By Ron Imbach, FightSMA Executive Director
I am overjoyed and honored to have been selected as the new executive director for FightSMA. This is a great cause, and I feel we can make significant progress toward an effective treatment and cure for SMA. I feel tremendous gratitude and appreciation for the work of our Board during the selection process and now during our transition. Martha and Joe Slay have been tremendously helpful. Dan Hayden and I have regular transition discussions, and I have been getting to know our entire Board. We have a very talented group, and I appreciate all of their ideas and encouragement to me.
Ron Imbach and son
So, as a supporter, a family with a child with SMA, a volunteer, etc., you are probably asking, “well who is Ron Imbach and how will he help our cause and lead our organization?” A little bit of my professional background and results are in the press release that is posted on the web site. To summarize, I have been an executive and leader for non-profit and for-profit organizations for over 20 years. I have raised a lot of money for worthy causes at three charities over the past 12 years. My experience includes positions with small organizations, similar to FightSMA, medium-sized companies, and very large national and multinational organizations. My leadership, motivational skills, coaching, and training have enabled the teams that I have managed to thrive. I will bring that same leadership to FightSMA. Finally, my background is very broad. My undergraduate degree is more technical with double majors in accounting and economics, and my early career included significant positions in public accounting and for a political campaign. I transitioned to business development and sales several years ago and completed my MBA with a concentration in marketing and public policy at George Washington University. I have even owned and operated my own business, so I am very comfortable being the visionary leader, but I have the skills to understand the day-to-day operations and financial issues facing FightSMA as well. This broad background will be a great asset for the organization.
Now, you may ask, “who are you really? We can learn most of this information from your resume.” I grew up in Martinsburg, West Virginia, about 75 miles from the Washington, DC area. It’s a small town, but I experienced many new places during my childhood travelling with my parents, and I was often part of the “voluntary greeting committee for new kids coming to my school.” I just love getting to know new people and hear their stories. That apparently has not changed. I still love that part of the work that I do now. I was very active in school, a very good student, active in sports, and various other activities. Little did I know that my initial charitable volunteering for “hunger walks” in my early teens would be a prelude for the focus of my life’s work. I attended college near my home and really enjoyed college. I was very active in a business fraternity and took leadership roles with clubs and other groups. I even worked as an accountant for a few years while in school. Of course, this was also a great opportunity for an extrovert like me to get to know a whole new group of interesting people.
It is with a heavy heart that we pass along the news of the death of Stephen Jay Eisenberg. He was a dear friend and a true leader in the SMA community. This incredible young man will be truly and deeply missed.
