Staff

Eleni Z Tsigas
Executive Director

Eleni Z. Tsigas is the Executive Director of the Preeclampsia Foundation. Prior to this position, she served in a variety of volunteer capacities for the organization, including six years on the Board of Directors, two as its chairman. Working with dedicated volunteers, board members and professional staff, Eleni has helped lead the Foundation to its current position as a sustainable, mission-driven, results-oriented organization.

As a preeclampsia survivor herself, Eleni is a relentless champion for the improvement of patient and provider education and practices, for the catalytic role that patients can have to advance the science and status of maternal-infant health, and for the progress that can be realized by building global partnerships to improve patient outcomes.

She has served as a technical advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a member of the PRE-EMPT Technical Advisory Group and Knowledge Translation Committee (funded by the Gates Foundation), and participates in the Hypertension in Pregnancy Task Force created by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Eleni is frequently engaged as an expert representing the consumer perspective on preeclampsia at national and international meetings, and as a spokesperson in various public speaking venues. She has facilitated several research initiatives that have been enabled by consumer participation, has authored a comprehensive chapter on patient advocacy in the peer-reviewed journal, Best Practice & Research: Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology (August 2011), and has secured media coverage in national consumer magazines, as well as newspapers, radio and online.

A veteran of public relations, she previously spent 8 years executing and managing strategic communications and public relations for technology and biotech companies with Waggener Edstrom Worldwide and for 6 years prior in the television industry.

She is married, and has had two of her three pregnancies seriously impacted by preeclampsia. Her “50 by 50” campaign (50 states by age 50) is coming close to completion, so Eleni is seeking speaking engagements in Alaska, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri to help make it happen!

Angela Little
Director of Operations

Angela Little’s primary focus is on the administration of the Foundation, overseeing finance, HR and IT departments, providing strong day-to-day leadership for all staff and volunteers, and bridging national and local operations. She manages the organization’s volunteer leaders in volunteer development, fundraising, patient support and communications.  Angela earned her degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and her career history includes an extensive range of positions in the administrative, legal, healthcare and educational settings (in both the profit and non-profit arenas).  She has long been interested in the health and welfare of women during all stages of pregnancy, even volunteering for many years on the Labor & Delivery floor of a local hospital during her nursing school clinical practicum.

Laney Poye
Program Coordinator

Laney Poye is a Program Coordinator for the Preeclampsia Foundation, having previously worked for the organization as an intern.  Her primary responsibilities are to coordinate patient and professional education programs including low medical literacy efforts, to coordinate with our international partners and serve as our webmaster.  Laney received her Master’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University.  Her studies focused primarily on global issues of women’s health and welfare, with an emphasis on determining the needs of women in low-resource settings.  She has spent many years volunteering for health causes and is an enthusiastic supporter of increasing awareness and advancing medical understanding of this devastating pregnancy condition. Thanks to three years of barista service, she also makes a mean cappuccino.

Loreen McFaul
Director of Development

Loreen McFaul is the Director of Development, responsible for achieving the Preeclampsia Foundation’s fundraising goals. Loreen brings over 12 years of fund development experience to the Foundation, including previous positions as Director of Development and Public Relations for Catholic Charities Spokane (2003-2009) and as a board member for the Children’s Museum of Spokane (2000-2002). In 2009, Loreen launched her own fund development and PR consulting firm. Prior to answering her calling to make a difference through non-profit, philanthropic work, Loreen enjoyed a ten-year career in hospitality and tourism sales.

Loreen holds a B.A. in Organizational Communication from the University of Montana and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  Passionate about volunteering, Loreen has served a variety of community boards, including the Hutton Settlement, Gonzaga University Institute for Hate Studies, and Holy Family Hospital Foundation Ambassadors.  She is a 1992 Leadership Spokane graduate.

Loreen, her husband and two children reside in Spokane, Washington.  A dedicated walker, Loreen has completed numerous events, including the Coeur d’Alene and Portland Marathons in 2011.

Catherine Loisel
Administrative Assistant

Catherine Loisel serves as an administrative assistant for the Preeclampsia Foundation. Cat has gained her bookkeeping and administrative knowledge from working in the insurance industry, as well as during her military career, serving as a Quality Assurance officer.

She earned her bachelors of nursing from the University of Southern Maine and has served as an RN in the United States Air Force. Her nursing experience includes labor and delivery, and postpartum nursing. Although Cat has now retired from nursing, she is still deeply interested in the health and welfare of pregnant women. Cat is married, and she and her husband have three grown children.