Board of Directors

President: Lynne Love
Vice President: Jennifer Carmer
Recording Secretary: Christine Gustafson
Corresponding Secretary: Colleen Gaia
Treasurer: Donna Johnson
Authors Luncheon Chairman: Susan Doria
Immediate Past President: Sydney Dye
Administrative Officer: Robyn Lee

Board Members

Kimberly Afkhami, Ann Albers, Elise Bard, Laura Bill, Irene Bonadurer, Julie Bowe, Shaun Bracken, Jan Cacheris, Jennifer Carmer, Susan Doria, Sydney Dye, Shän Francis, Colleen Gaia, Lisa Ghelfi, Erin Gogolak, Christine Gustafson, Ingrid Haas, Carrie Hall, Nadine Hart, Brenda Howard, Nan Howlett, Jackie Hutt, Kimberly Jacobsen, Dana Jirauch, Donna Johnson, Sandy Katzman, Stephanie Kerkorian, Sandy Kostis, Julie Kroot, Robyn Lee, Amy Louis, Lynne Love, Kathleen McClain, Susan Purtill, Margo Shein, Marci Symington, April Ward, and Candyce Williams. In Memoriam, Honorary Member, Glenna Shapiro.

Sustaining Members List

Sydney Anderson, Leslie Berry, Jan Bohannon, Susan Charlton, Jane Christensen, Mary Crozier, Robyn DeBell, Ann Denk, Margie Denton, Jacquie Dorrance, Gee Gee Entz, Virginia Feffer, Harriet Friedland, Nancy Gaintner, Babs Gordon, Lenni Griego, Penny Gunning, Nancy Hanley, Leah Hoffman, Mary Hudak, Carrie Hulburd, Catherine Jacobson, Dodie Johnes, Rona Kasen, Patti Lau, Jamie Lendrum, Suzanne Lewis, Judy Linhart, Julie Linhart, Janis Lyon, Sandy Magruder, Brenda Mason, Linda Mattes, Genny Matteucci, Linda Nachman, Virginia Nosky, Susan Palmer-Hunter, Joan Potter, Lois Savage, Judy Schubert, Sallye Schumacher, Susan Segal, Judy Shannon, Beverly Shaver, Susie Small, Betsy Stodola, Sue Stuckey, Martha Thomas, Laura Titus, JoAnn Tull, Melani Walton, Joan Warne, Nancy White, Kari Yatkowski and Rachel Zemer.
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Past Luncheon Chairs

Erma's Founding Mission

Erma Bombeck invited fellow authors to join her for the country’s first Authors Luncheon in 1980. Why? Erma thought it would be a unique way to raise funds for Arizona kidney patients. She was right. The Authors Luncheon was an immediate success and quickly became an annual event. The Arizona Women’s Board is dedicated to continuing Erma’s tradition of bringing best-selling authors together to help write a brighter future for Arizona kidney patients. The Friends of Erma Bombeck Authors Luncheon has raised more than $12 million for programs that directly benefit Arizona’s kidney patients and their families. The Women’s Board is honored to continue Erma’s legacy each Fall at its gathering of best-selling authors who present their latest releases.

Last Years Grant Recipients

We are most thankful for your gracious support of our 39th Annual Friends of Erma Bombeck Authors Luncheon, which took place on November 3, 2018. Thank you for helping us raise $503,910 in net proceeds for kidney patients and kidney health efforts in Arizona. We are proud to have funded the following five organizations and a 2019 Arizona Women’s Board grant.

National Kidney Foundation of Arizona ~ $303,910 ~ Path To Wellness Program

The Path to Wellness program will provide mobile wellness screenings in geographically hard-to-reach communities to populations that are at high risk of developing kidney disease. Key to the program is the new Path To Wellness mobile van that will display the Arizona Women’s Board name and logo as it makes kidney prevention and wellness services more accessible in rural areas across Arizona. The mobile van will be outfitted with laboratory equipment and supplies, educational materials, translation and interpreter services, and multi-media community outreach toolkits. Additionally, the mobile van can be used for post-screening kidney wellness workshops.

TGEN Foundation ~ $50,000 ~ Multi-Omic Study of Urinary Biomarkers of Pediatric Kidney Cancer

The Multi-Omic Study of Urinary Biomarkers continues the TGEN research that Arizona Women’s Board funded last year, taking it the next step. The biomarker research tests for DNA degradation patterns in pediatric patients’ urine. Detecting the DNA degradation pattern allows health practitioners to identify advancing disease in pediatric patients much earlier and far less invasively. The biomarker test serves as an early indicator of the chance of children developing kidney cancer, and as an alternative to tumor biopsies.

Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation ~ $50,000 ~ Nephrology Patient Assistance

The Nephrology Patient Assistance Fund supports pediatric kidney patients and their families who may be experiencing hardships while children are undergoing kidney disease treatment. Patient assistance funding includes support for living expenses such as rent, utilities, mobile phone, food and transportation. Additionally, the fund is used to recognize pediatric kidney patients for successfully adhering to treatment protocols as well as to celebrate children following dialysis and/or kidney transplants. This year, the Assistance Fund will be purchasing sixty pediatric blood pressure cuffs for monitoring patients at home between appointments.

Maricopa Health Foundation ~ $50,000 ~ Food Pharmacy Project

The Food Pharmacy Project will provide nutritional food boxes to underserved populations with diabetes that are at high risk of developing advanced stage kidney disease. St. Mary’s Food Bank will supply food boxes to Maricopa Integrated Health System primary care clinics where diabetic patients are required to attend bi-monthly health check-ups and participate in educational meal planning. Providing food boxes to patients at the health clinics removes the challenges and stigma of having to travel to a food bank and ensures diabetic patients have access to critical nutrition. Additionally, the grant provides for a research medical assistant and bio-statistician to analyze project data. The Maricopa Health Foundation is branding their project as the Arizona Women’s Board Food Pharmacy.

St. Joseph’s Foundation ~ $50,000 ~ Transplant Dietary Program

The Transplant Dietary Program will provide kidney transplant patients at St. Joseph’s Hospital with proper nutritional counseling before and after their transplantation surgery. Grant funds will be used to provide full-time kidney transplantation dietician services.

We hope you are as impressed with the great work being done by these organizations to advance kidney health in Arizona as we are! Thank you again for your kind support and generous contribution to furthering the Arizona Women’s Board mission.