Davis Phinney Foundation Announces the Appointment of New Board Chair

Susan Helm-Murtagh Headshot

Louisville, Colorado, March 17, 2022 – The Davis Phinney Foundation announced today that Susan Helm-Murtagh, DrPH, MM, has been unanimously elected to the Foundation’s Board of Directors effective January 2022 and appointed to serve as the chair. Dr. Helm-Murtagh has over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership and board governance, health systems and health policy, and over twenty-five years of experience in health care financing. Dr. Helm-Murtagh’s appointment brings the board to 13 members. 

“We are so fortunate to have Susan join the Davis Phinney Foundation’s Board,” said Connie Carpenter Phinney, co-founder and member of the board. “It has been an honor to help grow and shape the Davis Phinney Foundation over these past four years as chair of the Board. Our work is centered around changing lives for the better, and I know Susan will continue to advance the Foundation’s mission of helping people with Parkinson’s live well today as we strive to improve access for all.” 

Commenting on her new appointment, Dr. Helm-Murtagh said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Davis Phinney Foundation Board. The Foundation is a powerful, inspirational force in the quest to improve quality of life for those with Parkinson’s–and to provide support for those who love and care for them.  I am excited to see our reach and impact continue to grow over the coming months and years.” 

Dr. Helm-Murtagh currently serves as the Principal of DreamWork Consulting, LLC (a nonprofit leadership and strategic planning consulting firm), co-founder and director of The Ellie Helm Foundation (a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of depression and preventing suicide among youth, supporting educational opportunities for youth, and bringing social engagement to the elderly), and Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previously, she served as vice president at Mosaic Health Solutions, a division of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and board chair for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), a nonprofit, physical activity-based positive youth development organization. Susan holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology and management science from Duke University, a master of management in marketing and finance from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a doctor of public health from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 


The Davis Phinney Foundation was founded by Olympic cyclist Davis Phinney in 2004 to help people with Parkinson’s live well today. The organization’s focus is to provide programs and resources that offer inspiration, information, and tools that enable people living with Parkinson’s to take action that can immediately improve their quality of life. Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and affects more than one million people in the United States. The Foundation’s work impacts hundreds of thousands of individuals and families each year. It is headquartered in Louisville, Colorado.

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