Vanessa Wojtala is the founder of the Liver Awareness Foundation (LAF). Her journey into liver health advocacy began dramatically in 2022 when she faced catastrophic liver failure while thousands of miles from home. Determined to understand her prognosis, Vanessa immersed herself in studying liver function, diseases, and lifestyle medicine. As a survivor of liver failure, alcohol-related hepatitis, and stage 4 cirrhosis, her personal experience has fueled her unwavering commitment to raising awareness about liver health.

With a diverse background in both nonprofit and for-profit sectors—including multimedia marketing, journalism, sports marketing, advertising, and fundraising—Vanessa is passionate about advancing LAF’s mission. Her previous work in public service announcements and marketing campaigns has enhanced her advocacy skills and amplified her capacity to lead this initiative. This background has provided her with valuable insights into effectively supporting a nonprofit organization, positioning LAF to make a real difference.

At LAF, Vanessa is focused on establishing a strong foundation to support the organization’s initiatives. This includes developing educational programs, collaborating with leading medical professionals, and fostering community engagement. She believes in the power of peer support and aims to create platforms where individuals can share their experiences and learn from one another.

Vanessa is dedicated to alerting young people about potential liver health risks and driving LAF’s mission forward. Living an alcohol-free (including wine) life, she is a strong advocate for those affected by ALD, and works to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health challenges that contribute to harmful drinking habits and unhealthy lifestyles, encouraging mindful lifestyle choices, early detection, and informed, positive decisions.

Looking ahead, Vanessa envisions LAF as a pivotal resource in the community, dedicated to educating young people about liver health risks and prevention strategies. She embodies LAF’s core message: Mind Your Liver. It Needs You.™

Elizabeth (Liz) Lee is a nurse practitioner at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, UHN, with over 16 years of experience in chronic liver disease management, particularly cirrhosis and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD).

She is involved in quality improvement initiatives, research projects, and is an active member of the AASLD and CASL ALD SIG committees. Liz also supports patient-led initiatives, including the Chinese Hepatitis B Support Group, and promotes clinical education for hepatology nurses. She is a Hub Member for ECHO Ontario Liver, past president of the Canadian Association of Hepatology Nurses (CAHN), an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto, and chairs the Colina Yim Hepatology Update.

Dr. Arab is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. Trained at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Chile and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

Dr. Arab is a Gastroenterology and Hepatology specialist, Transplant Hepatologist, and Clinical Researcher with an interest in clinical/translational research and epidemiology in alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). He has published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers, co-authored several book chapters, and delivered lectures on liver-related topics at national and international meetings. He has also participated in the generation of clinical practice guidelines for alcohol-related liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and hepatorenal syndrome and regularly serves as an expert reviewer of research grants and scientific research abstracts for multiple societies, funding agencies, and international peer-reviewed journals. He is also a Scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute.

He is an Associate Editor for Hepatology (flagship American Association for the study of Liver Diseases [AASLD] journal). Additionally, he is spearheading international collaboration groups aiming to study alcohol-associated liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (AH-LATIN, STELLA, and Global AlcHep BigData Network). Dr. Arab is a member of the AASLD Global Outreach and Engagement Committee. He is currently the Chair of the Special Interest Group on alcohol-associated liver disease of the AASLD. Additionally, he is the Chair of the Education & Scholarship Committee of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

Dr. Flemming is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University with clinical training in gastroenterology, hepatology and liver transplantation. After completing her Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at Queen’s University, she completed two years of advanced hepatology and a Master’s in Clinical Research at the University of California San Francisco.

In her clinical practice she manages a wide variety of patients with chronic liver disease from early disease stages to decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplant. She is a clinician scientist who leads a research program which leverages Ontario administrative data housed at ICES to evaluate the epidemiology and outcomes of patients with cirrhosis and recently appointed as the ICES-Queen’s Site Director. Her research has been supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program.

In addition, Dr. Flemming is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, serves as the Chair for the Guidelines Committee of the Canadian Association for the Study of Liver Disease (CASL), and is a member of the CASL Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee, AASLD Women’s Initiatives Committee, and the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.