2022-2023
GlobalSkin and its activities are governed by a Board of Directors from around the world.
This diverse team has the skills needed to lead a strong, sustainable, effective international organization.
All of our Board Directors are skin patient leaders in their own organizations who, in many cases, are skin patients themselves. In their local role they work directly with skin patients, parents and/or caregivers. The GlobalSkin Board of Directors is very active and meets regularly — both in person and via videoconference.
Executive Committee
Marc Yale – President

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.
Cheryl Talent – Vice President

Cheryl Talent
As President of the Eczema Association of Australasia Inc (EAA) www.eczema.org.au, Cheryl is passionate about helping eczema sufferers and their carers towards a better quality of life and encouraging them to self-advocate for their skin disease.
Having herself been an eczema sufferer since she was just a few days old, she became involved with the EAA in 1997 as a volunteer when she was in her mid-30s after having the worst eczema flare-up she had experienced in over 15 years.
Cheryl has a background in office administration and she has studied Business Development.
The EAA’s education and support helped her to keep take charge and keep her eczema mostly under control and she believes this is the key for most eczema sufferers.
Eczema can be a very debilitating skin condition that can be extremely difficult to live with. Although there is no cure, we know that good management is attainable for most sufferers.
As EAA President, Cheryl’s role is to educate people about eczema and how to manage it, to work with companies who have products that can help, and liaise with health professionals and researchers to ensure the EAA is providing the most up to date advice and support.
David McMahon – Treasurer

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.
Gaylord Inena Wa Inena - Secretary

Gaylord Inena Wa Inena
Gaylord Inena Wa Inena is the Chief Executive Officer of CORBETTA RDC, the Congolese organization fighting against skin cancers in persons living with oculocutaneous albinism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries (Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Equatorial Guinea).
Gaylord is a medical doctor, dermatologist, and psychiatrist who has experience and skills in the management of skin conditions and complications linked to oculocutaneous albinism in several countries of Africa. He is also building a model of holistic management of medical issues linked to albinism using a biopsychosocial model.
He plans to make sunscreens available in countries throughout Africa by lobbying and engaging the different levels of government and the pharmaceutical industry.
Board Directors
Michelle Capon - Board Director

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 - Board Director

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.
Ritu Jain - Board Director

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.
Tran Hong Truong - Board Director

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.
Board Committees
Finance & Risk Committee
Marc Yale, Chair
International Pemphigus Pemphigoid Foundation
USA
Michelle Capon
Canadian Association for Porphyria
Canada
Gary Lai
Hong Kong Psoriasis Patients Association
Hong Kong
Rachel Ogola
Eczema Society of Kenya
Kenya
Susan Thornton
Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation
USA
Murray Turner
Psoriasis Australia
Australia
Membership Committee
Truong Tran, Chair
PsorViet
Vietnam
Cheryl Talent
Eczema Association of Australasia
Australia
Gaylord Inena Wa Inena
CORBETTA/RDC
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Špela Novak
Društvo Atopijski Dermatitis
Slovenia
Jorge Perez
Vitiligo Support and Research Group
Cuba
Susan Thornton
Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation
USA
Conference Committee
Michelle Capon, Chair
Canadian Association for Porphyria
Canada
Julie Block
National Eczema Association
USA
Guillermo Gutierrez
Fundapso Colombia
Colombia
Susanna Palkonen
European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA)
Belgium
Nominations Committee
Michelle Capon, Chair
Canadian Association for Porphyria
Canada
Ritu Jain
DEBRA Singapore
Singapore
Ogo Maduewesi
Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation
Nigeria
Strategic Plan Working Group
Lisa Pieretti
International Hyperhidrosis Society
USA
Simmie Smith
Canadian Psoriasis Network
Canada
Murray Turner
Psoriasis Australia
Australia
Marc Yale
International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation
USA
Advisory Committees
Atopic Eczema Advisory Committee
Michele Guadalupe
National Eczema Assc.
USA
Korey Capozza
Parents for Eczema Research
USA
Melanie Funk
Eczema Support Australia
Australia
Tina Mesaric
Atopika
Slovenia
Kelly Barta
Coalition for Skin Diseases
United States
Spela Novak
Drustvo Atopijski Dermatitis
Slovenia
Rachel Ogola
Eczema Society of Kenya
Kenya
Cheryl Talent
Eczema Assc. of Australasia
Australia
Tonya Winders
Allergy and Asthma Network
US
RareDERM Advisory Committee
Laurence Gallu
Assc. Pemphigus Pemphigoid France
France
Lex van der Heijden
CMTC
Netherlands
Marjolein van Kessel
Naevus Global
Netherlands
Rachael Manion
Canadian Skin Patient Alliance
Canada
Tricha Shivas
Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research
USA
Annemarie Sluijmers
Lupus Europe
Netherlands
Susan Thornton
Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation
USA
GlobalSkin-Europe Patient Leader Advisory Committee
Isobel Davies
PEM Friends
UK
Antoine Gliksohn
Genespoir (Albinism)
France
Africa Luca de Tena
Asociación de Afectados por la Dermatitis Atópica (AADA)
Spain
Yalchin Mammadov
GlobalSkin
Belgium
Jaime Melancia
PSOPortugal
Portugal
Tina Mesaric
Atopika
Slovenia
Spela Novak
Drustvo Atopijski Dermatitis
Slovenia
Annemarie Sluijmers
Lupus Europe
Netherlands
Gunter Van Dyck
Allergienet
Belgium
Karin Veldman
Vereniging voor Ichthyosis Netwerken
Netherlands
GRIDD Patient Organization Advisory Committee
Love Gifty Afezuke
Fundación Nacional de Albinismo Simplemente Amigos
Argentina
Myriam Ben Lamine Jarrar
Association Tunisienne du Vitiligo
Tunisia
Laurence Gallu
Association Pemphigus Pemphigoïde France (APPF)
France
Gary Hing-kwan Lai
Hong Kong Psoriasis Patients Association
Hong Kong
Ritu Jain
DEBRA Singapore
Singapore
Ogo Maduewesi
Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation
Nigeria
Rachael Manion
Canadian Skin Patient Alliance
Canada
Bill McCue
PRP Alliance
USA
Toni Roberts
DEBRA South Africa
South Africa
Christine Roxburgh
Eczema Outreach Support
UK
Truong Tran
PsorViet
Vietnam
Marc Yale
International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation
USA