Staff & Board

In 2002, Nan brought herself and a tick to her doctor’s office. While she was positive on the Elisa and negative on the Western Blot (by CDC standards), the doctors took the “wait and see” approach. As she had no rash and no symptoms, there were no options to treat her. It wasn’t until 2008 that Nan became highly symptomatic and began treatment for Lyme disease.

Sadly, not enough has changed and this is still a common scenario for so many people. Motivated to help others after being diagnosed, Nan joined the Board of Turn The Corner Foundation and remained on the Board as it grew to become Tick Borne Disease Alliance (TBDA) and, ultimately, Global Lyme Alliance (GLA).

Today, Nan remains committed to freeing the world from tick-borne diseases through her work with Project Lyme and Generation Lyme. She has her B.S. from New York University and is a registered Occupational Therapist specializing in Pediatrics. Nan lives in NYC with her husband Moshe Sukenik and has three adult children, one of whom suffers from Lyme disease.

Jennifer Weis Monsky is a Senior Literary Agent with Ross Yoon Agency, based in NYC. Prior to that she was Executive Editor at St. Martin’s Press for 30 years. As a publisher, she acquired and edited many lyme-related books, including THE WIDENING CIRCLE by Polly Murray, CURE UNKNOWN by Pamela Weintraub, WHY CAN’T I GET BETTER and HOW CAN I GET BETTER by Dr Richard Horowitz, and BELIEVE ME by Yolanda Foster. She currently represents Dr. Daniel Kinderlehrer, whose book HOW TO RECOVER FROM LYME, will be published in the spring of 2020.

Jennifer’s personal experiences with Lyme Disease began in 1990 when she got sick. She was treated for two years, recovered and nine years later got either a new infection or recurrence of the old. It took five and a half years, and many doctors, for her to get well that time. Her family has also struggled with Lyme.

She joined the Columbia Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases Research Center board in 2008, and served as its chair for three years. She is also a pioneering member of the Gray Matters program at Columbia and continues to serve on its board. This program is devoted to funding young Fellows in Psychiatry. Additionally, Jennifer is a member of the Columbia University Psychiatry Board. As various advocacy groups have worked on addressing the Lyme Disease problem, Jennifer has participated in their national fundraising and strategic activities in both leadership and Board member positions. She is a member of the Yale Public Health School Leadership Council and UJA Publishing Executive Committee.

Jennifer received her B.A. and M.A. in English from Yale. She lives in NYC with her husband John Monsky, and is the mother of four children.

Partner, Head of U.S. Real Estate Equity, Ares Management
President, Ares Commercial Real Estate.

As a Project Lyme Board Member and its Executive Committee Chair, David is one of the organization’s driving forces. He is also a business leader with more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry. In addition to his current roles with Ares Management he is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and the Ares Real Estate Group’s Global and Debt Investment Committees.
Prior to joining Ares in 2019, David was a Senior Managing Director of the Real Estate Group at Blackstone. Previously, he was a Principal in the Acquisitions Group at Walton Street Capital, where he was involved in numerous real estate transactions. In addition, he worked at Security Capital Group as Senior V.P. and CIO Europe and at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz as an Associate. He serves as a Board Member of Jas Aspen, and is on the national council of the Aspen Art Museum. He has served on the Boards of Directors of numerous real estate entities including Invitation Homes Inc. David holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. He is a CFA® charterholder.

Kim graduated from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics in 1987. Following graduation, she worked as a tax accountant for Arthur Anderson & Company. In 1990, Kim entered the Fordham University School of Law, from which she received her JD in 1993. She worked as an attorney from 1993-1994 at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom. Kim is currently a member of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Board of Overseers, which she joined in 2011, a member of AIPAC’s Manhattan Women’s Executive Council, which she joined in 2016, and a member of the New York Board of the Jewish National Fund, which she joined in 2018. Kim also recently served as a co-chair of The Project Lyme/Bay Area Lyme Foundation Gala in NYC. Kim served on the Northeast Board of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, which focuses on raising funds to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, from 2006-2016. During many of those years, Kim also served as Chair or Vice Chair of the Diabetes Research Institute’s D.R.E.A.M.s in the City event, and was honored with the DRI’s Dare to Dream Award in 2013. Kim was involved with UJA-Federation of New York for 20 years, where she served in many roles including Executive Chair of UJA-Federation’s Manhattan Women’s Campaign from 2006-2008. She was a member of UJA-Federation of NY’s Board of Directors from 2007-2009. Kim also served as PA President at The Allen-Stevenson School in 2008/2009.

Kim and her husband Jordan have two sons, Ben (23) and Joe (21). They live in the West Village of Manhattan.

Melissa graduated from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business with a BS in Finance in 1990. She worked for NCR Corporation as a financial analyst prior to attending and graduating from the University of Florida College of Law with Honors in 1995. Following graduation, Melissa practiced law for 12 years, including 8 years with McGuireWoods LLP, where she specialized primarily in employment litigation.
Lyme disease and various co-infections have profoundly impacted Melissa and her family. Once she discovered first-hand the tremendous challenges Lyme patients face to obtain a proper diagnosis and effective treatment, she put her research, analytical, advocacy, and organizational skills, to work, even as she continues to fight to recover from debilitating symptoms.

Melissa founded and is the President of Florida Lyme Disease Association, a 501c3 non-profit, where she works with doctors, researchers, the media, and patients to spread awareness about the threat of Lyme in Florida. She is also the founder and organizer of The Lyme Disease Challenge, Take a Bite out of Lyme Disease, the leading global Lyme awareness campaign since 2015. Celebrities, athletes, public figures, Lyme patients and their supporters, have embraced the campaign each year, generating over 100 media stories, and thousands of social media posts from 45 countries in 35 languages.

While very sympathetic to the plight that adults with Lyme face, the children who silently suffer from the ravaging, debilitating symptoms of Lyme from the confines of their home, without answers or hope, truly fuel her passion for advocacy. Melissa helps administer the largest Facebook group for parents of children with Lyme disease and associated infections in an effort to guide and support families. Melissa is excited to collaborate with the talented, passionate and dynamic professionals at Project Lyme.

Isabel is a writer, performer and activist. She has addressed audiences large and small urging understanding of, and support for, transgender children and their families. Rose’s latest book is a memoir chronicling her lifelong battle with chronic, multi-systemic disease—including Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia and Ricketsia—which she ultimately passed along, in utero, to both her children.

Susan graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. She then attended The University of Pennsylvania Law School and received her JD in 1988. She went on to practice Real Estate Law at Dreyer and Traub through 1990 at which time she joined Pittleman and Associates as a Legal Recruiter through 1995.

Susan currently lives in Scarsdale, New York, with her husband, Jeff, where she is raising her four children. Susan has been a board member of the Mount Sinai Pediatric Children’s Center Foundation, an active member of UJA and a founding board member of the Atlantic Golf Club Educational Fund.

She learned first-hand two years how destructive Lyme Disease can be when her daughter, Julia, contracted Lyme with two co‐infections: Bartonella and Babesia. Thanks to her amazing team of doctors, Julia is finally on the road to recovery—but her journey has been difficult. Susan looks forward to increasing the broad-based knowledge of diagnosis and testing for Lyme in the medical community.

Nina is an FIT graduate with a bachelor’s degree in fashion and marketing-related industries. She is currently self-employed as a fashion stylist, running trunk shows and representing a fur/cashmere line as well as a resort-wear line. She served as co-chair of UJA-Federation’s Manhattan Women’s Campaign from 2006-2008. Nina also serves on the JNF Woman’s Committee and has been co-chair of various event for in 2017-18. She was a member of The Whitney Museum Education Committee 2005-10. Nina’s husband is a partner at Wachtell Lipton and she is the mother of three boys.

Kristen Farrell, founder of Kristen Farrell Home, Farrell Design Group and former Vice President of Farrell Building, is an experienced luxury home and hospitality designer addressing all ‘living’ needs across the residential, commercial, multifamily and hospitality sectors. Kristen has called the Hamptons home for the last 25 years with her three children Joey, Kate and Jack, and spends time building and playing in NYC and Florida.

Lyme Disease and tick borne illness is a major factor in Kristen’s personal life. Throughout her 20s and again in 2016 Kristen suffered from Lyme Disease. In 2005 her son Joey discovered a tick on his body and soon thereafter struggled to physically function on the most basic of levels. Very little was known about how to treat a 5 year old with Ehrlichiosis and Babesia, two tick borne infections. Joey was again diagnosed freshman year of high school with a severe case of Babesia, Bartonella and multiple co infections. This has been a lifelong journey for Joey and the impact of chronic illness on such a young life and close family members has been very challenging. Kristen is the first to say there is always a silver lining but the journey to find wellness and balance once diagnosed with Lyme disease is a mountain most cannot climb. Her efforts to research treatment for Joey saw no bounds and her dedication to helping others in this space is unmeasurable

Bob has been in the Real Estate industry for 26 years and financial services for 31 years. During that time, his experiences have ranged from managing and operating a startup property management company to managing a real estate portfolio totaling $10B with one of the largest real estate companies in the world. This range includes analyzing, entitling and building development/redevelopment projects from $2-$200MM in office retail and multifamily, working with all forms of capital products and investment vehicles including opportunity funds, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, joint venture equity, first mortgages, loan syndications and participations, working with institutional, individual and midsized investors, and the most complex of deal structures and issues including foreclosures, loan/equity restructures and complex retailer bankruptcies.

Heidi Shechter has practiced as a health coach in the New York City and Hamptons communities for 20 years. She also works with Bespoke as a real estate agent. Heidi’s personal experience with Lyme has allowed her to help many people find wellness and address their illness in a positive way. She tries to inspire people to live happier lives. She lives with her son in Port Jefferson, Long Island.Heidi Shechter has practiced as a health coach in the New York City and Hamptons communities for 20 years.