Meet the IETF's first Community Ambassadors

After weeks of reading resumes and conducting phone and personal interviews, the IETF is proud to introduce our first Community Ambassadors: Dr. Preston Boggess, Copper Hill, VA; Dr. Wayne J. Dubner, Alpharetta, GA; Peter M. Muller, Centreville, VA; Joan Swinson Robbins, Stuart, FL; and, Betty Ann Schwarz, Katy, TX.

Community Ambassadors will work within their communities in activities to support the IETF mission of assisting those affected by ET, raising awareness about the condition, and funding ET research.

Preston Boggess, MD

Preston recently retired from private medical practice in pediatrics and is a professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of Virginia. In addition, he is an IETF Support Group leader and coordinator of support groups in the western Virginia area.

Asked why he applied for the Ambassador Program, Preston replied, “I applied in order to continue my efforts to create a network of ET support groups in Virginia (three new groups in the past year). In addition, I wish to increase awareness of ET among health professionals and among their patients. Working under the banner of the IETF will ensure greater success.

“I have had ET since the age of 16. Working with the IETF, my tremor will be an asset for the first time in my life. Thank you!”

Wayne J. Dubner, DPM

Wayne recently retired from private practice as a podiatrist and has also served as a volunteer diabetes educator, both in the Atlanta, GA, area. He feels strongly about becoming an IETF ambassador.

“I was diagnosed with ET in May 2006 when I was 41. My tremor had a sudden onset, and in the span of two weeks, I left my job as a podiatrist and lost my identity as a healthcare professional. Being a doctor had fulfilled my strong drive to help others, and I found the transition from doctor to patient difficult. I applied for the Ambassador position because I saw an opportunity to continue serving others and to educate healthcare providers about ET.

“I feel strongly that the city of Atlanta and surrounding areas have pressing needs in establishing support groups, increasing community awareness of ET, providing in-depth and up-to-date information about ET to primary care physicians, and establishing the IETF as the primary resource for information about ET.”

Peter M. Muller

Peter is a senior management consultant for Strategic Edge, a healthcare communications company, in Burke, VA. Having ET for 33 years, and being unaware of what it was, Peter says that he wants “to do anything I can to increase awareness of it.”

Specifically, Peter wants to increase awareness of ET throughout the federal government, which he hopes could lead to increased funding for research. “Ultimately, I’d like to see that increased funding leading to a better way to treat ET.”

Joan Swinson Robbins

Joan is retired from the financial services industry and is a former IETF Support Group leader in West Palm Beach, FL. Joan defines her goals as an ambassador as furthering the goals of the IETF by providing educational material especially to newly diagnosed people, attaining funds for research, encouraging support groups, establishing a network of contacts concerned about ET, and increasing awareness.

Betty Ann Schwarz

Betty is a retired teacher and educational diagnostician. Asked why she applied for the Ambassador Program, she said, “I saw it as an opportunity to discuss ET with the public in a more authoritative manner. By being associated with the Foundation, I feel that the message will have a great deal more validity. My main goal is to educate the public with the facts of ET, to give those afflicted with the tremor more information about their condition, and to form support groups to let them know they are not alone. Also, it is my desire to give those not afflicted with tremor more information and help them not make assumptions about people who have tremor. Eventually, I hope to instill the desire for research that will enable us to find a cure for a disease that is far from benign.”