We are excited to welcome Dr. Bhooma Aravamuthan, pediatric neurologist specializing in movement disorders, to our Medical Advisory Board. She will be working with Hope for HIE to bring more education to our community in the area of movement disorders, in particular dystonia, which has negative impacts on many children with HIE. Her full bio is below.

Just a few days before the Christmas holiday, my four year old and 8 year old children were buzzing with excitement. They begged us to have sleepovers in each other's rooms, and we happily obliged, seeing their joy earlier in the year during the pandemic when they were looking for new adventures in an uncertain time. My husband turned back on the video baby monitors we've continued to use well out of infanthood, "just in case they decide to cause shenanigans in the middle of the night."

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Beth Robinson Swartz, pediatrician, recently retired from Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Mich., to our Medical Advisory Board. She will be working with Hope for HIE to represent the clinical pediatrician experience, supporting families with developmental concerns and disabilities. Her full bio is below.

Hope for HIE announces an organizational shift appointing Betsy Pilon as Executive Director, and David Ford as President of the Board of Directors. Hope for HIE is the premiere global organization dedicated to awareness, education and support for children and families affected by Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, a type of neonatal and pediatric-acquired brain injury.

Pilon will be the first Executive Director of the organization, previously serving on the Board of Directors and serve as a non-voting member of the board in an ex-officio role. Since 2013, she has worked with several volunteers to grow the support arm from roughly 500 families, worldwide, to now serving over 6,000 families today. She has been instrumental in developing connections with clinicians and researchers who are actively involved in work to decrease the incidence of HIE and improve the quality of life for children and families, serving on the Board of Directors for the Newborn Brain Society, and participating in various task forces and committees as a parent voice in neonatal and pediatric neurology care and communication improvement projects.