Amy Comstock Rick, Esq., Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Rick is the Chief Executive Officer of Parkinson’s Action Network.  Before joining PAN in 2003, she served as the sixth Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, having accepted the nomination to the Senate-confirmed position in 1999.  Prior to her appointment to the Office of Government Ethics, Ms. Rick was Associate Counsel to the President in the White House Counsel’s Office.  Ms. Rick began her federal service as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Education in 1988; she ended her tenure there in 1998 as Assistant General Counsel for Ethics.  Ms. Rick began her professional career at the law firm of Beveridge & Diamond.  She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan.

Hayley Carpenter, Director of Outreach
Hayley has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology from Virginia Tech.  Prior to joining PAN, she worked at the Campagna Center, a non-profit organization serving the children and families of Alexandria, Virginia.

Charles Carter, Controller
Charles has a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland.  He comes to PAN from Aerolink and the District of Columbia Parking Associates, where he served as Controller.  Prior to that, he gained non-profit experience as Controller of the Capcon Library Network, a membership computer library service organization.  Charles also has extensive accounting, budget, and finance experience having worked for both the Washington Post, and the Washington Times in a variety of capacities.

Dr. David Heydrick, Scientific Advisor
Dave is a Board Certified Neurologist, in part-time private practice in Frederick, MD.  He advises PAN and interfaces with government and private agencies on pertinent scientific issues affecting the PAN mission to fight for a cure for PD.  He has a B.S. in Biology and Engineering from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.  He completed his medical training at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.  Prior to entering the field of Neurology, Dave was an engineer for the Department of Defense.  He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Maryland Neurological Society, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association.  Dave has Parkinson’s disease.

Mary McGuire Richards, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Mary joined PAN in September of 2004 with consulting, lobbying, and Capitol Hill experience.  Prior to joining PAN, Mary worked with Project Tsunami, Inc, a women's economic development organization.  She was also an appropriations lobbyist with Golin/Harris International representing hospitals, universities, and corporate clients on Capitol Hill.  Mary began her career in Washington by working on Capitol Hill for more than 6 years for two Members of the House of Representatives.  As a senior legislative aide, she handled health policy issues including NIH and other health care research funding, Medicare and private insurance coverage, preventative care and treatment issues, and CMS regulations.  She also worked on the Congressional Democratic Health Care Task-force.  Mary graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

Gianna Tripodi-Bhise, Director of Development
Gianna joins PAN with 17 years of experience in leading the development efforts of a variety of health and human services organizations including seven years with Easter Seals, two years with the National Research Center for Women and Families (NRC) and two years with the Metropolitan Center for Assault Prevention (MetroCap).  She is passionate about PAN’s mission and looks forward to working with PAN’s staff and Board of Directors to increase the organization’s funding from corporations, foundations, and individuals throughout the country.  Gianna has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA and a Masters in Business Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.