Karen Peluso
Executive Director
Karen Peluso has been involved with the NF effort since 1982. At that time her daughter was seriously impacted by NF type1 and she and her husband, Bert, were shocked by the lack of awareness of NF, as well as the fact that very little scientific research was being conducted into the genetics of NF and possible treatments.
Determined to change that, they sought out other families and patients who were living with NF and the organization now known as Neurofibromatosis Northeast was founded around a kitchen table. Read more
Diana Flahive
Director of Operations and Events
Diana joined NF Northeast in March 2015 and hit the ground running, taking the lead and growing the organization’s special events program at a pivotal point in its long history. Diana has a Master’s Degree in Communications Management and a Bachelor of Art Degree in Organizational Communication. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare event industry, including past roles planning and executing comprehensive fundraising events at Partners HealthCare, Lahey Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Read more
Anne Patterson
Community Outreach Coordinator
supporting the New York and Tri-State Area
Anne lives in East Aurora, New York and is the organizations “boots on the ground” in the Tri-State Area, where she engages daily with individuals, families and clinicians in the neurofibromatosis community. Anne’s background working in the human service field combined with her many years of dedicated volunteer efforts for those with neurofibromatosis has led to a position that she finds both professionally and personally satisfying.
In alignment with Neurofibromatosis Northeast’s commitment to increasing support for individuals affected by NF, Anne spends much of her time cultivating relationships with families and clinicians throughout the Tri-State Area. Her efforts focus on increasing visibility of the resources NF Northeast offers, such as creating patient and family support matching programs, assisting with NF related events and fundraisers, promoting advocacy efforts at the state and federal level and informing medical professionals of how NF Northeast can be a resource to their patients. Read more
Jennifer Brickley
Communications and Development Coordinator
Jennifer received her degree in Journalism from the University of Northern Colorado, where she grew up.
After graduating and looking for a new adventure she moved to Boston where she first worked as an Account Executive at Schwartz Communications before finding her love and passion for nonprofit work at Wide Horizons for Children and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Jenny McDonald
Gift and Data Coordinator
After time at home with her two children, Jenny arrived at Neurofibromatosis Northeast in summer 2018 to restart her 15-year donor relations career, which began in higher education. She coordinated donor appreciation and funds allocation at MIT and Harvard to ensure timely recognition of and accountability to top-tier donors. At NF Northeast she gratefully records and acknowledges the generosity of the NF community. The tributes that arrive in the mail and through cyberspace each day are a testament to the dedication of so many to finding a cure for NF. Making sure those fighters know how much NF Northeast appreciates their efforts is an honor and a privilege.
Jackie Vitolo
Special Events Coordinator
Jackie is the newest member of the NF Northeast family, joining us at the end of summer 2019. For over ten years she has worked in all aspects of catering and events, including serving, on-site managing, and all the behind-the-scenes organization leading up to an event. For the last four years she has been a catering manager at Harvard Business School in Boston. She has coordinated a wide assortment of events, from small, intimate dinners to reunions spanning across the entire HBS campus.
At NF Northeast, Jackie is the Special Events Coordinator and the main point of contact for all our third-party events. She’s excited to dive in and learn the ins and outs of non-profit events. She believes there’s nothing better than putting hard work, time and energy in the preparation of an event, then seeing it all come together as a great success.
