Starting July 1, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) welcomes two new members to the Board of Trustees: Mike Naple and Mike Lentz.

Some of the board’s officers will change, too. Colleen Connor, a member at large, will become secretary. Current secretary Nicole Creech will become treasurer, and current treasurer Matt Wall will step down to serve as a member at large.

Get to know the new board members and officers:

Mike Naple lives in Washington, D.C., and has been involved with advocacy for more than a decade. He started specializing in health care advocacy, specifically PH advocacy, after he was diagnosed with Group 3 PH in 2016. Mike experienced an uncertain, rocky diagnosis journey that almost took his life. Seven years later, Mike now advocates for the PH community to ensure affordable and attainable access to health care for everyone. Read more about Mike Naple.

Mike Lentz, who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, became involved in PHA after his wife Maureen died of PH five years ago. Mike participates in support groups, raises money for PHA efforts and serves on the PHA Finance and Development Committee. His goal is to help others fight PH, make strides toward finding a cure and extend lives. Read more about Mike Lentz.

Colleen Connor lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with her husband Shawn and kids Ryan and Kiera. In 2005, Colleen started experiencing PH symptoms but didn’t receive her diagnosis until two years later. Colleen has co-led the University of Penn support group for seven years. She has raised over $600,000 for PHA programming research. Read more about Colleen.

Nicole Creech was diagnosed with PH related to sickle cell anemia in 2008 when she was 36. In 2016, Nicole became a member of PHA to be empowered by hope and share that hope with others. Nicole now leads a support group in Lexington, Kentucky, and is a patient advocate. Read more about Nicole.

Matt Wall is a commercial construction manager and lives in Burlington with his wife Jayna and sons, Jackson and Jayden. Jackson was diagnosed with PH at 14-months-old and has been on substantial treatment since he was 19-months-old. Matt and Jayna are longtime fundraisers for PH and have raised over $235,000 for pediatric pulmonary hypertension research. Read more about Matt.