“One Voice,” explained our new fearless food allergy leader, John Lehr. Wahoo! In case you hadn’t heard yet, we have a new reigning leader in the food allergy world who has committed himself to leading the charge to keep individuals with food allergies safe and included while relentlessly seeking new therapies and, ultimately, a cure. As a food allergy community, we are seeing our ranks expanding, schools scratching their heads, the need for new public policy to address this growing public health issue, and therapies or a cure are now on topping our list of “must haves.” The answers for our challenges just might be coming along sooner than we think thanks to a “One Voice” merger.
At the Las Vegas Walk 2012
Do you remember that old commercial where a guy eating a chocolate bar walks into the girl eating the peanut butter and this culinary collision introduced one of the biggest candy sensations in America? If you can remember it, then I know how old you really are!! Kidding aside, bringing together these two American staples was a game changer for the Hershey Company.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJLDF6qZUX0]
Sidebar: Even though Reese’s Cups are a pure nightmare for my family, I still love that commercial, we just make our own homemade version with chocolate and Sunbutter!
By the end of this year, our food allergy community will witness our biggest game changer to date and to say I am off the hook thrilled is really just an understatement. If you haven’t heard the good news yet: the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) are merging together to create one powerfully strong and enthusiastic VOICE.
FAAN has been the world’s leader in education, advocacy, support, research, and often a caring voice on the other end of the phone explaining that everything will be alright. FAAN’s membership includes 22,000 families and medical professionals, schools, dieticians, etc., worldwide. FAI has been the world’s largest private source of funding for food allergy research and has supported research, clinical trials, public policy and educational initiatives. FAI to date, has committed $77 million to our cause!
I’m trying to get my head around the magnitude of this merger and what our food allergy community can accomplish! Needless to say, the merger piqued my curiosity of who will be at the helm. Apple became Apple thanks to Steve Jobs and the thousands of uber brilliant creative and techie types. So, do we have our own food allergy version of Steve Jobs? Could be! Our guy is John Lehr.
I had the honor of meeting John at the recent 2012 FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in Las Vegas, which was a raging success (bias aside of course), and then spending some time chatting on the phone. Selfishly, I wanted to know if we had a “good one” leading the charge.
To sum it up, John has an amazing background (which you can read more about in the original press release about the merger: FAAN and FAI Announce Intent to Merge. I was curious as to why he chose us and our challenges. He could easily be king of many other kingdoms, so why ours? He has a nephew with food allergies, but no other direct experience or link into our food allergy world. Sometimes it’s not easy living this awkward world of no cure, life-threatening food allergies, with some possible therapies on the horizon and an enormous need for public education. So, why us?
He won me over instantly with his answer! “The choice to work on food allergies was an easy one,” he explained. John truly believes we are within reach of finding workable therapies and treatments, he can see our vision of increased research, education and resources, and fundraising, but most of all, he felt the new organization can offer hope. Real hope. I asked about where he hopes the new organization will be five years from now and he had his answer ready and waiting: robust research that continues to explore treatments that can keep food allergic individuals safe; access for newly diagnosed patients to evidence-based materials and relevant information; all states stocking epinephrine in schools, and a huge portion of schools across the country trained to administer epinephrine; raising awareness of food allergies as potentially life-threatening and a serious public health issue; and engaging more communities in fundraising.
John is also focused on helping food allergy families move away from a life of fear. My family had to work hard on moving from fear, right after diagnosis, to diligently taking steps towards safety and not being afraid of life. I can relate very much to this concern, it was daunting in the beginning and I was grateful for my food allergy mentors and FAAN.
I asked John what is the best thing about his new job right now and he discussed how much he enjoys attending the FAAN Walks for Food Allergy, meeting the families there and listening to how they cope with the unique challenges they face. He views the Walks not only as fundraisers, but as warm, family-friendly events (I agree after attending my first Las Vegas Walk – it was fun, but I also felt embraced as the parent of children with food allergies). His weekends are all about family and spending time with his young daughter. I asked him to share one thing most folks might not know about him, and he explained that early in his career he was a Peace Corps volunteer who was stationed in Sri Lanka. That experience was, in his words, eye-opening and had a significant impact on him as he helped members of the community he served who were living in poverty and hardship.
I am grateful for the merger and knowing that the person leading our charge is ready to advance our cause even further!
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Great job Caroline ! I love your positive outlook and encourging words ! Miss you Friend.
Hugz, Kim
I just really enjoyed my conversation with John Lehr as I clearly felt we are truly moving into the next phase and this man is very dedicated and committed to service. For the first time, I’m personally looking toward the future with hopes of finding a therapy or cure. Basically, I’ve remained single focused…stay safe and not really peeked in these area. Exciting times await us!
Thank you for sharing the news with us!!
Thank you for giving us the scoop.
I love that you had a phone chat with John Lehr. Thanks for sharing your conversation with us. I too am feeling very hopeful!
I feel it in my gut that good things are coming. I’m hopeful too.