Community Health Leaders
In order to stay up to date on latest treatments, drug discovery, clinical studies and how to cope with atopic dermatitis every day, AtopicDermatitis.net brings you frequent articles, points of view and advice from health leaders and experts.
Current health leaders
Nina Ajdin
Nina Ajdin has been familiar with Atopic Dermatitis since a very young age. She was diagnosed with AD shortly after moving to the United States as a refugee from Bosnia at 10 years old. Read more.
Terry Alabata
My story begins in 1989. I was 5 years old and my family was staying with a family friend in LA on our way to Disneyland. We had arrived at the dead of night after driving 6 hours from the Bay Area and the family friend had given me and my mom one of the dogs' blankets to sleep in. Read more .
Briana Banos
Briana Banos is the creator of Preventable, a documentary where she outlines research and personal stories surrounding Topical Steroid Withdrawal. She is in her sixth year of withdrawal and has experienced eczema since a very young age. Read more .
Peter Bunting
Peter works and resides in the UK and was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis and asthma at two years old. Having spent most of his youth in and out of hospitals including the famous Great Ormond Street hospital, he has learned to manage his lifestyle around these autoimmune conditions. Read more
Abi Covert
Hi, I’m Abigail! I’ve had eczema all my life, but it wasn’t a problem for me until 2 years ago. From birth until I was 4, it was my mom’s problem as she had to deal with treating it. After years of following a modified diet and using prescription creams, it went away. In 2016 I got a small cluster of bumps on the very bottom of my palm and after a few doctor visits we found out it was eczema. Read more.
Emma Currie
Hi! I’m Emma, and I’ve been living with eczema, cystic acne and a whole slew of other skin issues for most of my life- and I have tried almost everything to combat them with varying degrees of success. Read more.
Emma Fischer
I am a mum of soon to be 4 kids aged 4 and under (fourth baby due in February). My 2-year-old son Harry was diagnosed with severe Atopic Dermatitis when he was 6 months old. He is highly allergic to dust mites and many things around in the environment. Read more.
Louise Fritz
Louise is a lifelong eczema advocate. She enjoys serving in her community through local volunteer projects in California. Professionally, she has had the benefit of assisting others in a variety of industries whether it be a product or service. She considers herself to be a lifelong learner and attends in-person or an online class each year. Read more .
Linette Roungchun
Linette Roungchun is a singer, foodie, and Eczema/TSW Warrior finally sharing her story openly and unapologetically on various social media platforms. She has fought this illness since she was 3 years old, never losing her positive outlook and humorous view on life. Read more .
Shawn
Writer, speaker and (soon to be) Certified Health Coach, Shawn was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and Atopic Dermatitis in her youth. Read more.
Peter Tapao
Greetings and many blessings my name is Peter Tapao I have eczema and it’s been with me all my life, been going in and out to the hospital and suffering many days and nights. Read more.
Chava Bayla Wald
Chava Bayla Wald was born and raised in Toronto, and currently resides there with her husband and three young children. Her journey into Atopic Dermatitis (AD) began when she was just a baby, when she was diagnosed with moderate to severe AD. One of the initial triggers was chocolate, and because she was found to be highly allergic to it, she was prevented from enjoying it for many years. Read more.
Previous health leaders
Anthony Bazile
Hi my name is Anthony Bazile and I'm a 34-year-old African American male that has been living with eczema since as far as I can remember from his childhood years. During this time, it wasn't as severe as Anthony thought it was a seasonal "rash" but It wasn't until the winter of his junior year in High School in 2004 until he realized and was diagnosed with having eczema. Read more.
Karen Berger
Karen has lived more than half her life with eczema. She was diagnosed in college, and despite treatment, still feels itchy basically every day. Her skin is very sensitive and she is always looking for products that will soothe her skin. Read more .
Stefanie Bord
I’ve been dealing with atopic dermatitis for about twenty years now, since I was in high school. It was completely embarrassing. I got it on my eyelids, palms of my hands, and the back of my neck. I dealt with the symptoms of chappy looking, flaking skin with regular skin lotion, thinking it was normal and not making a fuss about it. Read more.
Sarah Hackley
Sarah Hackley's personal struggle with Atopic Dermatitis began when she was ten. Since then, she's gained control of her own skin and helped both of her children through the condition as well. Read more.
Shamsa-Hussain
Shamsa has been dealing with eczema since early childhood. As an infant, it predominantly affected her joints, but as a teenager, it appeared on her face too. Thus, her teenage and early adult years proved to be very challenging. The facial eczema was usually dry, scaly, red...but also, aggressive, angry, and very, very visible. Read more.
Laura Wheatman Hill
Laura Wheatman Hill lives in a house where everyone has different issues with sensitive skin, including atopic dermatitis. In college, she double majored in theatre with a directing emphasis and English. She got her masters of arts in teaching from there and taught high school and middle school. Read more .
Karen Hoyt
I’m Karen Hoyt and skin disease runs in my family. My experience with atopic dermatitis spans across 3 generations. That includes my grandma, sister, daughter, and granddaughter. I’ve provided support and caregiving for them all my life. Read more .
Noreen Jesani
Noreen is an Atlanta native that spent the last 2 years in Boston pursuing her Masters in Public Health. She now lives in San Francisco, where she works as a fellow for a health insurance company. Read more.
Lindsey Kizer
I actually started dealing with eczema as a child. They gave me various creams and such and told us I would probably grow out of it. Getting into more my teenage and young adult years I kept bringing it up, and for a long time ended up in a cycle of being prescribed different antibiotics, steroids, steroid creams, medicated shampoo. Read more .
Liz R. Lebowitz, RN
Elizabeth R. Lebowitz is a Registered Nurse for over forty years. She has worked in busy metropolitan Medical Centers in a variety of Nursing and Administrative positions. Liz began her professional career as a staff nurse, went on to be a Nurse Recruiter and Employment Manager of a large city hospital, to recent retirement as the Lead School Nurse for a Long Island School District. Read more .
Harrison Li
Greetings from Hong Kong. My name is Harrison Li. Your typical example of an eczema sufferer (though now barely visible), who has gone through the tides and storms of steroid therapy, herbal medicine, and visiting numerous doctors and dermatologists you can ever find. Read more .
Ashley Ann Lora
Ashley Ann Lora has been an eczema warrior since 1992. She was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe Atopic Dermatitis (AD) when she was just a few months old. Read more.
Jess Mangiaracina, PA-C
Jessica Mangiaracina is a Dermatology Physician Associate practicing in Westchester New York. She diagnoses and treats general dermatologic disorders, conducts full body cancer screenings, performs skin biopsies, melanoma imaging, suturing, and wound care. Read more .
Jennifer Martin
Jennifer Martin is a mom of two teenagers, one of them has Atopic Dermatitis. It is just one of the many struggles of raising a teenager! She is also a veterinarian in Austin, Texas. Read more .
Chad McMurren
My name is Chad McMurren. I grew up in a small town in Manitoba, Canada. I have lived with Eczema since I was a toddler. I have the trifecta, Eczema, Asthma & Allergies. Read more.
Missy Neihart
Hi! My name is Melissa and I am a 24 year old EMT and Biochemistry student. I was diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis when I was just 8 years old. At that age, I didn’t really think much of it, other than that it was something that occasionally allowed me to miss school. Read more.
Larrisa Olsen
Publicist by day and blogger by night, Larissa is no stranger to eczema. She was first diagnosed as a toddler, and although she had “clear years,” she continued to struggle with her skin into adulthood. Upon doing her own research, she decided to take her wellness into her own hands and go through topical steroid withdrawal. Read more .
Andrew Rogers
Andrew has suffered from moderate-to-severe eczema since childhood and is currently struggling through TSW for the second time in the past five years. He lives in New York City with his incredible and patient fiancée. Read more.
Daisy Sandoval
I'd like to introduce myself as a new member of the Atopic Dermatitis Advocates. My name is Daisy Lara and I’m from Northern California. At the age of 3 I was diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis which made my childhood years very tough. Read more.
Cora Lyn Sears
Cora Lyn is an active senior, with two children and one grandchild. Now in her seventies, she still struggles with the eczema she’s had all her life, occasionally having months of remission, or even a year or two of barely noticeable outbreaks. She has now added macular degeneration to the mix as well. Read more .
Alexis Smith
Alexis has been living with atopic dermatitis ever since she was first diagnosed at age 12. Navigating middle school and high school was not the easiest task when most kids are already insecure and now we’re throwing a very visible face rash. Read more .
Samuel Taylor
Samuel recently graduated from California State University San Marcos with a degree in medical anthropology and French. He is driven by two passions: understanding the systems of foreign cultures and promoting a higher standard of health and wellbeing to his community. Read more .
Jeff Ten Broeck
Jeff Ten Broeck has been an #EczemaWarrior for most of his life. Throughout his journey, he has experienced moderate to severe eczema all over his body. Growing up with this condition proved to be a challenge but over the years he has developed his own strategies to make the treatment of his skin more manageable. Read more.
Truc Thanh
For the past 8 years, I’ve worked as a director in a multidisciplinary role (or sometimes just plain disciplining multiple children!). In my house that means I’m a child mediator, chauffeur, and 24-hour maid to 3 young children. Through our active lives I’ve worked towards keeping them healthy and strong . . . and itch-free. Read more .
Raelle
Raelle (Ray-L) also known by her eczema focused Instagram name, Woke Within Skin has had moderate to severe eczema since she was born. She also has been diagnosed with severe asthma since the age of 7 along with allergies. Read more .
Jude Weber
Jude suffered from eczema and asthma as a young child, it wasn’t until 2010, when her eczema condition became life-threatening and forced her to stop everything, that she delved deep inside and truly examined the ways in which she could reclaim her life. Read more .
KeTwanna Young
KeTwanna Young was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her experiences with teachers and schools as a student (and sister to students) in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System inspired her to become a teacher in that school system herself. KeTwanna teaches first grade in CMS. Read more .
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