Welcome!

On behalf of HAEi’s Board of Directors, please accept a warm welcome to the 2024 HAEi Regional Conference Americas here in vibrant Panama City. We are very excited to host this inaugural gathering of people with HAE, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and industry representatives in the Americas region.

This conference, and those that have taken place in other regions, reflects HAEi’s global footprint, and is designed to address the unique circumstances and needs of the HAE community throughout the world.

The theme of this conference is Take Action. The sessions you will attend are structured to inspire new and creative approaches to HAE advocacy and engagement that can be applied when we all return to our home countries. Therefore, we strongly encourage all HAEi friends to seek out fellow advocates, medical professionals, and industry attendees you don’t already know.

It is our hope that everyone who attends this conference will be inspired by what they learn and will Take Action to translate that knowledge and motivation into systematic action aimed at improving your local HAE community’s quality of life.

Finally, we are grateful to the pharmaceutical companies who have provided generous support for the 2024 HAEi Regional Conference Americas.

We look forward to personally greeting and welcoming you to Panama City!

Warmest regards

Anthony J. Castaldo
Chief Executive Officer

Henrik Balle Boysen
President

We are delighted to introduce you to the HAEi Regional Patient Advocate in the Americas region:

FERNANDA DE OLIVEIRA MARTINS
FERNANDA DE OLIVEIRA MARTINSSouth America and Mexico
Fernanda Martins has served as HAEi’s Regional Patient Advocate for South America and Mexico since 2018. She has been an active member of the Brazilian HAE association since 2005. Fernanda is the daughter and sister of patients with HAE and therefore understands the overall burden associated with the condition. Fernanda has a degree in Biology and Nutrition and a master’s degree in public health. In addition to working at HAEi, Fernanda works as a “scientific advocate” in the Latin American food industry.
JAVIER SANTANA
JAVIER SANTANACentral America and Caribbean
Javier Santana serves as HAEi’s Regional Patient Advocate for Central America and Caribbean. He started at HAEi in 2017 as a representative of the Latin American region. He continues helping existing organizations grow and facilitating the formation of patient groups where none exist. Javier applies his 20 years of communications and government affairs experience in helping Member Organizations mount effective advocacy campaigns that force health ministries to provide access to life saving HAE medicines.
ANTHONY J. CASTALDO
ANTHONY J. CASTALDONorth America and South East Asia
Anthony J. Castaldo is HAEi’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. He is a founding Board member and has led HAEi since its 2004 registration as a non-profit organization. He is also a founding Board Member and CEO of the US Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA) – an HAEi Member Organization with 8,000 members. Tony served as Associate Inspector General at the United States Federal Reserve until his retirement in 2013. He is a co-author of over 20 HAE-related medical journal papers and is frequently invited to speak on HAE and rare diseases.