Minnesota ME/CFS Alliance Team
Lianne, Lisa, Dan, Steve, and Suzanne came together in 2017 over a shared vision to advocate, offer support, and improve medical care options for Minnesotans affected by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Recognizing the need to organize formally, we created the Minnesota ME/CFS Alliance. This non-profit is a 501(c)(3) volunteer organization dedicated to locating and improving the quality of life for 17,000+ missing Minnesotans with ME/CFS.
Lianne Beyerl, President
Lianne Beyerl graduated from St. Catherine's University with a Bachelors in Occupational Therapy. She has enjoyed a rewarding career in both mental health and physical rehabilitation settings assisting patients to overcome obstacles and achieve their optimum level of independence. Working in the medical profession, she understands how overwhelming the medical world can be to patients and caregivers.
In 2011 their teenage son caught the flu and never recovered. It took four years for a diagnosis. As the parent of a now homebound son with ME/CFS, she has observed his progressively declining health and witnessed the troubling absence of Minnesota clinicians who understand, can diagnose or manage ME/CFS. The formation of the Minnesota ME/CFS Alliance was to offer support, advocacy and generate enhanced medical care. Lianne lives in Minnesota with her husband, and they have two sons.
Lisa Alioto, Vice President
Lisa Alioto's qualifications include graduating with top honors from Mitchell Hamline University School of Law. Her work as an attorney has encompassed both traditional and non-traditional legal roles. As a small business owner, she additionally enjoys success as a certified career and personal coach. As a ME/CFS patient herself, Lisa understands the struggle to find medical support. She spent a year desperately seeking medical care, eventually getting a ME/CFS diagnosis. At that time, she received a treatment plan that evidence has proven to be harmful to ME/CFS patients. Only through her research has she gained the extensive knowledge she has about this debilitating condition.
Recognizing the need to raise ME/CFS awareness, Lisa began publishing articles and started a blog: Chronic Illness: Realistic Optimism. She is passionate about helping those with ME/CFS live a positive, fulfilling life despite the challenges of a chronic illness. Lisa has also volunteered with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), facilitating the updating of their ME/CFS educational materials and provides social media support for another state's ME/CFS organization. Leveraging her personal experience and her awareness of the greatly lacking medical support in Minnesota, she has dedicated herself to enhancing the lives of Minnesotans with ME/CFS through this organization.
Dan Curry, Treasurer
Dan Curry's qualifications include graduating from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business with a Bachelor's degree in Finance. Since then he has advanced in his career through finance and sales roles in a variety of industries including his own consulting company working with clients to accelerate their IT strategy through data center, cloud and network services.
Dan is the son of a ME/CFS patient and witnessed the devastating effect that ME/CFS can have on within a family dynamic. He is a strong advocate for enhanced and expanded medical care options for Minnesotans with ME/CFS.
Suzanne Wheeler, Secretary
Suzanne Wheeler graduated from the University of North Dakota and was commissioned as an officer in the US Army. Graduating top of her flight class, she served nearly a decade in the US Army. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix, is an Aviation Consultant for Jacobsen J. Daniels and runs her own skincare business with Rodan + Fields. Her nonprofit leadership experience includes Vice-President and President of Lakselaget, a professional Norwegian women's scholarship organization in Minneapolis, MN; seven years as a counselor & Norwegian language teacher at Concordia College Language Village in Bemidji, MN, and Silent Auction Purse coordinator for YWCA "Purses & Passion." She also currently serves as an Officer on her townhome association board.
As an ME/CFS patient herself, Suzanne is passionate about helping others learn about this illness and live their highest possible quality of life with this debilitating disease. She has reinvented herself after suffering years of chronic pain and is a strong advocate for facilitating the pursuit and access to a variety of medical resources for ME/CFS patients.
Steve Curry, Founding Member
Steve Curry, currently and in the past, has served on numerous Boards of Directors - both for non-profit organizations and for-profit corporations. He has held officer titles in some of those organizations as well. His experience includes being the president and a director of a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Minnesota. In addition, he has been the president and a director since 1981 of a Minnesota corporation that he founded. Steve has been disabled with ME/CFS since 2007 and is a longtime supporter of the Solve ME/CFS Initiative (SMCI); including serving on their Board of Directors.