Thea D. Chassin M.A., RPT
Executive Director and Founder, Bald Girls Do Lunch Inc.thea@BaldGirlsDoLunch.orgThea Chassin, founder and CEO of the Bald Girls Do Lunch nonprofit, is a passionate advocate teaching and inspiring women to live confidently with autoimmune alopecia areata (AA).
Chassin, herself bald from AA since 1996, brings her professional experience to the alopecia community. As a physical therapist educated at Columbia University, Thea worked extensively with patients experiencing extreme losses, both physical and emotional.
Thea emphasizes the power of making treatment and lifestyle choices. One of her favorite words is “options.”
”My goal is to ‘get women back in the driver’s seat of life’” — believing they have unlimited choices and the freedom to use them.
She’s passionate that no person should ever feel alone with alopecia. Her Bald Girls mission is to bring people at all ages and stages of AA together. As a role model, she gives voice to those living with alopecia secrecy, unable to speak the name of their skin disease.
Chassin holds bachelor and master’s degrees in Physical Therapy and Occupational Biomechanics from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and New York University.
She’s a North American delegate to IADPO, the International Association of Dermatology Patient Organizations. Thea has been interviewed for the Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, major newspapers, health blogs and NPR affiliates. The TODAY SHOW aired an acclaimed feature about Thea and Bald Girls Do Lunch.
Samantha L. Meyer, Attorney
Assistant Counsel, Defense Logistics Agency, US Department of DefenseSamantha L. Meyer is Assistant Counsel in the Defense Logistics Agency, US Department of Defense. She has served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Department of Law.
When she’s not working, Samantha’s favorite time is with her family and two Doodles, Archie and Bash. She loves to travel, especially to southeast Asia. You’ll also find Samantha in the kitchen, braiding and baking the best homemade breads, cakes and more!
Samantha is a graduate of the George Washington University in Washington, DC and earned her B.A. in Criminal Justice.
Her JD is from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Ohio.
Ronald D. Slusky, Patent Attorney
Patent Attorney & Principal, Office of Ronald D. SluskyRonald D. Slusky is a patent attorney in solo private practice in New York City. Ron learned the patent craft at Bell Labs, originally a unit of AT&T and later of Lucent Technologies.
In his 31-year career at Bell Labs, Ron had the opportunity to mentor dozens of patent attorneys both as a direct mentor and for 13 years as a managing attorney. He is the author of Invention Analysis and Claiming: A Patent Lawyer’s Guide (2d Edition 2012) published by the American Bar Association.
Ron holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University and a JD, cum laude, from Seton Hall University.