About our Founder, Elizabeth Mays

Mission Statement
American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a non-profit organization dedicated to patients and their families coping with eosinophilic disorders. APFED strives to expand education, create awareness, and support research while promoting advocacy among its members.

About APFED
The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in December 2001 by a group of mothers of young children living with Eosinophilic Disorders. We are a patient advocacy group dedicated to improving the lives of those living with eosinophilic disorders.

Our Goals:
Our mission is multi-faceted: Education, Awareness, Support and Research. Each of these points is equally important to the community dealing with eosinophilic disorders. Without education and awareness there can be no fundraising for research; without research, awareness and education become stagnant; without support, these chronic and painful disorders can become all consuming and the other three points suffer. APFED’s goal is not to tackle one aspect or another, the APFED Mission represents that “We Get It!”  We understand what living with an eosinophilic disorder is all about.

What We Do
We at APFED strive to:
Create a credible source of information for physicians and patients.
Reach out, find and support those who feel alone with their pain (patients and families).
Unite the physician and patient communities in an effort to empower both sides with a better understanding of one another
Teach the general public to understand what "eosinophilic" means to affected families.
Promote and support research into the cause and cure of eosinophilic disorders.

How We Do It
Patient Education Conferences: These conferences feature seminars given by foremost specialists in the field. They have proven to be effective in increasing awareness and empowering parents and patients with an understanding of their own illnesses.  Meeting others living with the same disorders often creates support relationships that can last a lifetime.  Our conferences continually stress the necessity for further research and participation in research studies.

Educational Materials: Our web site, educational materials, books and promotional items are all developed to be easy-to-read, up-to-date, accurate and user-friendly. Maintaining a standard of excellence is a key component with regard to these reference materials. Our Medical Advisory Board reviews all of the medical information APFED publishes for its content and accuracy. Because of this high standard, the organization has been featured, quoted, cited and referenced in medical journals and teaching manuals for medical students and professionals, television news stories, newspaper articles and magazines covering the subject of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders.

Local Support Groups: These volunteer led groups provide emotional and educational support and information about local programs, services, social and/or fundraising events for families and individuals with Eosinophilic Disorders.

Medical Advisory Board: Our Medical Advisory Board is comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of leading physicians and scientists who donate their time to the organization and its Mission.  These dedicated professionals are integral to APFED's success as a patient advocacy group.

Where We Are Headed
The future and long-term vision of APFED is to become an all-encompassing eosinophilic advocacy organization. With the exception of asthma and eczema, which are covered by several other nonprofit organizations, APFED hopes to represent all eosinophilic disorders. By continuing to cultivate successful working relationships with physicians' organizations we hope to bridge the gap between patient and doctor. This will lead to faster diagnosis, more support for research, new treatments, and one day, a cure.


Executive Board