The Children’s Heart Foundation was founded in 1996 by Betsy and Steve Peterson, who lost their 8 year old son to CHD in 1995. The Board of Directors is made up of 20 individuals, six of whom are on the Executive Committee, including founder Betsy Peterson, President Megan Van Pelt, Executive Director William Foley and Past President Leo Cole. On the staff at the Children’s Heart Foundation is the Director of Chapter Development Ellen Weiss, Administrative Assistant Rosemary Wheeler and Executive Director William Foley. There is also an extensive Medical Advisory Board including over 30 of the world’s leading pediatric cardiologist and cardiovascular surgeons who oversee the research granting process. Among them are Dr. Carl Backer, acting chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, from Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago; Dr. Vincent Zales, Pediatric Cardiology in Brick, New Jersey; and Dr. Kathy Jenkins of the Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

<–Children’s Heart Foundation: History