President
Thuy Layhew has a passion to help others and has been serving the community in various roles since she was in college.
She was born in Vietnam and her family was given a new life in the United States in 1975. Even though her family was very poor, she watched her parents help the even less fortunate. This inspires her to give to others.
Thuy discovered NFF in 2014 and started using her technical and project management skills to assist the organization with its fundraising events. She officially joined the Board in 2016 as Secretary but wears many hats ranging from project planning to contract negotiations which she drew from her 15 years of experience at Southwest Airlines.
While Thuy has done a variety of service work, she feels most rewarded when she sees NFF service making a big impact on its clients. “It is gratifying to see our clients help and inspire each other. Like our staff and volunteers, the clients are the heroes of NFF.” She feels blessed to witness the increase in demand for the services NFF provides to the special needs of its clients by a one of a kind facility in North Texas.
Treasurer
Connie Stauffer, born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. At the age of 16, her first full time job was with a company in Fort Worth where all employees were physically handicapped; some spinal cord injury, some polio, some diseased but nevertheless, all afflicted in one form or another. Connie worked side by side one of the owners of the company doing everything he needed done as all he could do was move his head from side to side. After 7 years, Connie was handling all office procedures including bookkeeping for the company as well as tending to her employer’s personal financial needs. She witnessed just about every personal problem someone with a disability could endure and worked with each of her co-workers to overcome whatever the issue was.
After she left their employ in September 1977, she remained in constant contact with them and was soon serving them in another way; providing transportation to the disabled through her employment at Lift Aids of Texas, Inc. and access to their homes and schools through Custom Home Elevator Co., Inc. She became co-owner in 1985 and still works daily to enrich the lives of people with disabilities.
As a supporter of NFF for many years, Connie’s motivation is to ensure NFF will forever be for the care and support of all persons with disabilities to always feel welcomed and cared for. Her purpose is to ensure NFF continues to enrich the lives of all people living with a disability and let them know they are not alone and will always be at home at NFF.
Secretary
Angie Lankford is a Physical Therapist that has lived in Fort Worth with her family for the last 10 years. She is thankful to have the opportunity to introduce Neuro Fitness Foundation to her clients as often as possible. She sees the benefits to their physical and emotional health when they attend regularly, and engage with others that may have experienced a similar significant life change that neuro insults bring.
After traveling worldwide as a software consultant for many years, she changed her career to become a Physical Therapist. This change came about when she realized she had a passion for improving human performance naturally, served briefly as an EMT and volunteer firefighter in Virginia, and reflected on her experience with her family’s medical issues as she grew up. She saw that people are much more fun to work with than computers. Physical Therapy is a great way to assist people on the road to healing inside and out. She is honored and inspired by the people she works with daily as a Physical Therapist with Rehab Without Walls. In addition to being a therapist she enjoys being with family and athletic physical challenges. She also serves as a council member for St. Paul/Summit Lutheran Church which works to support our community and to give attention to those that may be “overlooked and forgotten.”
Her goal is to raise awareness of Neuro Fitness Foundation and the opportunities it provides for those affected by neurological issues. Her philosophy is “you versus you, everyday!” Neuro Fitness Foundations provides the opportunity to grow, improve, and create relationships with others that inspire!
Board Member
Stephanie Silveira was born in the Northeast but identifies as a true Texas transplant. Stephanie had the opportunity to immerse herself during her PhD training at the University of Houston in health promotion research for persons with disabilities. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the UAB/Lakeshore Research Collaborative where she has grown her passion and investment in helping improve quality of life and community participation for persons with disabilities using lifestyle therapies like exercise and diet.
Stephanie joined the University of North Texas as an Assistant Professor in Exercise Psychology in Spring of 2021 and has been actively involved with NFF since returning to Texas. She has a strong drive to support community resources like NFF that are able to directly impact community members on a daily basis. She hopes in her role as board member to continue to build a bridge between cutting edge research and community resources that can support the amazing community at NFF.
