The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) recently announced Donald Kortz, Mark Murray, Marcy Nanus, Joseph Nemmers and Robert “Van” Pulley as the most recent members of the foundation’s National Board of Trustees, through 2019.

In the last 50 years, the CCFA has contributed to building significant momentum to achieve its mission of curing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and improve the lives of children, teens, and adults affected by inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

CCFA’s National Board of Trustees supervises the control and management of the policy, practice, principles, affairs, funding, and property of the foundation. Trustees are elected to the board for pre-established terms of three years, and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.

“I am pleased to welcome Don, Mark, Marcy, Joe, and Van to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America’s National Board of Trustees. These five professionals bring a wide range of skills, experiences, and vision to CCFA, and will bring new ideas and energy to the organization as we move into our 50th year,” Vance Gibbs, chair of the national board for CCFA, said in a press release.

The five new trustees have experience that the foundation believes will help bring a new vision to CCFA as it moves forward:

• Donald Kortz is Cushman & Wakefield’s vice chairman in Denver, Colorado;
• Mark Murray, Ph.D., is Arbutus’ director and CEO in Seattle, Washington;
• Marcy Nanus is the Trout Group’s senior vice president in New York;
• Joe Nemmers is a Warburg Pincus’ adviser and chairman of Accriva Diagnostics in Arizona;
• Robert “Van” Pulley, recently retired, worked for the World Bank for 28 years in McLean, Virginia.

“Volunteers are the lifeblood of CCFA and are hand-selected to join our leadership based on their commitment to accomplishing our vision of a future free of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Don, Mark, Marcy, Joe, and Van are representative of the incredibly passionate and dedicated individuals who support the organization and without whom we wouldn’t be where we are today — closer to cures than ever,” said CCFA’s president and CEO Michael Osso.

An increase in donations has raised revenue that enabled CCFA to develop multidisciplinary research initiatives, such as programs that target the microbiome and genetic contributors to IBD, as well as expand its patient-focused and professional-focused education programs.