We Make Big Ideas Happen

​Journalist & Author

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Ryan Prior is an award winning journalist and author telling stories at the frontlines of science and democracy, with a spotlight ME/CFS and Long COVID. Over the past 12 years, he has written hundreds of stories for CNN, Psychology Today, The Guardian, The Nation, STAT, USA Today, and The Daily Beast. He is the author of The Long Haul: How Long Covid Survivors Are Revolutionizing Healthcare, which explores the global impact of the pandemic and the chronic illness crisis that followed.  He holds a MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a William A. Starr Journalism Innovations Fellow. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Georgia, through its Honors College, and was named to the school's "40 Under 40" alumni list in 2018.

Researcher​

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W. Ian Lipkin, John Snow Professor, Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity and the Center for Solutions for ME/CFS at Columbia University, has pioneered molecular methods for infectious disease surveillance, discovered over 2,500 viruses, mentored over 60 graduate students and fellows, and authored 500 publications. He directed the Northeast Biodefense Center (2003-2015), co-chaired the National Biosurveillance Advisory Subcommittee for the White House (2010-2011), served on the Advisory Committee to NIH Director Collins (2015-2017) and was chief scientific consultant for the Soderbergh movie “Contagion”. Honors include the Mendel Medal, National Academy of Inventors, AAAS, ASM, IDSA, Pew Scholar, Ellison Scholar, Drexel Prize, Assoc Amer Physicians, Council on Foreign Relations.

Founder of #NotJustFatigue​

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Elizabeth Ansell, founder of #NotJustFatigue, is an advocate, storyteller, and changemaker for the ME/CFS community. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she has a background in English literature and TV production. Bed-bound since 2016, Elizabeth uses her lived experience and creative skills to educate others about ME/CFS, dismantle stigma, and build community for those navigating the same invisible illness.  Through NotJustFatigue.org, she translates the reality of ME/CFS into accessible, emotionally impactful content by ways of videos, timelines, and documentary snapshots.  She has reached over 350,000 people and earned accolades like the Shorty Awards Social Activism Audience Honor. 

Person with ME/CFS​

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Heidi Menera Norgaard is a person with ME/CFS who’s been living with the disease for 18 years.  Prior to becoming ill, she was an active member of the community, a business owner, and able to intensely exercise most days of the week.  But now, almost two decades later, she is largely homebound and sometimes uses a wheelchair. Her symptoms range from extreme fatigue and cognitive problems to major sensory overload and even episodes where she is unable to speak or move at all. She’s lost her independence and her business; she, her husband, and her son moved in with her parents in 2012.  Despite being in their 70’s, her parents act as her full time caregivers.