Board of Directors

Barry Meil, Board Chair, a resident of Potomac, MD, develops commercial real estate in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Meil serves on the board of several health-related charitable organizations and runs the Meil Family Foundation. He also previously served on the ACHA Board of Directors from 2008-2013. Barry’s wife Wendy is an ACHA Ambassador. His son Jason was born with tetralogy of Fallot in 1981. Jason had corrective surgery in 1984 and is currently being seen at Children’s National Medical Center in D.C.

John C. Fernie, Immediate Past Chair, became curious about ACHA as his young adult child with congenital heart defects discovered ACHA. They found that the organization provided extremely important support and encouragement through its forums, previous local groups, conferences, leadership and educational opportunities. John attended the 2011 ACHA national conference and was very impressed with the professionalism that ACHA exhibited during the conference as well as the commitment of patients and medical professionals to ACHA. John’s professional experience includes a stint as a college professor and subsequently 32 years in management positions in the finance and real estate industry. He is currently a Trustee on the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation and has served on the governing boards of several for-profit and non-profit organizations. John and his wife Barbara, who is a hospital Chaplain and also an active member in several charitable organizations, have two children. 

Nicholas Pottebaum, secretary, is an experienced finance and accounting professional, currently serving as a business analysis director at CNA, a large insurance carrier in Chicago. Prior to his current role, Nicholas was a consultant in CNA’s financial planning and analysis group, and before that he held various positions at KPMG in both audit and business valuation consulting. Nicholas holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. Nicholas was born with a coarctation of the aorta that was diagnosed and surgically repaired when he was 11. He became actively involved with ACHA in 2014 and is passionate about creating awareness around the need for CHD-specific medical treatment to save and extend lives. Nick resides in Chicago with his wife, Andrea, and son, Robert.

Heather Abbott has more than 12 years of experience in marketing and business development. She is a Retail Marketing Consultant specializing in helping retailers manage their gift card programs and she also runs her own online travel business. Heather became involved with ACHA in 2005 after attending a regional event in New Jersey. Since then, she has served on the ACHA Board of Directors from 2008-2014, including several years as treasurer. She is also the Co-Chair of the Congenital Heart Walk Long Island and has been a champion of the Congenital Heart Walk program since its initial inception in late 2009. Heather is thrilled to be rejoining the ACHA Board in 2016 and looks forward to using her marketing and social media skills to help ACHA broaden its reach to congenital heart patients who are currently lost to proper care. In addition to her work with ACHA, Heather also serves on the Board of the Incentive Marketing Association and as a member of the Cornell University Council. In her free time, Heather loves to travel, read, attend Zumba class and train for runDisney 5K and 10K races. Heather has a BS and MBA from Cornell University and she resides in the greater New York City area with her husband.

Jeff Ishida is Vice President of Real Estate Development at Costco Wholesale who received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is a Mustard corrected d-TGA and discovered ACHA in 2009 just before the placement of his first ICD. Jeff found it to be an invaluable source of information, encouragement and camaraderie for adults tackling the complex and uncharted process of aging with a CHD. Currently receiving care at the Washington Adult Congenital Heart Program at Children's National in DC, he is an avid climber, runner and paddle boarder who hopes to inspire other CHD patients to be as active as possible. Jeff lives in Reston, Virginia with his wife, Heather, and sons, Daniel and Mason.

Aliza Marlin first committed to advocacy and awareness at age 15 by planning a “Jazzercise for Heart” fundraiser.  She was introduced to the Adult Congenital Heart Association after transitioning to an adult CHD specialist and now serves as the Co-Chair of the NYC Congenital Heart Walk, an organic evolution of her teenage dedication. Aliza’s personal mission through ACHA is to gather the adult CHD community together to feel less isolated; to openly and honestly share their unique experiences in a safe environment. Aliza received her BFA from Emerson College in Boston and is a professional Event Planner for New York City’s most iconic and impactful events. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA, The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists as well as Actors’ Equity Association. As a means to find balance, Aliza is also a Certified Yoga Instructor. Aliza and her husband, Gary, live two blocks away from Times Square. 

Camille Richards, MSN, FNP-BC, is the program director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. She received her undergraduate training at the University of Virginia School of Nursing and her graduate training at the University of Florida School of Nursing. As a Mississippi native, Camille is well aware of the medical disparities among the patient populations in the state. While researching patient education resources for her program, Camille found the ACHA website. She began communicating with the Adult Congenital Heart Association to bring attention to the unique patient issues in Mississippi in order to fill the gaps in their care. She attended the Legislative Conference in 2015 and was impressed by the impact that providers, patients and families affected by CHD have on the legislature. She joined the board in hopes of expanding CHD knowledge within her state and drawing attention to the challenges CHD patients face. In her spare time, Camille is an avid kayaker and enjoys challenging outdoor adventures with her husband, Peter.

Susan Timmins is the mother of an adult daughter with CHD. With continual gratitude to the dedication of her daughter’s surgeons and cardiologists for providing innovative surgeries, procedures, and care from the 1980’s to present, she has volunteered over many years with several organizations and foundations committed to improving the lives of those with congenital heart defects and other serious diseases. She attended her first ACHA conference in 2006 and has participated with ACHA in DC since 2007 in advocating for CHD research funding.  Susan is delighted to join with ACHA’s other board members and staff in working toward ACHA’s mission of improving and extending the lives of everyone born with a CHD. She is passionate about ensuring access to everyone with CHD to quality appropriate lifelong CHD care. She and her husband reside on the west coast of Florida where they have owned and operated a restaurant perched by the Gulf of Mexico for the past 31 years.

Tom Wix was born with a coarctation of the aorta and a bicuspid aortic valve. Both defects went undetected until the age of 12 where he was asked to get a physical in order to try out for a soccer team. At the age of 13, the narrowing of the aorta was repaired. The bicuspid valve continues to perform normal functions and continues to be monitored with annual checkups. Tom has advanced degrees in Business and Computer Science. He has worked as an engineer, architect, consultant for numerous software related companies for over 35 years. During his professional career, he has also been an entrepreneur starting a consulting company and working for numerous companies managing the customer services departments. He has continued an active life including soccer, running, tennis, and golf and volunteering for several charities. Tom and his wife live in Alpharetta, Georgia, and he currently works for a software company as Customer Success Operations Director.