OUR BOARD

JACK NEALON

CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

As one of the original founders of the organization, Jack strives to Live4Evan on a daily basis. Having had Evan as a close friend throughout high school/college, he constantly taught Jack to always enjoy: a day on ski-mountain or at the ocean with good company; time spent traveling; and importance great music. Jack’s passion for the organization is rooted in the determination to continue Evan’s legacy by helping improve the lives of others affected by cardiac disease. The relationships, partnerships, and community support are what keeps Jack motivated to grow the organization in an effort to meet the housing need of cardiac patient-families in Boston.

“Since it’s early genesis in 2012 the L4E Organization has grown beyond our wildest dreams, and I greatly look forward to the future impact of Live4Evan supporting families for years to come.”

WHITNEY MULLEN

CO-FOUNDER & VICE PRESIDENT

Whitney is one of the original founders of Live4Evan and serves as the head of Marketing and Branding. Her friendship with Evan began in pre-school. Some of her best memories with Evan was when they were studying abroad in Italy and traveled to Rome and Florence together. Whitney’s commitment to Live4Evan stems from Evan’s big heart and contagious love for life, and she strives to keep that alive by giving back to families of children affected by CHD.

Whitney has over 15 years of global marketing experience across the consumer packaged goods and technology industries. Whitney currently works at Diageo North America as Brand Director for Tequila. She has worked on brands such as Don Julio, Casamigos, Captain Morgan, and Smirnoff. Prior to that, she worked at Dell / EMC Corporation in Massachusetts and San Francisco.

Whitney and her husband Matt live right outside of NYC and enjoy traveling to new places and discovering all the food & drinks along the way!

 

RICKY ODELL

CO-FOUNDER

The co-founders started Live4Evan with one goal in mind: To keep Evan’s memory alive by helping others.  At the beginning, they did not know how that was going to be achieved but seeing how far the organization has come in the last 10+ is nothing short of remarkable.

Rick grew up playing baseball with Evan and the two always shared a close bond.

Rick is a Traffic Officer for the Warwick Police Department in Rhode Island. He specializes in serious/fatal crash investigation/reconstruction, drone and motorcycle operations.

Rick lives in Franklin, MA with his wife Marissa and still has close ties to Hopkinton, the home of Live4Evan. In his spare time, he can be found on the golf course in the Summer or on the mountain in the Winter.

“This is only just the beginning. There’s no telling how impactful L4E can be”

 

MICHAEL GIRARDI

BOARD MEMBER, CHAIRMAN OF GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

Michael Girardi is the father of Evan Girardi and currently Vice President Sales & Marketing for Hamilton. His professional career has been based in Life Sciences leading and managing technology companies in this sector. Michael’s past employment includes President Titian Software US, President & CEO REMP USA, and Vice President Customer Support & After Market for Zymark.

DAVE KRUEGER

BOARD MEMBER, CHAIRMAN OF DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

David Krueger has spent the past 38 years in the consumer package goods industry, working in various sales & operations positions on both the manufacturer and agency side of the business. In early 2012 the founders of Live4Evan reached out to David asking him to play a temporary consulting role, and help them get their first annual 5k road race up and in motion. Needless to say, based on his love for the founding group, and their desire to add a “gray hair” to the team… nine months later David joined the Board, and is currently Chairing the Development Committee for L4E. He continues to be energized by the passion and dedication of the Board, and is 100% focused on the growth of the Organization and awareness of the L4E mission. David and his wife Betsy reside in Webster, MA.

SHAWN RYAN

BOARD MEMBER

Shawn Ryan is a CPA and business owner who has worked in accounting and finance for over 30 years. He has a great interest in local philanthropic efforts and was drawn to the Live4Evan organization by the passion of Evan’s friends and classmates (including his daughter) to create a legacy to help families dealing with similar health issues. He has a strong belief that mentoring and supporting the next generation of young people is critical to the continued success of all non-profit groups.

Shawn and his wife Lynne reside in Hopkinton and have three adult daughters.

COLLEEN LYNCH DEAN

BOARD MEMBER

Colleen Lynch (Dean) D.D.S. was thrilled to join the Live4Evan board this year and feels so privileged to be part of such a great organization. In her operations role with L4E, Colleen assists Barbara with staging and supplying the apartments for our heart warrior families. And loving every minute of it! Colleen practiced family dentistry in Hopkinton MA for 22 years where she had the honor of having the Girardi family as patients. She watched this beautiful family grow…. and Evan always held a special place in her heart. Colleen has been supportive of the organization since its inception due to its heartfelt mission and its purpose. Colleen sold her dental practice and began working as an associate dentist in Westboro at Cornerstone Dentistry. She retired from private practice in 2019. Colleen is currently a professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and loves working on the clinic floor with the amazing pre doctorate dental students. Dr. Lynch lives in Hingham MA with her husband and they enjoy as much time as possible with their two grown children Meghan, and her husband Mark, and Evan, and his fiancé Casey. Her interests now, and through the years, include working with individuals with special needs with the Special Olympics , Best Buddies program and was a founder of the Friend in Me program at Franklin School for the Performing Arts. These days, Colleen keep busy with her work at L4E, teaching at Harvard, traveling, flower arranging and searching for sea glass. Colleen’s favorite quote and mantra is “Just be nice “ … a wish for all to spread kindness !

ADAM PERSAK

BOARD MEMBER

Adam attended Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland where he met Evan. They traveled to Rome in the Spring of 2010 to Study Abroad and became close friends. Evan and Adam shared a love for music, movies, food, and sports – although their NYC and Boston rivalries always made things interesting.

Adam joined Live4Evan in 2012, and became a Board Member in 2021 to help with marketing and branding operations. His passion for the organization stems from who Evan was – an optimistic, joyful, and caring person who always was empathetic towards others. Adam believes that anything that can be done to help keep families together during their child’s cardiac care treatment is absolutely necessary.

Currently, Adam resides in Hoboken, NJ with his wife Sara and dog Thomas. He works in the medical device industry with Johnson & Johnson where he spends a lot of time in the Operating Room during Cardiovascular procedures.