Board of Directors

Marc Yale

Marc Yale was diagnosed in 2007 with Cicatricial Pemphigoid, a rare autoimmune blistering skin disease. Like others with a rare disease, he experienced delays in diagnosis and difficulty finding a knowledgeable physician. Eventually, Marc lost the vision in his left eye from the disease. This inspired him to help others with the disease.

In 2008, he joined the International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation (IPPF) as a Peer Health Coach. He worked with people to improve their quality of life and encouraged them to become self-advocates. In 2009, he helped develop the Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Comprehensive Disease Profile giving experts insight into the patient perspective. In 2016, Marc became the Executive Director of the IPPF. He has recently become the Advocacy & Research Coordinator of the IPPF so that he can focus on research and advocate for all those affected by pemphigus and pemphigoid.

He is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology Drug Transparency Task Force, sits on the Executive Board of Directors for the International Alliance of Dermatology Patient Organizations as their President, serves on the Board of Directors of Haystack Project, and is a committee advisor for Rare Disease Legislative Advocates. Last year, Marc joined Rare Disease International in the establishment of the WHO Collaborative Global Network for Rare Diseases Panel of Experts to ensure a lasting impact on the lives of people living with a rare disease around the globe.

Marc currently resides in Ventura, California with his wife of 32 years.

Ritu Jain

Ritu Jain is a founder and current President of Dystropic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association (DEBRA) Singapore, the Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) patient advocacy and support organization that she helped establish in 2015. She is aslo the current President of DEBRA International and sits on various rare disease organization boards such as the Asia Pacific Alliance of Rare Disease Organisations, Rare Diseases International (RDI), and the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC). 

​In her various roles, Ritu focuses on health equity through empowering patients and families, organizing local and regional conferences for capacity building and improved delivery of care, and advocating for policy changes. She is also invested in fostering collaboration of local and international clinicians/researchers as well as pharmaceutical organizations, for enhanced research initiatives and clinical trials for improvement in the quality of lives of individuals living with rare diseases. Ritu’s experience as a caregiver for a daughter with EB and her familiarity with the culture, conditions, and challenges of those with rare diseases in Asia makes her a suitable voice within global rare diseases organizations.

 Beyond these volunteer roles, Ritu is a sociolinguist and teaches graduate and undergraduate students at a local university. A PhD, Ritu’s research interest is in Language Policy and its impact on immigrant minorities in multilingual sites.

David McMahon

David is the Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Skin Foundation, a dermatology-focused patient organization and charity.

David is a public affairs and communications professional with a proven track record in NGO management, leadership, government relations, lobbying and stakeholder engagement. He has multi-sector experience gained in central government, the patient organisation sector and in pharmaceutical marketing.

He plans to provide a dermatology-wide patient viewpoint to the board and to offer practical guidance in working with sponsors and funders, particularly those in the pharma industry.

Michelle Capon

Michelle has over 15 years of healthcare experience both here in Canada and overseas in the UK. She currently runs the Patient Support programs in Canada for GlaxoSmithKline but prior to joining GSK she worked for Bayshore Healthcare for nine years in multiple roles but most recently as Director of Operations, Patient Support Services.

Michelle brings extensive experience in successfully managing major projects for government, hospitals, and healthcare professionals and has extensive knowledge of IT systems. Michelle currently resides in Georgetown Ontario with her two sons who are 11 and 6. Michelle is also a board member of the Canadian Association for Porphyria for the past three years and also is an Erythropoietic protoporphyria patient diagnosed at age 10.

Guillermo Gutierrez

Guillermo Gutierrez is a Colombian Journalism Association (ACP) journalist and social communicator.  He has a Public Health degree from Pontifical Bolivarian University and is currently serving as the General Director of Fundapso Colombia and the Vice President of Alapso. He has been working for over 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry as well as in the medical community.

His experience, approach, and status as a patient have given him a unique perspective as both patient and caretaker, allowing him to work towards the improvement of patient’s life quality and treatment while also bringing down several barriers of the healthcare system.

Guillermo is a passionate ad empathetic person who always considers the well-being of those in his care and is always willing to go the extra mile for anyone in need.

Tina Mesarič

Tina Mesarič is the founder and executive director of Institut Atopika, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation that addresses the needs of patients with atopic dermatitis and their families. Tina Mesarič founded Institut Atopika with a passion and goal to advocate, raise awareness, empower patients, and bridge the gap between patients and physicians. As a patient and caregiver of a patient herself, she strives to share her knowledge and personal experiences with atopic dermatitis to parents of children with atopic dermatitis, as well as adolescent and adult patients struggling with the disease.

In 2019, Tina joined the Atopic Eczema Advisory Board at GlobalSkin. She is also a member of the GlobalSkin Europe Advisory Board as of March 2021. In 2022, she became a EUPATI Fellow. 

Tina has a background in biological sciences and a PhD in biological sciences, more specifically in nanotoxicology. Through her experience in laboratory biomedicine and after completing her qualifying exam in 2016, she holds the title of Healthcare Professional. She is currently the Head of Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office at the University of Maribor.

Toni Roberts

A dedicated advocate for rare disease patients, Toni co-founded DEBRA South Africa after years of connecting and supporting individuals affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa around the country. Armed with her degree in psychology and ten years of experience as a qualified psychological counsellor, she provides practical assistance and emotional support to patients near and far. Appointed as the president of the newly established DEBRA International Youth Council, Toni continues her mission to uplift and up-skill the next generation of leaders. Toni has also been appointed to lead within the GlobalSkin African Regional Network's first Working Group, further expanding her impact and influence in the patient-led community. As she is half Swiss, her efforts extend beyond borders as she travels both locally and internationally, championing for effective awareness, advocating for improved guidelines, and amplifying the voices of patients. With unwavering commitment and compassion, Toni strives to make a tangible difference in the lives of those impacted by dermatological conditions, embodying the spirit of empathy and authenticity.

Tran Hong Truong

Tran Hong Truong has a background in teaching and worked at Hanoi University until 2010 after which he took the opportunity for a new position as the President of the Vietnam Association of Psoriasis Patients.

From there, Tran has been a very active member of the Psoriasis Community at large. In 2011 he became a Member of the Asia-Pacific Psoriasis Association, a Member of the IFPA in 2013, as well as becoming a Member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Dermatology Association in 2015.

And finally was accepted as a Member of GlobalSkin Membership in 2019.

Maya Tulpule

Dr Maya Tulpule was born in Nagpur, India, and holds a Master of Surgery and Diploma in Anaesthesia.

She has lived with vitiligo since the age of 10. Despite receiving the best available treatment, she became totally depigmented at the age of 48. Luckily, she has good family support, a higher education in the medical field, and is economically self-sufficient; therefore, her quality of life has been very good despite suffering from vitiligo.

In India, vitiligo has a social taboo leading to a lot of discrimination, social segregation, and difficulties in getting jobs and in getting married. After going through her own life experience of vitiligo and getting totally depigmented, she wanted to work on helping people like her and help those unfortunate people who do not have good opportunities in life.

Murray Turner

Murray is currently CEO of Psoriasis Australia.

He is a qualified lawyer with a wealth of experience in management. He has worked at one of Australia’s top-tier law firms that represented 40 of Australia’s top 50 companies, where he was responsible for the management of a variety of cases including a $4bn sale of one of Australia’s iconic businesses, multi-million-dollar shareholder class actions, international environmental disasters and contract disputes involving governments, corporations and individuals.

He has also had a successful career in sports management at state, national and international levels, where he has been a delegate to the Australian Olympic Committee, a delegate of an International Sporting Organisation, and a member of numerous steering committees relating to strategy development and financial and risk management.

Murray has served on GlobalSkin’s Finance and Risk Committee as well as the Strategic Plan Steering Committee.