Board of Trustees

Steve is a Partner in the New York office of Deloitte & Touche. Steve and his wife Maura have been active in raising funds for Rett research after their daughter, Olivia, was diagnosed in April of 2001. Together they served as the co-chairs of the inaugural 2002 Reach for A Cure NY Benefit which helped broaden RSRF's network of support in the New York City metro area and raised more than $200,000 for research supported by RSRF.

He is a graduate of Providence College and earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Steve and Maura live in New Rochelle, New York with their 3 children, Olivia (RTT), Christopher and Isabelle.


Chuck and his wife Paula became actively involved with RSRF in 2000 when their oldest child, Caroline, was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at four years of age. Returning home to Norwood, MA after six years in Chicago, IL the Curley's became involved with the Massachusetts Rett Syndrome Association where Paula served as VP. Family and friends helped to promote and expand that organization's largest fundraising event, the Roll for Rett, which has been an RSRF research sponsor for a number of years. The Curley's are co-chairs for Boston's Annual Festival of Food & Wine.

Chuck is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and an advertising sales rep for business-to-business media firm, Arpin Associates. Chuck and Paula have three children, Caroline (RTT), Brian and Michael.


Michael is a Partner at Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, a Commercial Real Estate Company, based in Boston. The Joyce's became actively involved with RSRF when their middle daughter, Caroline, was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome. The Joyce's co-chair the annual Boston Festival of Food and Wine with Chuck and Paula Curley and are active in sponsoring a Boston area Golf Outing for RSRF as well as assisting with the Massachusetts Chef's Classic event.

Michael is on the advisory board of Providence College President's Council and is a member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.

Michael and Jane are both graduates of Providence College and live in Hingham, MA with their daughters, Brooke, Caroline (RTT) and Allison.


Sean and his wife, Lisa, became involved with RSRF in 2000 when their eldest child, Jessie Brooke, was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at the age of 2. Since the diagnosis, Sean and Lisa have been very active supporters of RSRF. They have organized letter writing campaigns, served as committee members for the annual New York City Benefit Dinner and developed teams for the annual tri-state New York Strollathon, which they will co-chair in 2006. In addition to generating a great deal of financial support, they have also provided guidance to parents with newly diagnosed children and have spoken as ambassadors of the organization on a number of occasions.

Sean graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and obtained his Juris Doctor from California Western Law School in San Diego, CA. Sean is a practicing attorney in New York City and lives in Rockland County, NY with his wife and three children - Jessie (RTT), Cameron and Tristan.


Christian is a Director of Marketing in the U.S for Diageo.  Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of adult beverage brands. They are a global company, trading in over 180 markets around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO).

Christian and his wife Ariane serve as co-chairs for the annual Boston Food & Wine Festival as well as being actively involved in the Reach for a Cure Benefit in NYC and the Chef's Classic and Tri-State Strollathon events. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Christian and his family reside in Fairfield, CT. He and Ariane, have two children, Keilly (RTT) and Keegan.


Since graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1989, Jeff has built a career in marketing. He has provided his professional expertise to Advertising, Direct Marketing, and Promotion agencies. His career has spanned 15 years with more than 14 years of that time focused in the Chicago marketing community. Jeff's career has exposed him to business and personal relationships with marketing professionals in many of the country's best companies: Kraft Foods, Campbell's, Nabisco, Brown Forman, Microsoft, Motorola, Kellogg's, and Kodak to name a few.

Jeff has recently accepted a new position as Executive Vice President of Experiential Marketing with 141 Worldwide. In this newly developed role Jeff will be responsible for the creation of a new division via acquisition management and business development.

Jeff and his wife Karen are active members in their local church. They have also taught marriage preparation for over 10 years. They have two sons, Brendan and Colin.


Dr. A. Bruce Thomas, II is a Board Certified Physiatrist specializing in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) and is a partner in a private practice in Northern Virginia. He serves as Medical Director of the Department of PM&R at Loudoun Hospital Center in Leesburg, VA and is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for Loudoun Medical Group (LMG), a multi-specialty group composed of 90 physicians and 400 employees. He is also active on numerous committees including the Finance, Human Resource, and Business Development Committees of LMG. He is active in the hospital and currently sits on the Case Management Steering Committee.

Dr. Thomas received his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, Ohio and completed his Internship in Internal Medicine at The Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D. C and Residency in PM&R at the National Rehabilitation Center, also in Washington, D.C. He was personally affected by Rett Syndrome three years ago when his older daughter, Alyssa Lily was diagnosed with the disorder.

He and his wife, Daphne, also a physician, reside in Potomac Falls, VA with their two daughters, Alyssa (RTT), 7, and Olivia, 5. The Thomas' have been involved with RSRF for the last 3 years and were Co-Chairs of the Washington, D.C. Food and Wine Festival in March, 2003.