Executive committee
Mike Debbeler
Board Chairperson
J. Michael Debbeler is a partner with the Cincinnati law firm of Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP. Mr. Debbeler received his B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Kentucky and his J.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he was a member of Order of the Barrister. Mr. Debbeler served as a Visiting Instructor in Law at the College of Law for the year following his graduation. Mr. Debbeler is admitted to practice in Ohio and Kentucky, all U.S. District Courts in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan, the Sixth, Seventh and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Debbeler represents lenders in all facets of real estate and asset based liquidations and workouts. He also represents a wide array of clients with other real estate, banking, bankruptcy, debtor/creditor and commercial litigation issues. He has lectured to various groups on a variety of bankruptcy, real estate, and creditors’ rights issues. He is a member of the Cincinnati, Ohio State, Kentucky and Northern Kentucky bar associations. He is a member of the Bankruptcy Committee of the Cincinnati Bar Association where he serves as a reporter for local court decisions. In addition to serving as Board Chair of Parkinson Support & Wellness, he also is a member in the American Bankruptcy Law Forum, the American Bankruptcy Institute where he is a Volo Editor, the Turnaround Management Association, and is a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation.
Elizabeth Grover
Vice President
Elizabeth grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Duke University. After a mixed career (she was a librarian, a reading tutor and a church administrator as well as a mother of three) she retired and has become very active in the Parkinson’s community. Elizabeth brought the Dance for PD program to our area, established several programs for newly diagnosed folks, and has led several support groups. She is a very strong advocate of exercise, believing that her busy exercise schedule is what helps her keep going after 25 years with PD. She and her husband John have 5 grandchildren.
Danny Mutasim
Treasurer
Danny works in the audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, primarily serving financial services clients in the Greater Cincinnati area, and also helping to plan office-wide volunteer events. Danny was born and raised in Cincinnati, and has obtained a Masters in Accountancy from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor’s degree from Bentley University. He is also a licensed CPA in the state of Ohio. In his free time, Danny likes to run, travel, and cheer on Cincinnati’s sports teams.
Maureen Gartner, NP-C
SecretAry & Medical Liaison
Maureen Gartner, Nurse Practitioner has been working in Movement Disorders for more than 17 years. She has more than 30 years of nursing experience in the fields of neurology and neurosurgery. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. Ten years later Maureen earned a Master degree in Health Education, and ten years after that, her Master of Science in Nursing.
Maureen has a passion and love for her patients that fuels her daily energy. Her experience and medical background allows her to deal with the most complex problems of Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and other movement disorders. She is an advocate for her patients and is genuinely interested in improving the quality of life with her patients and caregivers while dealing with the consequences of chronic neurological diseases. In her free time she likes to garden, play with her dog, and travel. Her sense of humor helps her weather the demands of her job and dedication to her patients.
Committee Leads
Patty Ahern
Support Groups
Upon retiring from 30 years of teaching, a friend of Patty’s who has PD recommended she join the organization—he thought her skills would help the PD community— and she has remained involved for the last 20+ years. Patty has been instrumental to the growth of our support groups: Young Onset groups, support groups in the Georgetown, Centerville, local Cincinnati and most recently the Caregiver support groups in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas. Patty says, “I have loved being with these people . . and as I enter into their lives I am enriched by their stamina, joy, and strength.”
Cecilia Bidigare, RN MSN CNE CHSE
Financial Grants
Cecilia Bidigare is the associate nursing program administrator at Sinclair Community College. She is a graduate of the Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program sponsored by the Parkinson’s Foundation.
Steve Hammoor
Steve is a native Cincinnatian, graduate of Roger Bacon High School, and retired from EVP Brighton Tru Edge after 35 years in the metals business. He was diagnosed with PD in 2012, but does not let that slow him down. Steve stays busy running marathons and volunteering both on the PSW Board and as the Honorary Chair for the Sunflower Rev It Up for Parkinson’s.
Steve and his wife Becky live in West Harrison, Indiana. They have 4 grown children, of whom they are very proud.
Sarah Pendelton
Sarah Pendleton has been volunteering for the Steady Strides Committee since 2019 and joined the PSW Marketing committee in 2021. When Sarah’s father was diagnosed with PD she wanted to find an outlet where she could help and give back to others in the PD community. She is currently working as a Category Manager for Reynolds Consumer Products and primarily supports Kroger! Sarah is a UC Graduate of Lindner College of Business where she obtained her bachelor degree in Marketing. Growing up she was a competitive dancer and still loves to move. Sarah is constantly on the go traveling, spending time with family, hiking, and taking barre classes at Barre3. If you get her talking she’ll likely start telling you about the latest book she’s read.
Sara Penhale
Sara spent her career as the Science Librarian at Earlham College and leader of off-campus study programs to Kenya. She and her husband, Allan Winkler, live in Oxford, OH where he retired from Miami University. They have two children and two grandchildren who live on the west coast. Sara was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2006 and retired in 2010. She continues to pursue her interests in cooking, gardening, crafts, and traveling to far off places.
Marge Burks
Marge Burks joined the Board in 2020. She first joined PSW as a volunteer for Steady Strides and was then treasurer of the board for awhile. Marge is passionate about helping her local community, so she decided to get involved with PSW after her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She is a local bankruptcy trustee and attorney. When she is not working, Marge’s hobbies include yoga, biking, long walks, art and time spent with her family.
Rodney Stucky
Rodney Stucky, musician and music educator, has been co-director of the Early Music Lab at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and head of classical guitar studies in CCM’s Preparatory Department. Rodney was diagnosed with PD in 2017.
Rodney has previously worked at the University of South Carolina and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music and Schools for the Arts. He has performed throughout the United States, Central America, and South America. He was a member of the early music groups, Apollo’s Cabinet and Mano e Arco. He studied guitar at the Peabody Conservatory and has been a leading pioneer in guitar education for young children, authoring Guitar for the Young published by Les Productions d’OZ of Québec. He has also published two sets of Spirituals for voice and guitar.
advisors
Alberto Espay, MD
Medical Director
Alberto Espay is Professor of Neurology and Endowed Chair of the University of Cincinnati James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders. He has published extensively on Parkinson's disease and leads the first phenotype-agnostic biomarker development program for patients with neurodegenerative diseases (CCBP) designed to deploy bioassays aiming at matching available therapies with those most likely to benefit, regardless of their clinical diagnosis.
Staff
Chris Gaffney
Executive Director
Chris joined Parkinson Support and Wellness in 2017 after retiring from a 35-year career in telecommunications technology sales. He served in multiple start-up companies and helped drive their growth to billion dollar organizations. Chris was charged with opening new markets around the country. He brings his experience in organizational leadership and building lasting relationships with key constituents, the business and overall community.
Chris has volunteered with Alzheimers Association, the NFL Alumni Association and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He has been a member of the Queen City Rugby Football Club since its founding in 1974.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Chris and his wife Vicki live in Mason. They have two children and three grandchildren.
Julia Burks
Assistant Director
Julia Burks has been a staff member with Parkinson Support & Wellness since mid-October 2019 as Assistant Director. Julia first joined the PSW community in 2019 when she volunteered on the Steady Strides committee along with her mother. Her motivation to join was due to her father, who was diagnosed with PD in early 2019. Her first step at understanding the disease was to attend PSW's Basics of PD in 2019. Julia has been a professional fundraiser since 2017 and is excited to use her skills towards a cause close to her heart. During her free time, she enjoys exercising, dancing, making art or jewelry, daydreaming about traveling the world and spending time with her loved one.
Nancy Wetterer
Office Administrator
Nancy S. Wetterer has earned a BS in dual degrees in Education and Biological Science and Master's Degree in Education from Xavier University. She is a member of the Women of Excellence at Xavier and an avid Musketeer fan. Prior to PSW, Nancy worked as a teacher, facilitator and coach at Hughes High School (where she developed the Special Olympics Program in which students participated and won many state and local awards!), at two private elementary schools, as Center Director for the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, and as a teacher and coach at Carroll High School.
After teaching for 32 years, Nancy transitioned her professional experience, training, beliefs and goals to her position with Parkinson Support and Wellness (PSW). For the past 9 years Nancy has been the Office Administrator for PSW and strives to fulfill the mission of Learning, Moving and Sharing in the lives of people with Parkinson Disease, their caregivers, families and friends. Nancy is a strong believer in the power of positive thinking and attitude, dedication and a true sense of caring both professionally and personally.
Nancy has lived in Cincinnati almost her entire life. She has been married to Bob for 43 years and they have one adult daughter, Lauren. Outside of work and when not visiting and running races at her “happy place” Walt Disney World, Nancy enjoys organizing and playing in tennis leagues; hiking at local and national parks; reading; gardening; participating in local running/walking groups, running/walking 5k's, 10k's and half marathons in all 50 states; swimming; biking; traveling; organizing/ participating in many community events (4th of July Parades, Holiday Walks, Monthly Fundraiser Dinners to support the Mt. Washington Water Tower); volunteering and hanging out with Jack the cat!
A couple of additional fun facts— Nancy played Volleyball and Basketball at Xavier University. She still holds the basketball record for the highest average in one season. For 35 years, Nancy has been a member of the Aquatics Team as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) at Coney Island Park and teaches swimming lessons to children of various ages.