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Meet The Team
Mrs. Amy Norris
Founder & Executive Director
In 2020, Amy and her husband founded RaeRae of Light to honor their daughter Reagan. Educating the community about congenital heart defects and supporting families and patients in their journey with this awful defect is her passion. Amy graduated from ASU with a BS in Marketing and earned her Master’s in Banking from the University of Washington’s Pacific Coast Banking School which is a graduate level banking and executive leadership program. She is a native, born and raised in the Phoenix area and a former competitive gymnast. Amy regularly volunteers for her church and married her high school sweetheart 18 years ago and have four beautiful children.
Ms. Elaine Ekstrom
VP of Marketing & Operations
Ms. Elaine Ekstrom is a retired IT professional and the proud grandmother of baby Reagan. Since leaving the corporate world, Elaine has volunteered and dedicated her time to giving back to other families and growing RaeRae of Light. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems. In her spare time, Elaine enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.
Dr. Christopher Lindblade
Board Member
Christopher L. Lindblade, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist and medical director of the Fetal Cardiology program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. He also serves as program director of the fourth-year advanced noninvasive cardiac imaging fellowship and assistant professor of pediatrics at Mayo Clinic Medical School, University of Arizona College of Medicine and Creighton University School of Medicine.
Mr. Matt Jackson
Board Member
Matt resides in Cave Creek, AZ, with his wife Caty and their two young daughters. The family relocated from Boston, MA to Arizona in 2019 and have embraced their new community ever since. Matt is a dedicated technology program manager who enjoys playing tennis and skiing in his spare time. He is passionate about building community and ensuring families have access to the essential information needed to care for their children.
Mrs. Meredith Gass
Board Member
Meredith is a servant leader with demonstrated success in building collaborative, trusting and sustainable partnerships to incite positive change and improve the quality of life in our communities. Her previous experience in the nonprofit space is instrumental in growing RaeRae of Light.
Mr. Patrick Schwind
Board Member
Patrick is the Chief Support and Services Officer at Gen. He leads the global customer experience and support teams. He has spent over 25 years supporting customer experience for consumer organizations. At Gen, his team handles millions of live customer interactions a year around the globe and has been awarded for their innovation and customer service. Mr. Schwind received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Western Michigan University. He brings a strong background of business and entrepreneurship.
Mr. Vinny Salerno
Board Member
Bio coming soon!
Mrs. Pam Clarke
Board Member
Pam was a professional in the banking industry for more than 40 years. This experience enabled her to build business relationships. She was also previously involved with several nonprofit organizations and active in fund raising activities. She assisted in organizing and participated in camps for children and adults.
Ms. Kris Norris
Board Secretary
Kris is the proud grammy of Reagan. She spent her 30 year career in Executive Search and Recruiting in the fields of information technology and accounting. Her passion has been to work in the non-profit sector. Beginning as a board member for Stepping Stones of Hope, an organization that supports children in grief, Kris developed and executed programs to help children accept and understand their grief emotions. Kris also served on the Board of Directors for NPower, an organization that supports veterans and diverse candidates. In this role, Kris developed job-search curriculum and provided mentoring for their career path.
Are you interested in serving the heart community on RaeRae of Light's Board of Directors? RaeRae of Light®, a health and human service organization is looking for volunteer leaders who can be passionate about our work in the community. The Board of Directors consists of leaders which frame the governing body of the organization. The board works to further the mission of the Organization.
Board of Directors Role
The Board of Directors has an important role in shaping RaeRae of Light strategically, as well as maintaining focus on our mission which is at the heart of all we do.
What is a board member’s job?
Every member of the Board of Directors is required to contribute to RaeRae of Light. The roles and responsibilities required for the volunteer role include:
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Make a leadership gift, or an in-kind donation each year at a level that demonstrated your commitment to furthering the organization and its fundraising efforts.
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Actively serve a 3-year term.
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Attend board meetings regularly and be an active participant. Board meetings are on the first Tuesday of every other month.
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Strengthen the relationship of RaeRae of Light with your peers and your company to assist in community awareness and fundraising.
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Serve on at least one committee:
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Fundraising Committee
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Finance Committee
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Strategic Planning Committee
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Participate in and attend at least one fundraising event per year.
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Work diligently to understand and communicate to fellow community members the work of RaeRae of Light, and why we do what we do.
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Maintain complete confidentiality of board discussions and information.
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Actively participate in Board of Directors business providing input and insight, suggest resolutions to problems.
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Follow the RaeRae of Light social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn) and comment and share for further network visibility.