New CEO Announcement
 Mary J. Wheatley, IOM, CAE |
The Scleroderma Foundation is pleased to announce the hiring of Mary J. Wheatley, IOM, CAE, as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2021. Wheatley succeeds Robert J. Riggs, who announced last November that he is departing his position for personal and family reasons after 25 years with the organization.
Wheatley is a proven nonprofit executive with more than 15 years experience in research administration and nonprofit management. She joins the Scleroderma Foundation having served as executive director of the Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF) since 2014, where she provided expertise, leadership, and management for all functions within the organization. Over the past 13 years, she was a driving force in helping RRF grow significantly, not only in size and scope, but also in national recognition.
Working closely with the RRF board of directors, Wheatley’s responsibilities included focusing on the mission and goals of RRF to advance research and training to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases. She also managed a portfolio of high net worth corporate and individual donor prospects, and oversaw two successful fundraising campaigns raising more than $135 million. Prior to joining RRF, Wheatley worked in academic research and research administration at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Wheatley’s professional memberships include the Health Research Alliance, NIH-NIAMS Coalition, the Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE), the American Society for Association Executives, and others. Her leadership and professionalism have been formally recognized including the GSAE 2019 Skelton-Massey Award, the Association Forum 2014 Forty Under Forty honor, the GSAE 2010 Emerging Leader Award, and others.
Wheatley resides with her husband, Shannon, in Atlanta, Georgia. As was the case with her predecessor, Riggs, she will primarily work remotely with regular visits to the Foundation’s headquarters in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Wheatley is looking forward to working with the leadership, partners, and staff of the Scleroderma Foundation to serve the needs of the scleroderma community and advance our three-fold mission of support, education, and research.
Please join us in welcoming Mary to our organization!