.

Michael has a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from George Mason University and has taught courses on HIV, gender, sexuality, race, media and community at Rutgers University, George Mason University, Hampden-Sydney College, and Bowling Green State University.

Sonya Sotak Elling (She/Her)

Chief Government Affairs Officer

As the Chief Government Affairs officer at I AM ALS, Sonya is responsible for leading the Federal legislative and advocacy strategies designed to impact the community priorities and amplify all the amazing and passionate work being done by the ALS community.

Sonya began her career in public affairs on Capitol Hill, where she spent over a decade in the United States Senate.  After leaving the U.S. Senate, she spent almost twenty years in the biopharmaceutical industry, including seventeen years with Eli Lilly and Company, where she was a Senior Director of Government Affairs. Most recently, Sonya held a senior role in government affairs at bluebird bio, a small but innovative biotech company.

Sonya obtained a BA in English and Japanese from the University of Arizona.