Healthier Together: Learning for All Ages

On April 30, constituents, volunteers, staff, and experts gathered in Chicago, Illinois for the first in-person National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) Community Conference since 2019. There were over 60 people in attendance from across the country. After over two years of emails, webinars, and video conferences, there was a palpable relief when attendees at the NPF Community Conference “Healthier Together: Learning for All Ages” were able to see each other live and in-person. Even before the end of the conference there was talk about when and where the next community conference would be held.

The morning of the conference, with board member and longtime NPF volunteer Matt Kiselica as the emcee, the attendees were primed, laughing, and ready to go. Kiselica first welcomed on stage NPF’s Leah Howard, J.D., who was proud to kick off the first in-person conference since becoming Interim President and CEO. On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, Howard was officially named President and CEO of NPF.

There were also a few remarks from board member and ex-NFL football player Jonathan Scott, who saw no need to go onstage as he managed to tower over Howard and Kiselica from the floor.

The one-day conference had phenomenal speakers including dermatologist Dr. Shatil Amin, discussing comorbidities of psoriatic disease, and gastroenterologist Dr. Adam Stein, who discussed gut health and inflammation. These two health care providers, both from Northwestern University, delivered incredibly informative content, and did it with a wonderful mix of compassion and humor. It was also clear that both understood that living with a chronic disease is not easy and that learning about comorbidities can be difficult.