Dr. Karen Kelly, President (Edgewater, MD)
Karen Kelly is a fan of sports, 90s alternative music, reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband and 2 sons. After many years working in higher education in a variety of capacities, she left to focus on developing TTH. She currently manages the day-to-day operations of the organization in addition to leading the Board of Directors. Karen also stays current in education by teaching master’s level courses at Southern New Hampshire University.
She can be reached at kkelly@throughtheheart.org
University of Pittsburgh, 2003 → Bachelor of Arts – Communication, Journalism, History
University of Tennessee, 2004 → Master of Science – Communication
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 2013 → Doctor of Education – Educational Leadership
Sean Kelly, Vice President & Treasurer (Edgewater, MD)
Sean Kelly, a Chicago native, is 18 years into his career in the sports and entertainment industry and currently serving as the Box Office Manager for Show Place Arena and Equestrian Center. Previously, he worked at The George Washington University, Phoenix Coyotes, and with Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi athletics. Sean enjoys spending time with his wife and two boys, watching sports (including coaching t-ball!), traveling, and music. Sean, a co-founder, plays a support role in assisting with all areas of Through the Heart to make it the number one source of pregnancy loss education in the nation.
He can be reached at skelly@throughtheheart.org.
Education:
Quincy University, 2003 → Bachelor of Arts – Media Studies/Sports Communication
Western Illinois University, 2005 → Master of Science – Kinesiology/Sports Management
Donnie Bielak, Secretary (Blue Bell, PA)
Donnie Bielak, a New Jersey native, possesses over a decade of experience in the electric power industry as an employee of PJM Interconnection in Valley Forge, PA since 2004. Currently, he holds the position of Manager, Reliability Engineering and is responsible for managing the high-voltage electricity grid to ensure reliability for more than 60 million people across 13 states. Donnie enjoys spending time with his wife and three children as well as playing baseball at a competitive level. Donnie plays a support role in assisting with Through the Heart’s website and internet presence.
He can be reached at dbielak@throughtheheart.org.
Education:
Drexel University, 2007 → Bachelor of Science – Electrical Engineering
Drexel University, 2010 → Master of Science – Electrical Engineering
Drexel University, 2010 → Master of Science – Engineering Management
Dana Disborough Strotman, Director (Edgewater, MD)
Dana’s favorite season is fall for the cooling weather and the beautiful colors trees display–and of course anything pumpkin. She’s a winter skier and a summer boater while springtime brings celebrations of family birthdays. Dana is a fan of all types of music and a pretty decent player of “name that tune (or artist).” She enjoys all types of travel but her favorite trips are to the Caribbean and delving into SLR (and now iPhone) photography. As of late, Dana spends a lot of time supporting her husband and his small business as well as raising their son who is active in community-based sports year-round.
Professionally, Dana has held positions in public relations and marketing for a small start-up company, a local non-profit organization and a national for-profit company – all with missions in the healthcare industry. For the past 13 years, Dana has worked for Annapolis Recreation and Parks Department as the sole Marketing Coordinator promoting recreation programs, events and park related initiatives for the City of Annapolis.
Dana and her husband Mike experienced a stillbirth in November 2015; it was their first pregnancy. When it happened, they didn’t have anyone in their “circle” that had been through a pregnancy loss like that so they truly valued the healthcare community and support groups available to them during that time. Dana went on to have a healthy pregnancy and son 18 months later. But unfortunately, she experienced a miscarriage two years after having her son. She knows the heartache, the confusion, the “why me?”, the loneliness that can occur when a baby is gone too soon. Dana seeks to educate the lay audience about the resources for individuals, couples and families at the time of loss.
She can be reached at dstrotman@throughtheheart.org.
Education:
Elon College (now Elon University), 1999 → Bachelor of Arts – Corporate Communications (major), Business Administration (minor)
Bowie State University, 2011 → Master of Arts – Organizational Communications (Public Affairs concentration)
Sarrah Williams, Director (Oklahoma)
Sarrah Williams is from the great state of Oklahoma. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and her dogs Bowtruckle and Chewbacca. She has been in the Air Force Reserves for 9 years where she trained as an Aerospace Medical Technician and and Air Battle Manager. She currently holds the position of Management and Program Analyst where she provides Green Belt skills and improvement methods for the only AWACS Reserve Squadron in the Air Force. Her idol is Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation and her favorite quote is, “Now go find your team. Get to work. Whatever that work is that you find worth doing. Do it, and find some people to love who’ll do it with you.”
She can be reached at swilliams@throughtheheart.org.
Education:
Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City, 2010 → Associate of Applied Science – Applied Technology
Mid-America Christian University, 2014 → Bachelor of Science – Management and Ethics