The Scleroderma Foundation is pleased to announce the hiring of Mary J. Wheatley, IOM, CAE as CEO of the foundation, effective July 1, 2021. Wheatley succeeds Robert J. Riggs, who announced his departure last November after 25 years of leadership.
Riggs guided the organization through the merger of the United Scleroderma Foundation and the Scleroderma Federation, and recently led development of a strategic plan to enhance fundraising capabilities and to realign organizational management.
“This is an exciting time for the Scleroderma Foundation,” said Cos Mallozzi, chair of the foundation’s national board of directors. “We thank Robert for his years of dedication and look forward to the foundation’s future under Mary’s leadership.”
Wheatley is a proven nonprofit executive with more than 15 years of experience in research administration and nonprofit management. She joins the Scleroderma Foundation having served as executive director of the Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF) since 2014, where she provided expertise, leadership and management for all functions within the organization. Over the past 13 years, she was a driving force in helping RRF grow significantly, not only in size and scope, but also in national recognition. During her tenure, she oversaw two successful fundraising campaigns, raising more than $135 million for rheumatology research and training.
Wheatley is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Her professional memberships include the Health Research Alliance, NIH-NIAMS Coalition, the Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE), and the American Society for Association Executives. Her contributions to the nonprofit community have been recognized nationally, including with the GSAE 2019 Skelton-Massey Award, her induction into the Association Forum Forty Under Forty Class of 2014 and others.
“I am honored to follow in Robert’s footsteps, and build on the legacy that he has created with the Foundation’s leadership and partners,” said Wheatley. “It is truly a privilege to lead an organization that is committed to advancing support, education, and research in scleroderma, and I look forward serving the needs of the community.”
The Scleroderma Foundation is dedicated to serving the needs of the scleroderma community through its three-fold mission: support, education, and research. The Foundation carries out its mission through programs and services initiated at its national office in Danvers, Mass., and through its network of 19 chapters and 160 support groups throughout the United States.
