Dara Rivera joined the Foundation in 2017 as the director of clinical research awards. Dara has over 10 years of clinical research and grants management experience from being a science officer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs and research associate for the Neutrophil Monitoring Lab supporting NIAID prior to joining the Foundation. Dara is committed to helping find a cure for people with CF, including her two children, Maximilian and Penelope, and actively fundraises for the Maryland Chapter. She is also a member of the Family Advisory Board at the Johns Hopkins CF Care Center where her children receive their care. Dara lives in Frederick, Md., and, in her spare time, she enjoys watching her daughter dance and son act in plays, hiking, and being outdoors with her husband, two children, and her two rescue dogs.