I am married to Marisol, and we have three children: Osvaldo, Aldo, and Ubaldo. Osvaldo has hemophilia A, and, therefore, my wife is a carrier. I have been involved with BDAI for approximately 12 years, participating in all kinds of events where I have learned a lot about hemophilia and how to live with it. That has given my life and my family peace of mind, knowledge, and, above all, safety for my son. I have participated as captain of the Hispanic Bleeding Disorders Alliance group in Chicago.
I like to serve and motivate new families with this condition. I feel great satisfaction when I can help people, and I currently have the satisfaction of being part of the BDAI board of directors. For me, it is a very pleasant experience. Representing the Hispanic group and from whom we have learned from each other has made a very trustworthy group and a support group that we have considered, FAMILIA POR SANGRE, and I will share what I have learned with whoever requires it.

I am a member of the inherited bleeding disorder community. I was diagnosed with VWD at age 40, and I have one daughter with Factor VII and VWD and another daughter with VWD. I am also a Lived Experience Expert (LEE) co chair for the National Research Blueprint (NRB). I am an advocate, mother, wife and friend.

I joined the BDAI board in 2023. I've been in global trade financing for over 10 years structuring complex international trade transactions. My real passions are my family, traveling, hiking, outreach, and advocating for the bleeding disorders community. My family has been affected by hemophilia A severe for three generations, and I am blessed that my son was born in an era marveled by the advances in treatment. I am a BDAI Advocacy Ambassador and have been an outreach group leader since 2018. I look forward to further serving the community and BDAI.

Representing a VWD type 3 family, I’m thrilled to be on the board and strive to use my skills and experiences to support the mission of BDAI and help grow its reach and robustness. Living with a rare and severe bleeding disorder in our family has given us the opportunity to learn, advocate, educate, and build a community with wonderful, supportive people we may never have met otherwise. With a master’s degree in collaborative piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music, I’ve worked with many instrumentalists, singers, and choirs, including performing in Paris for a European premiere and in Berlin for the Louis Lewandowski Festival. A jill of many trades, I’m the pianist for Congregation BJBE; assistant conductor and administrator for Kol Zimrah Jewish Community Singers; administrator for The Max Janowski Society; managing director of Darchei Noam Glenbrook; and a certified Salesforce administrator. When I have free time (ha!), it is spent enjoying the company of my extraordinarily supportive husband and my very imaginative child.

My name is Mayra Cantu. I’m a carrier and mother of three sons with hemophilia A. I became involved in the community 18 years ago when my oldest son was diagnosed with hemophilia A severe. I have been part of the BDAI board since 2020. BDAI and the community welcomed my family when we moved from Texas to Illinois, and I hope to successfully continue that comradery amongst our community. I was a part of NHF Guia Culturales 2017 and had the pleasure of meeting many families affected by bleeding disorders throughout the U.S. and from other countries. I have also participated in advocacy events throughout my years as a hemo mom. Outside of the bleeding disorders community, I’m a social worker. I work closely with families in the community I work in and connect them with the resources they need.

Dr. Iftikhar Haider holds a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before starting his Ph.D., he graduated from UIUC with an MA in teaching English as a second language. Dr. Haider also works as a subject matter expert (SME) for National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) of America. Iftikhar is also part of the research infrastructure working group for the National Research Blueprint (NRB) project. Iftikhar’s areas of interest are ESL writing, language assessment, second language pragmatics, health communication, and computer-mediated communication. Iftikhar has also worked as a faculty member for the TESOL department at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

Gina has been an active member and volunteer of the bleeding disorders community for 25+ years. She is the mother of two awesome hemophilia B sons and an amazing daughter. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she resides in Burr Ridge. An avid marathon runner, she is running the Chicago Marathon in 2024 to raise money for BDAI. She's very grateful to this community and wants to give back.

Veronica Ruiz is an advocate, mother, and organizer within the bleeding disorders community in Chicago. After her youngest son was diagnosed with Von Willebrand disease in 2004, a disorder she would later be diagnosed with in 2015, one major hurdle in learning this new diagnosis was overcoming the language barrier. Veronica's work as an advocate within the Hispanic Bleeding Disorders Alliance is to bridge the gap by providing resources and support in Spanish to families facing this same hardship today.
Alongside her three children and her husband, she volunteers her time and efforts to raise awareness for Von Willebrand disease and qualitative platelets disorder, a rare bleeding disorder her daughter has.

I have been part of the BDAI family since 2004 when Mona, Matthew, and Patrick were diagnosed with Von Willebrand. Mona and I have been active members of the community, and we have each served as board members and board president. I currently work for a petrochemical engineering company that develops refinery process. I work in the research and development sector and execute experimental plans to develop new process technologies. I was raised in Lombard, Illinois, and currently live in Berwyn with my son Patrick. I served on the village board of Brookfield for eight years, working with every village department at some point. As a Village trustee I gained experience working with state representatives and senators, getting legislation passed and advocating for the municipality. I have used that knowledge to advocate for bleeding disorders and our community. That will be one of my areas of concentration on the BDAI board. I am excited to be back on the board at this time to help the transition with new leadership. We have so many needs to address and ideas to develop. This board is your board, so let us hear your voices.