Dedicated, motivated leadership

Castleman’s Awareness & Research Effort (“CARE”) was founded in 2006 by patient-advocate and current Board president, Greg Pacheco, and his wife and current Board secretary, Charlyn Pacheco, to raise funds and awareness for Castleman disease research. CARE and and the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) joined forces in 2012. Today, we are led by a dedicated Board of Directors which includes many members from CARE’s original Board of Directors along with CDCN Co-founder David Fajgenbaum and new members.

Greg Pacheco,
Board Chair

Greg Pacheco, Founder of CARE & Board Chair of CDCN, is the Vice President of Operations at BH&TF Inc and a Castleman disease survivor. Greg was diagnosed with Multicentric Castleman Disease in June 2004 and co-Founded CARE in 2006. Greg was President of the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW) Parlor 150 from 2005 – 2007 and Chairman and district representative for School Site Council 2009 – 2011. He has utilized his extensive background in business administration, nonprofit organization, and public administration to lead CARE’s efforts to raise over $100,000 for Castleman disease research as Treasurer (2007-2011), Vice President (2011), and currently President (2012-present). Greg graduated with a Business Degree from Heald College in 1992.

Dr. David Fajgenbaum MD, MBA, MSc, FCPP
CDCN Co-Founder and Board President

Dr. David Fajgenbaum is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, Associate Director for Patient Impact at Penn’s Orphan Disease Center, and Founding Director of the Castleman Disease Center. He co-founded and serves as President of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and leads 18 translational research studies, including the first NIH R01-funded research in idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD). A patient himself, he identified and began a precision treatment that put him into his longest remission. Dr. Fajgenbaum also co-founded the National Students of AMF Support Network, supporting grieving college students nationwide, and co-authored We Get It. His work has been recognized by The New York Times, Science, the Today Show, and Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Healthcare. He earned his BS from Georgetown University, MSc from Oxford, MD from Penn, and MBA from The Wharton School.

Charlyn Pacheco
Co-founder of CARE and Board Secretary of CDCN

Charlyn Pacheco is the Director of Purchasing at Black’s Hatchery and Turkey Farm, and the wife of a Castleman disease survivor. Charlyn is one of the founding members of the Castleman Awareness Research Effort (CARE), which later merged with the CDCN in 2012. She now serves on the Board of Directors for the CDCN.

JC Diefenderfer
Board Vice-President

JC Diefenderfer, Board Vice President, is a winemaker in Paso Robles. JC grew up with Greg Pacheco and considers Greg to be more like a brother than a friend. JC first heard of Castleman disease when Greg began his battle with idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease, and he struggled to find information about the disease. JC was thrilled to be one of the founding members of the CARE board to help advance treatments and awareness for Castleman disease. JC is proud to be a part of the board still and looks forward to being able to touch more and help more as the organization grows.

Michael Stief
Board Treasurer of CARE/CDCN

Michael Stief, Treasurer of CARE/CDCN, is also the Operations Manager at Black’s Hatchery & Turkey Farm, Inc. a privately family owned and operated hotel group in Paso Robles, California. He grew up with Castleman disease (CD) survivor, Greg Pacheco, and joined the Board in 2012 to help fight back against CD. He is passionate about helping the organization and Castleman disease patients in any way possible, particularly through helping to raise awareness of CD. After graduating with a degree in Accounting from California State University of Fullerton, Michael joined the Tuttle-Click Automotive Group to focus on internal auditing and later switched focus to insurance/compliance and remained with TCAG for nearly 20 years before joining Black’s Hatchery.

Katherine Haeusel, MA, MS
Board Member

Katherine lost her father to Castleman disease in 1997 but found the CDCN in 2019 through David Fajgenbaum’s book, Chasing My Cure. An avid CDCN supporter, she was also a member of the CDCN Board of Directors from 2022 until 2025. Katherine gained valuable business and healthcare experience through twenty years as a Human Resources professional in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to that, Katherine also enjoyed a career as a middle school English teacher. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and French from Ursinus College, a Master of Arts in Teaching from The College of New Jersey, and a Master of Science in Human Resources Development from Villanova University.

Peter Buckman
Board Member

Pete Buckman is Senior Vice President at Medidata and manages the Professional Services teams in Europe and Asia. Additionally, he’s spent the last few years helping Medidata to establish their business in Korea and China.

Pete started his career as a Software Engineer in the Avionics industry, and moved to the Life Sciences sector when he started working for the first ePRO (electronic patient-reported outcomes) company back in the ‘90s. Realising his love of working with people he quickly moved from Software Engineering into Project Management. Since then, Pete has been leading teams, departments and business units.

Tim Huval
Board Member

Tim Huval is Chief Administrative Officer at Humana, overseeing Human Resources, Corporate Marketing and Communications, Workplace Solutions, Inclusion and Diversity, and Safety and Security. He reports directly to the President and CEO and serves on the company’s Management Team, helping set strategic direction. Before joining Humana, Tim spent a decade at Bank of America in senior leadership roles, including CIO for Global Wealth & Investment Management and HR executive for Global Treasury Services and Technology & Global Operations. He also held leadership roles at Gateway Inc. A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, he has chaired business councils and served as executive sponsor of programs supporting military veterans. Tim serves on the Boards of Republic Bancorp and the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), among others. He holds an MPA from Brigham Young University, a BS in marketing from Weber State, and an honorary doctorate from Salt Lake Community College.

Bette Jacobs, PhD
Board Member

Bette Jacobs, PhD, Board member, is a Professor, Health Systems Administration at Georgetown University; Distinguished Scholar and co-founder at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law; and a Fellow and Visiting Professor at Campion Hall University of Oxford. A Native American whose body of work spans community, academic, service, and corporate leadership, she is recognized for contributions in successful start-ups, financial integrity, and interdisciplinary innovations. She served with distinction as Dean for the Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies for 11 years overseeing unprecedented programmatic growth within the University. Previous executive experience includes vice presidency for Honda of America Manufacturing; founding faculty member and Associate Director of Applied Research at the Civitan International Research Center; and Acting Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at California State University.

Kevin Silk, JD
Board Member

Kevin M. Silk, JD, Board member, is an associate attorney at Crowell & Moring LLP and is a member of the firm’s Corporate Group. Kevin’s practice focuses on mergers, stock and asset acquisitions, securities transactions and regulatory filings, joint ventures and strategic alliances, project finance, complex commercial agreements, corporate compliance and governance issues, and commercial financing and lending. Kevin represents a diverse group of clients, both private and publicly listed, across a wide range of industries, including financial services, health care, private equity sponsors, technology, consumer goods, biotechnology, energy, and government contracts. Kevin received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his BA from Boston College.