June 1 marked the start of a new board term, and this year HACA welcomes two new board members: Kate Greene and Ben Marcus. 

Kate has supported HACA as one of our top walk fundraisers for many years, has a son with hemophilia and has been a member since 2016. She brings to the board experience with strategic planning, budgeting and financial managements, global health programming and nonprofit management. 

Ben has hemophilia and got involved with HACA after moving to DC a few years back. He is a molecular biologist by training, and works as a professional science writer and public relations specialist. 

Welcome, Ben and Kate! 

We also said goodbye to board members Daniel Hay, Ashley Hay and Mallory O'Connor. Dan served three two-year terms on the board, and took over as president in 2021. Mallory also served three terms, and was both secretary and vice-president during her years of service. Ashley served two two-year terms. Thank you to Dan, Ashley and Mallory for their service to the board. 

Our 2025-2026 executive board members are: Shawna Gray, president; Will Hubbert, vice president; Kathy Krug, secretary; and Katherine Vargas, treasurer. 

HACA hosted an injection and infusion clinic on Tuesday, June 10, at the Audrey Moore Recreation Center in Annandale, VA. 

Several nurses from Children's National Hospital HTC were on hand to help participants practice on dummy arms. They were also able to practice using a VainSim (Venous Access Infusion Simulator) device, which can be attached to a person's arm and mimics infusion directly into the arm. Veteran infusers Will Hubbert, Jack Prophett and Brien Krug were there to offer support and advice. 

The clinic was structured as an open house, with people stopping in to practice and enjoy pizza for dinner. 

Thank you to CSL Behring, Genentech and Takeda for supporting our infusion and injection program.

Congratulations to the three HACA members that will each receive a George & Linda Price Scholarship for the 2025-26 school year. 

They are: 

Connor Bandettini - Connor is a recent graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda and has achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He will be a freshman at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and he will be studying architecture. 

Bridget Prophett - Bridget is a recent graduate of Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, where she played soccer and received distinguished honors for getting all A's throughout her high school career. She will be starting as an economics major at the University of South Carolina later this summer. 

Molly Prophett - Molly will be a junior at the College of Charleston this fall, where she is majoring in accounting and minoring in economics. 

Congratulations and best of luck in the upcoming school year! 

Several current HACA members enjoyed an evening out with former chapter member Linda Leigh Sulser in June. 

Linda Leigh and her late husband Ellis Sulser, who passed away in 2016, were very involved with the chapter in the 1990s and 2000s. Ellis played a role in advocacy efforts to get the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act passed in 1998. He was also a founder of the specialty pharmacy Factor Support Network. The Sulsers were both involved in the creation of the Hemophilia Federation of America and Ellis served as its board president in the early years. Linda Leigh was also involved in the chapter's Women's Outreach Network of NHF (WONN), and both served on HACA's board during their time in Northern Virginia. 

The dinner was organized by Nina Duggan, and brought together longtime members who have been deeply involved with HACA, honoring decades of shared history, friendship and dedication to the community.

"Truly lifelong connections are created within the hemophilia world," said Nina. 

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Want to register for a HACA event? You can do that through our weekly Chapter Connection email, or you can go here on the HACA website to check out the calendar of events. 

Here are some upcoming events: 

Sunday, July 20 - Families Event, Black Hill Regional Park, Boyds, MD

Sunday, August 10 - Chapter Picnic, Water Mine at Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, VA

Friday, September 19-Sunday, September 21 - HACA Retreat, Graves Mountain Lodge, Syria, VA