PRESIDENT

Harriet holds a B.S. degree from the University of Arizona where she completed her thesis, a time and motion study, during a Teaching Fellowship in the Graduate School.  Awarded membership in Phi Kappa Phi scholastic honorary, she continued her studies at the Graduate School of Wayne State University.  She retired from the Texas Department of Health in 1986 where she had been employed as a Medical Social Worker nearly 17 years. 

This mother of 5, grandmother of 14 and great-grandmother of 2, is very active in Lyme disease advocacy, writing articles and speaking to civic groups.  Though she had a bulls-eye rash as a small child and lifelong debilitating symptoms, her Lyme disease remained undiagnosed and untreated for over 75 years! Since receiving proper treatment, she now enjoys kayaking on the Guadalupe River with her family. 

VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION/OUTREACH

Susan Williams became interested in Lyme disease after she and members of her family contracted the illness and encountered incredible difficulty in the medical community when they tried to obtain proper diagnosis and treatment.   She currently serves as Developmental Director of The National Lyme Disease Memorial Park Project. 

Utilizing her B.S. degree in Community Health Education, she is a frequent contributor to the Public Health Alert, an integrative health publication on chronic illnesses.  She lives in Kyle, TX with her husband and four children.

TREASURER

David earned B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M. His focus is on aerodynamics and performance of rotary-wing aircraft, and he has worked in broad areas ranging from basic research though company formation and management. He is published internationally, including invited papers, and also served on the oversight NASA Subcommittee on Aerodynamics. Community service includes holding elected office in a North American charity for funding children’s hospitals. He also performed with several music ensembles which played for civic events, social groups and church services until prohibited by the progression of undiagnosed Lyme disease. Plagued by recurring and remitting health issues for years, he turned his own research skills to the dilemma resulting in clinical diagnosis supported by test in 2005 of Lyme and co-infections. These most likely occurred in the mid-1950s as a young child at the family’s rural home site in coastal Texas.  David’s experience has caused him to take a strong position for education of the public and medical community about Lyme disease in Texas and to advocate for patient access to progressive standards of diagnostic and treatment care.

SECRETARY

Patricia Ricks has a B.A. from Rice University, Houston, with a masters degree from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, AZ. Formerly in international commercial banking in Chicago, she is the published author of thirteen books and is the owner/publisher of Pemberley Press, a small publishing company founded in 2001. She served on the board of the Texas Lyme Coalition and testified at hearings held by the Texas Senate Committee on Administration to investigate issues related to tick-borne diseases in Texas. Along with other members of the TLC, she formed the Texas Lyme Disease Association and obtained its 501(c)(3) status to affiliate with the national LDA. She also owns and moderates an online support and education group, txlyme@yahoogroups.