The Team Behind the Littlest Tumor Foundation
Tracy Wirtanen, MSW
CEO/Founder
“We invest in the NF community with impactful programming. We lead NF Family Wellness Retreats (free for NF families), the NF Young Adult Leadership Program, and spearhead the NF Collective. We see children soar, moms connect, and young adults find their voices. It is amazing and an honor to be part of it all.”
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Tracy believes in a world filled with innovative neurofibromatosis research, mindful moments, and never-ending running trails. In a few short years, her efforts have established Wisconsin as a bipartisan model of support for NF federal funding, helping build House of Representatives support from 6% to 30%.
Tracy received her Master of Social Work from McGill University, and her Nonprofit Management Certificate from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Nonprofit Management. She currently serves on the Peer Review Panel of the CDMRP NF Research Program. Tracy’s vision continues to guide an innovative, inclusive NF Family Retreat model for families dealing with this disorder.
Lilla Wirtanen-Debenedet
NF Family Wellness Retreat Coordinator
Lilla is a senior at American University Majoring in CLEG, (Communication, Economics, Legal Studies, and Government) with a minor in Literature. She has worked as a full-time nanny and has helped run a food shelf in Burlington, Vermont. She has been volunteering and working for LTF since its founding! Starting with cutting off her hair in a fundraiser, to running the retreat.
Lilla is passionate about seeing families grow and connect at the NF Family Wellness retreat. Lilla’s favorite part of the retreat is being able to watch kids with NF create life-long bonds. Lilla is passionate about her connection to the NF community because she is an NF sibling herself. She hopes to continue to bring joy and strengthen families through the NF Family Wellness Retreat.
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Katrin Patience
County Board Supervisor for Outagamie County, Wisconsin
Katrin received her BA and MA in English Literature from Eastern Illinois University before working several years in the precision measuring and tooling industry. During this time she earned her teaching license and taught high school English literature and grammar, from remedial to Advanced Placement, from freshmen to seniors.
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After moving to Appleton, WI, she succumbed to Tracy Wirtanen’s siren song. She was recruited to run for the county board and drawn into various writing projects on behalf of Littlest Tumor Foundation.
Currently Katrin divides her time between LTF’s advocacy efforts, endless Public Safety subcommittees, cooking, gardening, her husband, Rodger, and four cats with big personalities and even bigger hairballs.
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Similar to LTF’s mission are core values, Hannah hopes to create an accessible space and practice of healing that can hold all kinds of bodies and minds when she becomes a physician. In her free time, Hannah loves going on runs, cooking, listening to podcasts, and reading.
Our Pups
Suki
Snoozer-in-Chief
By day, Suki’s a snuggling, treat-wrangling super-sweet dog. Though she snoozes through most team meetings, she is still devoted to the NF cause.
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