Alice’s personal journey as a celiac disease survivor and champion for research in this field, coupled with her prior experience of more than two decades in healthcare business development and marketing, taught her that patients need to be educated and empowered with solid information in order to make decisions about their desired health outcomes. She believes that clinical research must include patients, caregivers and the healthcare community working together to focus on the most pressing areas of need for those living with a particular disease.
As a part of the Communications team, Bailey gets to share the work of Beyond Celiac with the world! She was diagnosed with celiac disease as a teenager and knows all too well how difficult adjusting to the gluten-free lifestyle can be. Before coming to Beyond Celiac, Bailey worked as a technical writer and editor, taking long-winded, complicated information and making it easy for the average person to understand. Now, she uses her editing, writing, and social media skills to expand the celiac community and encourage thoughtful conversation around the disease. When she’s not responding to questions on Instagram or drafting social posts, you can find her drawing at home or taking walks through the woods.
Kate supports patients and caregivers who share their experiences with us in pursuit of increased diagnosis rates, improved disease management and future treatments. She has worked on multiple qualitative and quantitative research projects focused on understanding the diagnostic and disease management experience and has long been interested in health communications and the patient journey. She manages our Go Beyond Celiac patient registry, assists in clinical trial recruitment proposal creation and planning, and oversees our Patient & Family Advisory Council. Kate holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Notre Dame and an MPH in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kate works in the Ambler, PA office.
Claire joined the Beyond Celiac staff in July 2014 with 20 years of non-profit management experience. Diagnosed with celiac disease, she sought to improve the lives of others who need to live gluten-free through her blog, social media and publications. Prior to joining Beyond Celiac, Claire served as Director of Gardening Programs for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). She managed the PHS City Harvest program and led community engagement and greening teams focused on gardening education, parks revitalization, youth environmental stewardship, Pop Up Gardens and more. Claire formerly served as Director of Operations and Interim Executive Director of the Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA), Executive Director of the William Way LGBT Community Center, and Manager of Off-Air Civic Engagement Activities and Events for WHYY.
Mary Kate is an accomplished leader with decades of experience in the nonprofit space. As an accomplished fundraising executive, Mary Kate excels in strategy, execution, team building and creating partnerships. As head of the Beyond Celiac development team, she builds mutually beneficial collaborations with strategic partners, fully understanding their needs and the needs of the celiac disease community.
Jordan Dubow is a board certified neurologist with fellowship training in movement disorders and vascular neurology, and began his medical career in academia as a movement disorders and stroke neurologist. Jordan received his medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine internship, neurology residency and fellowship training at University of California Los Angeles, Northwestern University and Weill Cornell Medical College. He has over a dozen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry where he has served as a full time or acting Chief Medical Officer for over 10 companies, leading all clinical and regulatory aspects of drug development. Jordan has worked on the FDA approval of 16 drugs new drug applications, has designed countless studies across all stages of development and has worked with over 100 companies providing strategic guidance in clinical development, clinical operations and regulatory affairs for drug development of small molecules, large molecules and cell and gene therapies.
Jordan has a son with celiac disease and is passionate about and dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for celiac disease.
Deanne brings a wealth of experience in the nonprofit sector to her role at Beyond Celiac, having worked in a variety of roles such as fundraising, development, project management, relationship management, and event planning. As an enthusiastic nonprofit professional, she joined the Beyond Celiac team in 2023 with the primary goal of cultivating and expanding partnerships that align with the organization’s mission. Deanne holds a Bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communication from Temple University. Her strategic mindset, coupled with her passion for social impact, makes her a valuable asset to the Beyond Celiac team.
Nancy joined Beyond Celiac in June of 2004 after working extensively for AT&T leading a global sales team focused on the needs of multi-national corporations. At Beyond Celiac, Nancy works across departmental lines to assist in operational matters along with programming, Philadelphia area events, contracts, sponsorship and supporting volunteers. She also is responsible for coordinating efforts with the Beyond Celiac Board of Directors, contributing to Beyond Celiac publications and working on Beyond Celiac programs for raising awareness. In addition to her work with Beyond Celiac, Nancy serves as the Chairperson for the Board of Directors of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC), an advocacy organization comprised of the major national voluntary and professional societies concerned with digestive diseases working to improve public policy and increase public awareness to promote the best possible medical outcome and quality of life for current and future patients. Nancy works out of the Ambler, PA office.
George J. Gorge is responsible for all finance operations at Beyond Celiac. Prior to joining Beyond Celiac, George held a variety of financial management positions; most recently he led the accounting department at Amplifier Research Corporation. George also was the Chief Financial Officer at the Girl Scout of Eastern Pennsylvania and held various financial management positions with Olympus Corporation of the Americas. Before joining Olympus George held several positions of increasing responsibility for a 21-year career with Subaru of America. George is a graduate of Drexel University with a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business majoring in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of both the American Institute of CPAs and the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs. George is also an active volunteer in both the community and church. George works out of the Ambler, PA office.
Valerie joined the Beyond Celiac team in 2020, first as a member of our inaugural Summer Intern Council, then as our Volunteer Engagement Intern, our Community Engagement Coordinator, and now Community Engagement Manager. Valerie graduated with a triple major in Medicine, Health, and Society; Psychology; and Women’s and Gender Studies from Vanderbilt University in the spring of 2021. After being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2015, Valerie started a career of advocacy that included creating an international network for newly diagnosed celiac teens, revolutionizing Vanderbilt’s special diet program, designing the Nima College Ambassador Program, and working individually to help students navigate collegiate life with Celiac Disease. She is extremely passionate about being an advocate for one’s self and excited to be working with Beyond Celiac to engage the community through the Reach Beyond Celiac ambassador program and work to advance a cure.
Isabel supports the advancement team in their work in donor relations and development. Before joining Beyond Celiac, she was active in climate change advocacy and worked at an environmental organization through the University of Rochester. Isabel has experience in database management and social sciences research. She earned a BA in Linguistics and Anthropology from the University of Rochester and is excited to be a part of a team working together toward a cure for celiac disease.
Erin joined Beyond Celiac in January 2022. She monitors grant awards and project progress, tracks metrics for the Go Beyond Celiac patient research database, and provides support to Beyond Celiac advisory boards and scientific partners. Prior to joining Beyond Celiac, she conducted research and managed federally funded subgrant awards that largely focused on food insecurity, healthy food access, and the reduction of health disparities. Erin is a graduate of Brown University, where she earned both her undergraduate degree in Public Health and an MPH in Global Health. She is based in Wilmington, DE.
Amy Ratner joined Beyond Celiac in 2016 as the medical and science news analyst to provide coverage of celiac disease research news. She has extensive experience reporting on and writing about celiac disease. She was editor-in-chief, associate editor and contributing editor for 23 years at Gluten-Free Living magazine, where her work touched on all topics related to celiac disease, including lifestyle, diet, nutrition, and medical and research developments. When Amy’s daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease as a toddler 24 years ago, she was set on a path that combined her commitment to improving life for those with celiac disease with her journalism training. She holds of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Pennsylvania State University and was an award-winning newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania before working in alumni relations for Goucher College in Baltimore and in communications for the Service Employees International Union in Washington, D.C. Her writing about celiac disease has also appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Baby Talk magazine, Allergic Living and other publications. Her current role has expanded to include managing Beyond Celiac research grant awards and scientific partnerships. Her family has now grown to include two grandsons.
Debra Silberg, MD, PhD, FACG is an accomplished life sciences executive with deep experience across all stages of drug development. She serves as a Scientific Advisor to multiple pharmaceutical companies. She is currently a Scientific Advisor and on the Board of Directors of Ellodi Pharmaceuticals. She has held clinical leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Shire, and Takeda, where she served as the company’s Global Vice President of Clinical Development and Clinical Science Head for Gastroenterology. In this role, she was responsible for the Gastrointestinal (GI) program team, which included approximately 30 physicians and clinical
scientists across the US, Europe, China, and Japan who were focused on several GI diseases, including celiac disease. Additionally, Dr. Silberg oversaw the clinical aspects and led discussions with regulatory authorities (FDA and EMA) to facilitate the advancement of numerous GI development programs.
Dr. Silberg earned her BS degree at the University of Michigan, her PhD in Immunology from Wayne State University School of Medicine, and her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She then became a faculty member in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania where she treated patients and was the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded molecular biology laboratory. Dr. Silberg has been the recipient of seven NIH grants, published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, served on numerous national scientific committees, and is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. Email Debra.
As Senior Director of Donor Relations, Mary handles a wide range of development functions, including communications and special events. She joined Beyond Celiac in April 2016 shortly after the organization’s rebranding and shift in focus to accelerate research. Previously, Mary worked as a clinical medical librarian after completing a post-graduate fellowship with the National Library Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. She was introduced to development work through community outreach work in Chester County while raising her now college-aged children. She holds a BA in English from Cornell University and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland. Mary works out of the Ambler, PA office.
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