A trip down memory lane: GDATF Founder and Chair Emeritus Dr. Nancy Hord Patterson tries to dig out from a pile of tractor feed paper!

Nancy Hord Patterson - Founder and Chair Emeritus. Dr. Nancy Hord Patterson holds a PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Florida. She is a Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing, and is a Nationally Certified Counselor. Following her own battle with Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease, Dr. Patterson founded the Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Foundation (formerly the National Graves’ Disease Foundation) in 1990. Dr. Patterson has received recognition from the American Thyroid Association as a “Pioneer in Thyroid Patient Education.”

Kimberly Dorris - Executive Director & CEO. Kimberly received a B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1990 and an M.B.A. from Belmont University in Nashville in 1990. Diagnosed with Graves' disease in 2007, Kimberly began working with the GDATF as a volunteer in 2010, and took on the day-to-day management of the Foundation in 2011.​ She also leads a patient support group (currently meeting via Zoom) in Phoenix, AZ.

Ellen Brightly - Patient Advocate. Ellen's college studies in biology and chemistry provided the foundation for her interest in the health sciences. She joined the GDATF in 2009 after 12 years of service with the Thyroid Foundation of America, which was founded by Dr. Larry Wood. Ellen has spent her whole life in Massachusetts, where she taught in a Headstart program, raised two sons and now enjoys being a grandma!