Board of Directors

As Chairman of the Board Patty comes to us with leadership skills from her current role as a District Manager with Suite Management Franchising and previous multi-unit field operations roles with organizations such as Block Advisors and the Ratner Companies. She is passionate about developing individuals and teams to grow their business.

As a patient herself she knew she needed to quickly learn as much as she could to be an advocate for herself. Seeing the struggles patients go through she knew she could offer more to the community with her leadership skills so she joined the board and has led the team as Chairman since 2022. Patty has a passion for people and helping them live, not just get by through education and advocacy.

Patty is also a licensed real estate agent, wife to Bill for 38 years, mom to Billy (35) and became a grandmother for the first time in March of 2023! She enjoys volunteering for the Friends of Loudoun County Animal Services and spending time with family and friends.

Contact Patty

Michele joined the board of directors in 2020, becoming treasurer in 2021 and Vice Chair in 2022. As Vice Chair she began the development of our advocacy arm of the association and wants to continue to grow this to help the entire community. She has taken an advocacy Masterclass and just recently attended a webinar hosted by the FDA to help learn more about the drug development process. She has also worked with our medical board of advisors to develop pamphlets about hypoPARAthyroidism. One of her goals is to help disseminate these pamphlets to as many endocrinologists as possible to help them better understand our disease.

In her personal life Michele has been married for 27 years and has 2 daughters. She works full time as a compounding technician (making drugs). She was diagnosed with hypoPARA in 1994 after thyroid cancer surgery.

Contact Michele

Bob Sanders currently serves as president of the HypoPARAthyroidism Association. He joined the board in 2018 after his daughter Josalynn experienced a severe calcium crash that landed her in the hospital for three days. He was also the last member of his family to be diagnosed with genetic TBX1 HypoPARAthyroidism when he was 19. As a patient, caregiver, and advocate he believes in improving the lives of all who are afflicted by HypoPARA. 

Bob has been working in the oil fields of North Dakota for the past 13 years for SLB. He took first overall in his technical school and received an Excellence in Leadership Award. He now works as Technical Account Lead in the production chemistry field.  He stays involved with the local community by serving as President of the Williston Band Boosters. He enjoys cooking, fishing, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.

Contact Bob

Contact Loretta

Bari Vapnek is a mother of two adult children. Born on Long Island, she relocated to Florida after receiving a BS in business administration from the University of Delaware. She served as Director of New Business Development until she was diagnosed with Graves Disease. After a total thyroidectomy and parathyroid removal in 1998, she instantly became pregnant with her daughter and has since dedicated her life to raising her 2 children and fighting her rare disease. After a life altering calcium crash in 2016, Bari found the HypoPARA Association, attended her first conference in 2019 and immediately joined the Board.

Contact Bari