Right before her 30th birthday, the vitiligo on Sharon King’s face began to spread. This motivated her to create Litty Ligo, an outreach and advocacy network hosting events, campaigns and programs to empower the vitiligo community and normalize skin differences. Litty Ligo has helped thousands of families and educated schools and medical institutions alike about the social health aspects of living with vitiligo.
Sharon King
HostWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Eric Peacock is the cofounder of MyVitiligoTeam - a fast-growing social network for people facing vitiligo. Eric, who has had vitiligo since he was a child, is also the cofounder and CEO of MyHealthTeams - a company that has already created similar social networks in 36 other chronic conditions serving 2.4 million members.
Eric Peacock
Co-Founder and CEO of MyHealthTeamsWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Perry Whaley started Vitiligo Man of Action LLC in Stonecrest. His company is dedicated to encouraging people to live a productive life. Through education and empowerment, he hopes to be able to make a lasting change.
Perry Whaley
Keynote SpeakerWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Dr. Grimes is a globally recognized dermatologic expert and a leading international authority on vitiligo and pigmentation disorders. As Director of the Vitiligo and Pigmentation Institute of Southern California, she treats patients from all over the world who seek her expertise.
Dr. Pearl Grimes
PanelistWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Dr. Harris is a Professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) in Worcester, MA. Dr. Harris directs the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMMS, which incorporates a specialty clinic for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with vitiligo, as well as a vitiligo research laboratory. He uses basic, translational, and clinical research approaches to better understand autoimmunity in vitiligo, with a particular focus on developing more effective treatments.
Dr. John Harris
PanelistWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Dr. Schuster, who has vitiligo, is a licensed psychologist specializing in stressful events and experiences. She works at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas, where she assesses children with concerns of abuse or neglect. She is also an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Dr. Lisa Schuster
SpeakerWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Dr. Nada Elbuluk is a board-certified dermatologist and Assistant Professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology. She is a dermatologist at USC where she serves a diverse population in Los Angeles. She is the founder and director of the USC Skin of Color Center and Pigmentary Disorders Clinic. She also serves as the Director of the Dermatology Diversity and Inclusion Program.
Dr. Nada Elbuluk
PanelistWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Dr. Huang’s research focuses on the clinical, epidemiologic, and translational understanding of vitiligo, an autoimmune condition of the skin. To that end, he has established collaborations to investigate novel technologies for the evaluation and treatment of vitiligo, and has been involved with clinical trials. In addition, he is active in understanding dermatologic sequellae of cytotoxic chemotherapies and targeted therapies used to treat cancer.
Dr. Victor Huang
PanelistWorld Vitiligo Day 2021
Dr. Richard Huggins
Panelist, Speaker
Dr. Huggins joined the dermatology staff at Henry Ford Hospital in 2012 and was named division head of the Department of Dermatology in 2018. Dr. Huggins is the author of numerous journal articles and chapters studying treatments and quality of life for people with vitiligo and other skin conditions. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Global Vitiligo Foundation and volunteers as the coordinator of the Global Vitiligo Foundation Community (GVF-C).
Dr. Seemal R Desai
Speaker
Dr. Desai is the Founder and Medical Director of Innovative Dermatology in Dallas, Texas as well as a faculty member at UT Southwestern. He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology, as Immediate Past President of the Skin of Color Society, on the US Food & Drug Administration PCAC, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Global Vitiligo Foundation.
Dr. Amit G. Pandya
Speaker
Dr. Pandya is a vitiligo specialist and researcher currently based in Palo Alto, CA. He has given hundreds of lectures nationally and internationally, and has published over 200 research articles and book chapters, mostly on pigmentary disorders. He is the current President-Elect/Secretary for the Global Vitiligo Foundation Board of Directors.
Alicia Roufs
2021 WVD-USA Planning Team
Alicia Roufs is the marketing director of VITFriends, a vitiligo support community. She is also the founder of the local VITFriends chapter in Minnesota. In June of 2016, Alicia was asked to share her story of growing up with vitiligo at the first World Vitiligo Day-USA conference in Washington DC. She has been featured on Fox 9 news and local publications and has even advocated on Capitol Hill. She has had vitiligo for over 43 years.
Jake Webber
Social Event Host
Jake Webber is a Registered Dietitian with more than 7 years experience in health coaching and clinical nutrition therapy. He has an extensive background working with doctors, dietitians, and physical fitness professionals to combine all facets of health to ensure meaningful changes in someone’s life.
John Doe
World Vitiligo Day 2021John Doe
World Vitiligo Day 2021
Mark Braxton
Social Event Host
Mark Braxton is from Raleigh, NC. He‘s had vitiligo for over 25 years. He is a member of the NC Vitiligo Support Community. He started vitiligo awareness presentations at Fox Rd Elementary. He has a podcast called ’Living Life and Love‘ he’s had the honor of interviewing educators, artists, entrepreneurs, and several members of the vitiligo community nationally and globally. He’s one of the newest members on the VITFriends board and the art instructor for the VITFriends Creative Expressions art classes.
