Donald “Ziggy” Douglas, executive director of the Hawaii Chapter of the National Hemophilia Foundation, passed away at his home on November 8th, 2020.
Ziggy joined NHF in November 2017. His zeal for advocacy and for enriching the lives of families with bleeding disorders – especially kids and teens – manifested in his redesign of the Hawaii Chapter Family Camp, where families could swim, have a campfire, and enjoy a true camp experience while learning critical self-care skills such as infusion of their medicine. He also established an advocacy program, holding the chapter’s first-ever legislative days, advocacy trainings, and established a teen leadership summit that focused on advocacy. He also created more educational programs for teens, teaching leadership and college-readiness skills.
“Ziggy accomplished so much for the Hawaii Chapter,” said Dawn Rotellini, chief operating officer of NHF. “Most importantly, making the chapter financially stable and sustainable. But his real impact will be on the lives of the people in Hawaii who knew him and loved him.”
Prior to joining NHF, Ziggy worked with people with bleeding disorders for more than 25 years. He began his career in specialty pharmacy as an IV pharmacy technician for Option Care, before focusing on bleeding disorders education and special programs, first at Factor Support Network Pharmacy, Inc., then at Soleo Health and Accredo. His boundless enthusiasm for the bleeding disorders community found outlets in his volunteer work, especially in his true calling of working with kids and teens. As a volunteer, he served on the youth planning committee for Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA), served on the planning committee and as a facilitator for teen programs at NOW (National Outreach von Willebrand) conferences, served as a speaker and planning committee member of NACCHO (North American Camp Conference for Hemophilia Organizations), and served on the board of the Hemophilia Council of California.
“Ziggy was a light in the life of everyone who knew him,” said Rotellini. “I hope we can all honor his legacy by being a little more like Ziggy – full of life, full of enthusiasm, and determined to make good things happen for others.”
Ziggy survived by his wife and two daughters. Donations for funeral expenses can be made here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ziggy-douglas-memorial-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=m_pd+share…
