About Us

Mr. Mariano Votta is the Director of Active Citizenship Network (ACN), an international branch of the Italian NGO Cittadinanzattiva, where he oversees European Affairs. With 20 years of experience in advocacy, stakeholder engagement, European projects, communication, and civic information, Mariano is passionate about healthcare and consumer issues. He currently manages Public Affairs and Project Management at the EU level, but began his career as a Communication Officer at Cittadinanzattiva. Mariano has represented Cittadinanzattiva/Active Citizenship Network with various European Commission DGs and other stakeholders on topics such as vaccination, antimicrobial resistance, and patients' rights. He is also on the Board/Executive Committee of several organisations, including Pain Alliance Europe and Health First Europe, and serves as an Editorial Board Member of Advances in Health and Behavior. Mariano holds a graduate degree in Political Science and two post-graduate degrees in European Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility.

For more than two decades, Dr. Neda Milevska Kostova has been involved in health research, policy, and patient advocacy. Currently, she serves as the director of the Institute for Social Innovations and as the President of Studiorum, a think-tank located in Macedonia. Additionally, she holds various leadership positions, including Vice-chair of the Governing Board of the International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAPO), President of the IAPO Patients for Patient Safety Observatory in Geneva, and Vice-president of Health First Europe, an umbrella organisation in Brussels focused on improving access to innovative health technologies in Europe. Throughout her career, Dr. Milevska Kostova has demonstrated strategic leadership in creating, communicating, and implementing health policies that involve stakeholders from across society. She has also worked to build networks and institutions in Southeast Europe and support newly established patient organisations with policy development and advocacy at national, regional, and international levels. Her dedication to the health system and health status was recognized in 2018 when she was awarded the title of Primarius by the Minister of Health. Dr. Milevska Kostova has authored over 90 published articles, book chapters, reports, editorials, and other publications, and has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for European Issues "Evrodijalog" since 2005.

Ms. Christine Verini, RPh is the Chief Operating Officer at CancerCare, a national organisation that provides free professional support services and information to help people manage the emotional, practical, and financial challenges of cancer. In her role, she oversees daily operations and provides leadership to various functional areas such as human resources, finance, information technology, and marketing, among others. Prior to joining CancerCare, she held several positions at global pharmaceutical company Eisai Inc., where she oversaw employee engagement, external communications, and corporate advocacy activities. Ms. Verini has also created a patient advocacy support program called Magnolia during her tenure at Eisai. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and is a registered pharmacist by training. Ms. Verini has received several awards for her outstanding contributions to the healthcare industry and is currently the Chair of HealthyWomen, an independent health information organisation.

Since 2007, Mr. Thomas N. Heymann has been a part of Sepsis Alliance, and he has held the position of President and CEO since 2013. During his tenure, he has successfully led the organisation to achieve consecutive years of growth, and has been instrumental in increasing sepsis awareness from 19% to 65%. Additionally, he oversaw the expansion of sepsis.org, which now serves over 2.5 million patients, family members, caregivers, and medical professionals annually. Thomas N. Heymann also played a key role in the establishment of the Sepsis Alliance Clinical Community, the Sepsis Alliance Institute, which has trained more than 40,000 health professionals, and Sepsis Alliance Voices, a new advocacy platform. With senior business development and operating experience in both commercial and non-profit sectors, Thomas N. Heymann also held leadership positions at Little Kids Rock and Young Audiences New York. He presently serves as an advisory board member of the Canadian Sepsis Foundation.

Mr. Danjuma Adda is a Nigerian prince who is an expert in public health and is dedicated to raising awareness about Hepatitis. He contracted Hepatitis B while in clinical rotations and lost his mother to the disease several years later. Despite Hepatitis being responsible for more deaths per year than HIV/AIDS, it receives much less global health funding. Danjuma is a strong advocate for Hepatitis patients in Nigeria and uses his charity organisation, established in 2008, to champion the most vulnerable populations across Africa. He seeks to shift the narrative about Hepatitis and draw attention to the severity of the disease. With a background in microbiology/virology and an MPH, and over 15 years of experience in public health and advocacy, Danjuma has been elected as the President of the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), making him the first African to hold this position.

Mr. Daniel Gallego graduated in Labor Relations from the University of Valencia, Spain. He gained experience working in the transport sector as an Administrative and Human Resources director. He has also been actively involved in supporting people with kidney diseases, in the Balearic Islands but also in the rest of Spain. Since 1995, mr. Gallego has been a haemodialysis patient. Mr. Gallego has held several positions in the associative field, including serving as a Vice President of the National Federation of Associations for the Fight Against Kidney Diseases/ALCER, since 2014 and as Vice President of COCEMFE from 2018 to 2020. Currently mr. Gallego is the secretary of Social Impact and Agenda 2030 of COCEMFE and since 2018 he is the president of the National Federation of Associations for the Fight Against Kidney Diseases/ALCER. In addition mr. Gallego is the president of the European Kidney Patient FederationEKPF and Vice President of the board of Directors of ALCER Islas Baeleras since 2014.