2026 Judges
Daniel DeFabio
Daniel DeFabio is a rare disease parent, filmmaker, and advocate recognized for helping rare disease families share the stories of their lived experiences. A former Director of Community Engagement and Education at Global Genes, he created the RAREly Told Stories program, guiding families in producing short documentaries about their journeys. Daniel has directed and produced numerous award-winning films highlighting conditions including Menkes syndrome, SYNGAP1, STXBP1, PACS1, and Hao-Fountain syndrome, and his work has been featured by organizations such as PBS, American Cinematographer, and Global Genes. He is also the founder of the Ballston Spa Film Festival and has written for publications including Rare Revolution Magazine, The Mighty, Courageous Parents Network, and Positively Rare.
Clare Dorfman
Clare was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and raised in a large, lively family in the Boston area, where diverse perspectives and open dialogue were part of daily life. She earned her M.Ed. in Deaf-Blind Education from Boston College in 1970 and began her career teaching in Vermont. Her early work with children helped shape her deep sense of empathy, patience, and adaptability.
Clare spent over 40 years in California, working in both education and the hospitality industry in Napa and Sonoma Valleys, while also raising her child. She later returned to the East Coast in 2013, where she continued her career as an event coordinator in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia.
Creativity has always been a throughline in Clare’s life. While living in Sonoma, she owned a small art gallery to support local artists and authors. That experience expanded her appreciation for the creative process and the emotional impact of art on both the creator and the viewer. As a second-year judge with Rare Artist, Clare remains passionate about the role of art in storytelling and continues to find inspiration in the creative spirit of others.
DaNice D. Marshall
DaNice D Marshall is a born writer, who grew up in Boston, MA. In 2016, she was diagnosed with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis, a rare, incurable disease that narrows tiny blood vessels and starves the very organs that are meant to sustain life. It left her with permanent lung damage, hearing loss, and unable to walk without a cane. No longer able to write, DaNice started painting abstracts, as she puts it “to watch the paint dry”. Eventually, her work evolved to the Narrative Art that she makes today.
DaNice is a 2025 Rare Artist Awardee and a patient advocate, who calls herself an “artivist”, as she uses art to foster empathy and bring awareness to the Rare Disease and disability community. In this way, she paints the stories that she can no longer write.
Kaitlin Maud
Kaitlin Maud, ATR-P, LPC Associate, is a mixed media artist, art therapist, and founder of Maud and Moon, a creative therapy studio in Austin, Texas. In her clinical work, Kaitlin supports adults navigating trauma, chronic illness, disability and neurodivergence through creative expression. She brings that same belief in art as advocacy to her involvement in the rare disease community.
Kaitlin serves on the Rare Disease Advisory Board for the counseling nonprofit Give an Hour and works as a peer support consultant for the Bloom Syndrome Association, supporting families and individuals navigating rare diagnoses. She also holds lived experience as someone with Narcolepsy Type 2, which informs both her clinical perspective and her deep respect for the ways art can express what words alone cannot.
Kaitlin is honored to serve as a Rare Artist judge and looks forward to celebrating the creativity and resilience of this year’s artists.
Brett McReynolds
Brett McReynolds, a second-year Rare Artist judge, is a government affairs professional with wide-ranging experience in rare disease, health policy, and alliance development in the life sciences sector. His work bridges biopharmaceutical innovation and advocacy, with a focus on patient-focused policy reform, coalition building, and access to treatment.
Brett most recently led rare disease alliance development at Amgen, where he helped integrate rare disease policy priorities following the acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. He has also held senior roles the Autoimmune Association and the Eldercare Workforce Alliance, where he developed and executed legislative and regulatory strategies to support access to care for those living with autoimmune disease and older adults.
As Vice President at Penn Quarter Partners, Brett advises life sciences companies, coalitions, and key stakeholders on navigating complex policy environments and driving meaningful, patient-centered change.
Lindsay Zehren
Lindsay Zehren is the founder and owner of Copper Z Creative Wellness, a creative arts therapy and wellness practice located in Central Indiana that empowers everyone, regardless of where they are on their journey, to create, express, connect, belong, and thrive. She is passionate about creating safe and accessible spaces where people can get creative for their health and wellness.
Lindsay earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Theater from Saint Mary of the Woods College and her Equivalency Degree in Music Therapy from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Lindsay has nearly 20 years of combined experience in music education and music therapy across various settings, including clinical, family, academic, mental health, medical, and community health and wellness. Lindsay has completed advanced trainings in Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT), Counseling Skills, Trauma-Informed Care, Yoga (RYT-200), Healing Touch, and Reiki.
She is thrilled to be more involved with the Rare Artist competition this year and is excited to see all of the unique ways that people get creative for their own health and wellness!
Miriam Zimms
Miriam, a third-year Rare Artist judge, came to art in 2010 through the Arts in Medicine Studio at Moffitt Cancer Center. As Miriam battled with two separate rare cancers, she used her cancer center’s studio to establish a daily healing-arts practice.
Miriam uses lines, patterns, and colors that transfer a story of pain, resilience, and hope into every stroke, with each unique piece telling a symbolic story, inviting the viewer to connect to their own experiences. A Brute Artiste (Raw Artist) from health and loss crises. Miriam is an artist advocate and collaborator in her community, nationally, and globally.
Miriam is a former Board Member of the National Organization for Arts in Health, a Board Member with Arts4All Florida as an artist with a disability, a Certified Zentangle Teacher, and an Expressive Arts Facilitator. Miriam is passionate about advocating for Arts Wellness in public health and making the arts accessible for all.
Miriam was also integral in the creation of the “Accessibility Creativity: Tools and Techniques for Rare Artists” webinar and resource guide.
