Officers & Board of Trustees

Rhonda Boni-Burden
Rhonda is mother of two children, Alex and Kristin.  Her son Alex was diagnosed at birth with severe factor VIII deficiency.  Her daughter Kristin was recently diagnosed with factor VII deficiency (36%) and also is a carrier. Rhonda’s grandfather, great uncles, and cousin all had hemophilia.  She is looking forward to becoming more involved with the HFO to better educate herself, her family and others about hemophilia. Rhonda and her husband Donny Burden live in Washougal with their two children.  She works as an Operations Manager for Gulick Trucking, and enjoys spending time with her family.

Patina Fieken
Board member Patina Fieken has a mild bleeding disorder (von Willebrand Disease) which runs in her family – both her husband and one of her sons have a mild blood clotting issue, and she has another son with a severe form of the disease. Patina contacted the HFO to be more involved in the bleeding disorders community and to meet others who have experienced similar circumstances, and has been a Board Trustee since 1999. Patina and husband Tim say their family of four “always seems to be busy, between school, soccer and outdoor activities.” Patina works full-time at an elementary school, and in her free time enjoys camping, horseback riding, 4-wheeling, and spending time with her children, family and friends.

Amy Polo
Amy Polo is a mother of two children, Sofia and Gabriel.  Gabriel was diagnosed as an infant with severe factor VIII deficiency.  Amy joined the board to learn more about hemophilia and to become more involved in the community.  Both Amy and her husband, Oscar, have enjoyed meeting new friends in the hemophilia community, who share many of the same situations and healthcare goals.  Gabriel likes attending Camp Tapawingo and participating in hemophilia golf tournaments.  The Polo family enjoys traveling, family gatherings, and playing tennis and golf together.  Outside of the home, Amy is a singer and musician who has been the Director of the Choristers at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland since 1993.

Donald Smith
A resident of Portland since 2004, Don recently “came out of hiding” to join the HFO board. In this role, he hopes to bring his consumer insight, business experience and humor to further the programs of the HFO. Originally from Kansas, Don was born with severe Factor VIII deficiency but hasn’t let that slow him down. He holds a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering as well as an MBA, and has followed his career around the country. He has served as Chairman of the Bleeding Disorders Foundation of Washington, volunteered with the Hemophilia Foundation of Michigan, served on committees on the National Hemophilia Foundation and volunteers as a community advocate for several pharmaceutical manufacturers. Don has assumed the role of editor of Hemophilia Headlines. He currently lives in northwest Portland with his wife Beth.

Pat Torrey
Pat Torrey is president of Physis, Inc., an adventure education company providing hands-on staff training and development programs for individuals and organizations invested in enhancing their growth and performance. He was introduced to the Oregon bleeding disorder community when he ran a challenge course training for the 2001 Oregon Hemophilia Camp staff. Since then he has been on the camp committee, designed and facilitated all subsequent camp staff trainings, leads week long teambuilding and adventure programs at camp, designed and administers the new Counselor in Training development program, and serves on the Youth and Adolescent sub-committee. Pat presents annually at NACCHO, the North American Camp Conference of Hemophilia Organizations. Through NACCHO he designed and leads ‘Leading Edge’, a nationally run adventure program that focuses on self esteem development for youth and adolescents in the bleeding disorder community. So far he has dressed up at HFO events as a giant, a bug, an old woman, a pirate and Santa Clause and looks forward to what adventures lie ahead.

Dave Worthington
Dave has been involved with the HFO for more than 15 years. He served as HFO president from 1996 through 2000 and has previously held the position of Treasurer. Most recently he served as Vice President and would like to serve as a Trustee beginning in January 2007. Dave and his wife Pam have two children, Stewart and Piper, both of whom have been involved in competitive gymnastics and have been counselors at Camp Tapawingo. Dave became involved with the Foundation to learn more about hemophilia after Stewart was diagnosed with the disorder. Dave works as the Design Build Estimating Manager for Teufel Nursery.

Linda Zwetschke
Linda and her husband Kristopher have two children; Karter has severe factor IV deficiency and their daughter Rylee has yet to be tested. Linda did not know this was in her medical history and recently finished her testing to
find she is a carrier and has a level of less than 36%. Being a member of the board means a lot to their family because they want to be a part of change and ensuring that all we currently offer and more will be available to Karter when he is an adult.

Treatment Center Liaison

Dr. Greg Thomas
Gregory Thomas, MD, Board Liaison to the Oregon HTC, is in his fifth year as Medical Director of the Oregon Regional Hemophilia Treatment Center. Some may know Dr. Thomas from when he previously practiced pediatric hematology/oncology here in Portland at Kaiser-Permanente and Legacy Emanuel Hospital. Dr Thomas served his residency and fellowship at the University of Utah Medical School. He has two sons. His wife, Martha McMurry, is a research dietitian at OHSU’s Clinical Research Center. In his spare time, Dr. Thomas enjoys hiking, backpacking, skiing (both downhill and Nordic), and walking.