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Our Team.
Karyn Bishof, (She/ Her), B.S., Fmr FF/PM
President & Founder, Director of Advocacy
March 2020 Longhauler, Florida
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Bishof is the founder & president of the COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project and has a background in exercise science and health promotion, is a single mom, mixed- indigenous, and is a former firefighter/ paramedic, physical education and health teacher, director of athletics and coach. As a first-wave Longhauler with a background in science, medicine, education and now as a patient, Bishof found herself in a unique position to advocate on behalf of people with Long COVID and associated conditions, especially as someone who has developed many of the conditions associated with Long COVID, such as but not limited to, POTS, MCAS, ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Migraine, EoE, HSD and more. Bishof firmly believes in comprehensive cross-community education and collaboration amongst infection associated chronic illness communities and beyond, as well as facilitation of bi-directional communication between the community and government, researchers and providers, and the public. Bishof serves on the NIH RECOVER Initiative’s Ancillary Studies Oversight Committee, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicines Committee tasked with examining the U.S. Governments working definition of Long COVID, the advisory board for the Long COVID Research Fund, and has received the Amelia Moore Sparkle Award for Compassionate Advocacy from Dysautonomia International in July 2022.
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Netia McCray (She/ Her), B.S.
Director of Education
March 2020 Longhauler, Florida
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McCray is an educator whose global non-profit organization, Mbadika (bah-GEE-kah), has helped thousands bring their ideas to reality through leveraging STEM. For over 10 years, McCray has worked to demystify STEM in order to make it accessible to typically disadvantaged groups. As a March 2020 Longhauler, she has witnessed first hand the short and long term devastation that Long COVID has brought to not only her community but to communities worldwide. Netia believes knowledge is power and being able to obtain appropriate care and support starts with equitable access. Through her work with C-19 LAP, she utilizes her educational background to demystify Long COVID and recovery for communities like hers that shouldered the burden of the COVID pandemic.
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Rebecca Jacobs (She/ Her), L.M.S.W.
Director of Community Support
March 2020 Longhauler, New Jersey
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Jacobs is a Bilingual Therapist at The New York Center for Children, where she provides trauma-focused individual and group therapy to children, adolescents, and adults in both English and Spanish. Jacobs also conducts bilingual trainings to parents and to professionals on identifying and addressing child abuse and intimate partner violence, as well as supporting traumatized youth. Previously, Rebecca worked in the NYC child welfare system through preventive services and with non-profit organizations providing training in psychiatric medication management for physicians treating children. In addition to her Master's of Social Work, Jacobs is a certified Spanish-language interpreter and has provided medical interpretation services in hospital settings, and has advanced training in mandated reporting, crisis response, and substance use counseling. Jacobs hopes to support her fellow longhaulers in accessing the services and support they so desperately need.
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Michael Clark (He/ Him), C.P.A.
Treasurer, Director of Finance
March 2020 Longhauler, Maryland
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Clark is an accounting and finance executive and a certified public accountant with over a decade of experience working in biotechnology and Big 4 public accounting. As a March 2020 COVID-19 Long Hauler and a patient at two academic hospital COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinics, he has experienced first hand the challenges long haulers face in finding proper care and treatment as well as the opportunities available for recovery and rehabilitation. His COVID-19 story has been featured in multiple media outlets and he aims to leverage his story and his voice to advocate for COVID-19 longhaulers and other chronic illness patients that face similar ailments in order to help the millions of sufferers find treatment, dignity, support, and recovery in their journey.
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Jessica Warner (She/Her), B.S.N, R.N
Sec., Dir. of Communications & Community Outreach
February 2020 Longhauler, Colorado
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Warner is a registered nurse with a behavioral and public health background spanning all age groups. Disabled for over a decade, she combines her various talents to support others navigating health and social service resources. Through volunteering from a young age, the vital life lessons of empathy, compassion, and strength of a unified community are guiding principles of her personal and professional life. She believes how we care for those living with Long COVID & its associated conditions is and will be our ultimate challenge. Warner was tasked early in her career with a grant-funded project to develop resiliency skills in a diverse community of children, including newly arrived refugees from SE Asia. She has worked as a training specialist overseeing new hires and advanced skills course design and facilitation and previous experiences include providing care in a psychiatric facility, eldercare in an alternative skilled care community, and as a certified pharmacy technician.
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Krista Coombs (She/ Her), M.T.C.M, Ac.
Director of Policy & Programs
February 2020 Longhauler, Vermont
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Coombs is a first-wave Longhauler and parent of children with Long COVID and post- COVID POTS, which is what brought her to advocate for Long COVID and its Associated Conditions, following 20 years of experience working with chronic, complex illnesses as a TCM Acupuncturist. Coombs has served as the C19LAP State Chapter Lead since its inception and has recently begun work as a Long COVID Advocate for the Vermont Center of Independent Living (VCIL) where she aims to establish resources for Vermont Longhaulers. Coombs is involved in the NIH RECOVER Initiative’s pediatric cohort and serves on the Mechanistic Pathways Task Force, the NCEG Publications Subcommittee, and the small group for clinical trials on exercise intolerance.
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