Meetings are typically held every 3rd Tuesday at 5 pm CST via Zoom. Education and group discussions are a part of each meeting.​

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- January 16: Special Guest Medical Advisor Dr. Lesley Saketkoo

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- February 20: Special Guest Greg Cohen.  Greg is an athletic trainer and distance runner, who also suffers from scleroderma. In 2019, Greg set out on an incredible mission to run 4 marathons in 1 year, in an effort to raise awareness and in support of the scleroderma community. His incredible journey was documented in the film Run Greg Run, which can be found on YouTube or Prime Video. You don't have to be a marathon runner to appreciate the grit and determination that it took to reach his goals. Greg will share his journey, his struggles, and his triumphs in hopes to inspire anyone, regardless of your fitness goals or abilities.

 

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- March 19: Special Guest Erin Raber, MA, MT-BC. Music Therapy for Wellness. This presentation explores ways to use your voice as an instrument of healing through music therapy and sound healing techniques. Experience how music and sound can help those navigating scleroderma with pain management, improve breathing/lung capacity and throat irritation, reduce stress and anxiety, increase energy and mental clarity, improve mood, decrease feelings of isolation, and promote emotional transformation and release. Experiential will include breathwork, vocal meditation, toning, and singing. Some of the musical activities may present challenges for Scleroderma patients who experience lung and throat issues, however, modifications can be made in those cases. No prior musical or vocal training is necessary to engage in music therapy.

 

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- April 16: Special Guest Henrik Pettersson, Physiotherapist, PhD, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Petterson will discuss physical activity and exercise in scleroderma. He will share the results of his research and also his perspective as a clinician. 

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- July 16: Special Guest Bethany Doerfler, MS, RD, LDN is a registered dietitian from the division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Northwestern Medicine. Her work focuses on providing wellness-based medical nutrition therapy for digestive disorders and allergic bowel diseases. She is the first dietitian to be fully integrated into a gastroenterology division for both research and patient care. Attendees of her talk can expect to receive invaluable insights into the role of nutrition in managing scleroderma, offering a unique opportunity to optimize their dietary choices and improve scleroderma symptoms. 

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- August 20: Guest and Topic TBD

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- September 17: Special Guest Woody Siddall. Woody has been living with scleroderma for many years, and his journey has been profoundly shaped by his recent double lung transplant as well as his passion for cycling. Join us as he shares his inspiring story of resilience and perseverance.

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​- October 15: Guest and Topic TBD. 

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- November 19: Special Guest Malin Regardt. She has worked as an occupational therapist for 26 years and researcher for 10 years at Karolinska university hospital in Stockholm Sweden. Her research focuses on people with myositis and currently systemic sclerosis. Furthermore, she focuses on everyday activities including work, hand function, fatigue, and quality of life with a specific interest in patient-reported outcome measures. As an occupational therapist in the clinic, she meets people with all different kinds of rheumatic diseases including systemic sclerosis. She discusses keeping the energy levels up to continue with one's daily activities as it is common for patients to require more energy than expected, leading to a lack of rest and a feeling of dissatisfaction. Her presentation will cover pacing or energy-preserving techniques to facilitate a meaningful day. Having a meaningful day every day is not easily done, but proper practice and being mindful can greatly contribute to your quality of life. Please note, this meeting has a time change to 12:00 pm CST.