David Gow, now retired, serves as the Board Chair at Wake Up Narcolepsy (WUN). He was previously the Chief Financial Officer at Dynasty Equity and spent over 30 years as a Financial Service Office Partner at Ernst & Young (EY), a global professional services firm. At EY, David specialized in supporting private equity and venture capital clients, advising some of the world’s most complex diversified asset managers. Inspired by their son’s 2008 Narcolepsy diagnosis, David and his wife, Monica, co-founded WUN and have been dedicated to raising awareness and education within the Narcolepsy community. David also brings extensive experience from serving on the boards of other nonprofit organizations.

Mary Beth Guckian graduated from Providence College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Prior to having children, Mary Beth worked as a financial analyst in the not-for-profit sector, including New York City Housing Development Corporation and Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop).

Mary Beth and her husband, Kevin, both natives of New Jersey, have two grown children. As a family, they spent a number of years relocating domestically and internationally for Kevin’s job. They now live in Chatham, New Jersey.

In the spring of 2010, their daughter, Elizabeth, then eleven years old, started experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and cataplexy. Within months, she was diagnosed with Narcolepsy Type 1, and so began the journey of learning to live and cope with this condition.

It was upon searching for more information online about Narcolepsy that Mary Beth became aware of Wake Up Narcolepsy. She and her husband became involved with the organization and have worked to raise funds for research.

In May 2014, Mary Beth chaired the “New York, New York” Wake Up Narcolepsy event, featuring guest speaker and PWN Ginger Zee of Good Morning America. The following year, Mary Beth partnered with Vineyard Vines to host an in-store fundraising event from which a portion of the sale’s proceeds was donated to Wake Up Narcolepsy.

Through her work with Wake Up Narcolepsy, Mary Beth hopes to promote awareness of this deeply misunderstood sleep disorder and to help fund research for a cure.

Nicole Jeray of Chicago, Illinois, is an LPGA tour Veteran and long-time advocate for Narcolepsy awareness. Since graduating from Northern Illinois University, she has played professional golf worldwide for almost 30 years. Nicole was diagnosed with Narcolepsy at age 25 during her 2nd year on the LPGA tour. After suffering for several years, she realized how misunderstood Narcolepsy was and became determined to educate the world. Nicole started “Swinging for Sleep,” a campaign that raises awareness and funds for Narcolepsy while she competed on the LPGA and other golf tours. Nicole now teaches golf full-time at Mistwood GC, coaches high school girls’ golf at her alma mater, Nazareth Academy, and still plays professional tournaments on the Legends of the LPGA.

Gregg Levethan holds an MBA from New York University and resides in Pound Ridge, New York, with his wife and twin daughters. He spent his career as CEO of Syd Levethan Shoes, one of the largest companies importing men’s footwear from Italy. In addition, he was the creative director responsible for all design and manufacturing and collaborated with many well-known designers in the 1980s and 90s.

One of his twin daughters developed Narcolepsy during her junior year of college. After attending a WUN-sponsored event in 2018, Gregg took an active interest in the state of new Narcolepsy treatments and medications, which have been developing at a rapid pace in the past several years. Gregg looks forward to assisting WUN in fulfilling its mission of raising awareness and fostering research to develop new treatments for this disease.

Anne Samarawickrama lives in Washington State with her husband, Prasanna, and they have two adult children. For over a decade, Anne and Prasanna have dedicated themselves to raising funds for research into Narcolepsy, a rare and often misunderstood sleep disorder. Motivated by personal experience and the stories of others, Anne has served as a board member at Wake Up Narcolepsy (WUN) since 2015 where she helps shape strategic goals and community engagement initiatives.

For the past two years, she has co-hosted a WUN weekly virtual support group, offering guidance, empathy and encouragement to those navigating life with Narcolepsy and Hypersomnia.  She also co-founded a monthly in-person support in Seattle.  Her consistency and compassion have made her a trusted voice and source of hope in the community.  Despite the challenges, she remains optimistic and driven, believing that awareness and science together can change lives. Her commitment is not just professional—it is deeply personal, rooted in a desire to ensure no one feels alone in their struggle.

Prasanna leads a global organization in the security division at Microsoft. His organization advises and enables fortune 500 and large strategic enterprises, governmental organizations and educational institutes to adopt security technologies developed at Microsoft. His organization’s mission also includes advising product engineering team on customer needs and requirements to shape security/identity products. Prasanna has built a career in the IT sector at Microsoft over the past 31+ years. He has worked on and led efforts across multiple product lines including developer tools, Microsoft Office, Healthcare, Windows and Business Solutions prior to his current role in the security division at Microsoft. He hails from Sri Lanka. He has traveled in over 50 countries and has lived in China and Sri Lanka. He holds degrees in physics and computer science from Southern Oregon University. He lives with his wife, Anne, in the Seattle area. His two sons, Tyler and Kyle, live and attend universities in Washington DC, and Los Angeles, respectively.

Tammy Anderson has dedicated much of her adult life to building and supporting organizations that strengthen individuals and families, helping them reach their full potential. Her passion for human development, particularly in the context of family life and relationships, has been a lifelong pursuit. Tammy’s journey began with her studies at Brigham Young University, where she earned a degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development, along with licensure as a Family Life Educator.

Tammy’s commitment to family advocacy took on a deeply personal dimension when her daughter was diagnosed with Narcolepsy at age 10. Faced with the challenge of navigating a complex and often misunderstood condition, Tammy and her husband—who is a director of product management for a nonprofit organization—dedicated themselves to finding answers, treatments and opportunities that would allow their daughter to live a fulfilling life.

Before joining the Wake Up Narcolepsy (WUN) team in January 2022, Tammy held leadership roles in nonprofit organizations, including serving as a development director. In these roles, she worked to build programs that supported children, families and underserved communities. She also worked as a student advocate in public, private and home education settings, driven by her belief that every child deserves an education that is tailored to their unique needs and designed to help them succeed.

Since joining WUN, Tammy has been instrumental in supporting and growing the Narcolepsy community. She is passionate about empowering families and individuals affected by Narcolepsy, providing them with resources, and a sense of connection. Through her work at WUN, Tammy continues to make a difference in the lives of those facing the challenges of this rare and often misunderstood condition.

Living in the foothills of Northern Utah, Tammy and her family enjoy hiking and exploring the mountains near their home. Her family remains her greatest work and accomplishment.

Emmanuel Mignot MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Center for Narcolepsy at the Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Mignot is internationally recognized as having discovered the cause of narcolepsy. He is also known for his discovery of a polymorphism of the “clock” gene that appears to alter individuals’ internal biorhythms, and for finding a gene variant that predisposes a person to sleep apnea. Dr. Mignot is a former student of the Ecole Normale Superieure (Ulm, Paris, France) and received his MD and PhD from Paris V and VI University in France. He practiced medicine in France for several years before serving as a visiting scholar at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center and later as a visiting assistant professor at Stanford. Dr. Mignot joined the Stanford faculty as acting assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and was named director of the Stanford Center for Narcolepsy in 1993. He was named Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in 2001.

Dr. Mignot has received numerous research grants and honors, including National Sleep Foundation and National Institute of Health Research Awards, the Drs. C. and F. Demuth 11th Award for Young Investigators in the Neurosciences, the W.C. Dement Academic Achievement Award in sleep disorders medicine, the CINP and ACNP awards in neuropharmacology, and the Jacobaeus prize.

He is co-author of more than 100 original scientific publications, and he serves on the editorial board of scientific journals in the field of sleep-disorders research. Dr. Mignot is an active member of several professional and governmental organizations. Visit Stanford Center for Narcolepsy.

Thomas E. Scammell, MD, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Medical Director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders, Boston Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Scammell’s lab focuses on the neurobiology of sleep and the neural basis of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is caused by an extensive and selective loss of the hypothalamic neurons that produce the orexin neuropeptides (also known as hypocretins). This cell loss generally occurs in the teens or young adulthood and results in lifelong sleepiness and cataplexy, brief episodes of muscle weakness that are similar to the paralysis that occurs during REM sleep. Much of Dr. Scammell’s current research focuses on mouse models of narcolepsy, as mice lacking orexins also experience sleepiness and frequent episodes of cataplexy. Dr. Scammell’s lab hypothesizes that orexins normally stabilize the activity of wake-promoting brain regions, but absence of orexins produces rapid transitions from wakefulness into sleep, and intrusions into wakefulness of REM sleep elements, such as cataplexy or hallucinations. Additional research focuses on how positive emotions trigger cataplexy, and the changes in human brains when narcolepsy develops.

The major goals of Dr. Scammell’s lab are to identify the neural mechanisms through which the orexin system controls sleep and wakefulness and to determine how loss of the orexin peptides results in sleepiness and cataplexy. Learn more at Dr. Thomas Scammell’s Laboratory website.

Dr. Maski completed her pediatric neurology and sleep medicine training at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) and conducts research and clinical activities through BCH Sleep Neurology program. Her clinical focus includes disorders of hypersomnia, with a particular emphasis on children and adolescents with narcolepsy. Her research explores the physiology of narcolepsy, particularly the relationship between orexin (a hormone reduced in patients with narcolepsy) and cognition and mood. Dr. Maski is also a passionate advocate for patients with narcolepsy, working with organizations like Wake Up Narcolepsy, Inc., and the American Sleep Medicine Foundation, Inc., to develop educational tools that enhance understanding of narcolepsy among school-based professionals and improve academic outcomes for patients.

David Ingram, MD, is pediatric sleep physician at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He completed his pediatric training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and sleep medicine fellowship at the University of Colorado and National Jewish Health. In addition to caring for children with sleep problems in clinic, he is founding editor of the ATS Pediatric Sleep Case Series and is adjunct faculty in the department of psychology where he teaches a college Sleep & Dreams course. His clinical and research interests are focused on sleep in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and narcolepsy in children.