Senior Leadership

Kenneth Mendez became CEO and President of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) in early 2018. He came to AAFA from AdvaMed, the world’s largest medical technology association, where he served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer for 12 years.

Mendez’s career has bridged the corporate and non-profit sectors. Early in his career, he worked on Wall Street in investment banking and then in business development at The Walt Disney Company. His career focus evolved to the non-profit sector based on a connection to causes about which he is passionate. Mendez, an avid fly fisherman, left Walt Disney to become the Chief Operating Officer of the nonprofit, Trout Unlimited, America’s largest cold-water fisheries conservation organization. Based on his success at Trout Unlimited, he was recruited by AdvaMed to develop and launch new business initiatives, manage business operations and lead strategic planning. He has built his career in the senior leadership of nonprofits by growing the reach of these organizations, a track record he brings to AAFA.

Since joining AAFA, he has led the organization in establishing a new multi-year strategic plan that emphasizes dramatically reducing the impact of asthma and allergies on the underserved and tripling the size of AAFA’s online asthma community. The new strategic plan’s vision is for AAFA to be recognized as the most trusted ally serving the asthma and allergy community.

Mendez has quickly become a thought leader in the asthma and allergy community. He served as an External Reviewer for the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s (ICER) asthma assessment. In that role, he informed ICER on how to better represent the patient voice. In 2019, Mendez served as a patient advocacy expert for ICER’s review on emerging peanut allergy therapies.

Under Mendez’ guidance, several patient advocacy organizations have joined together to advocate on issues important to people with food allergies – including sesame allergy. He also leads communications with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on ongoing access barriers to epinephrine auto-injectors.

He is quoted in outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and NBC Nightly News, among others. Mendez has an MBA in marketing from Columbia Business School and a B.A. in American History and American Art from Harvard College. Mendez also has a personal stake in AAFA’s mission as he and two of his children manage asthma and allergies.

Melanie Carver is a nationally recognized leader in patient advocacy, health equity, and community-centered health. As Chief Mission Officer of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), she oversees the organization’s mission strategy, community services, marketing and communications, digital strategy, and education programs — driving measurable impact for the over 106 million people in the United States living with asthma and allergic disease. 

Carver’s journey with AAFA began in 2005 as a community volunteer, a foundation that continues to shape her deeply patient-centered approach. Since stepping into executive leadership, she has quadrupled AAFA’s online and media reach, grown the organization’s social media presence to more than 350,000 followers, and expanded its online support community to over 60,000 members. She has been featured in national outlets including the Washington Post, Newsweek, USA Today, Consumer Reports, and Parade, among others. 

A published researcher and author, Carver has contributed to the body of knowledge on asthma, allergic rhinitis, food allergy, COVID-19, and environmental and climate health. She is co-author of AAFA’s landmark Asthma Disparities in America report and provided strategic leadership for the organization’s Health Equity Advancement and Leadership (HEAL) program — reflecting her deep commitment to health literacy and equitable access to care. 

Carver serves as Principal Investigator for two five-year cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The first produced ASTHMA Care for Adults, a free digital intervention for medically underserved populations available at aafa.org/asthmacare. The second, Community Health Interventions to Advance Self-Management of Asthma (CHI-ASMA), continues to advance community-based approaches to asthma management. 

Her expertise spans patient-centered communications, data strategy, digital content marketing, social media, and coalition building. Under her leadership, AAFA has expanded its work in indoor and outdoor environmental health, climate resilience, and the asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Program. She has also grown AAFA’s disaster response capabilities and co-founded the Breathe 4 Baby program in partnership with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). 

Carver’s collaborative leadership is reflected in her broad professional affiliations over her career, including serving as a member or advisor the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition, the Climate & Respiratory Health Workgroup for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, the National Health Council’s AI Workgroup, and multiple task forces addressing anaphylaxis and food allergy — including the GA2LEN network and the AAAAI/ACAAI Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters for Food Allergy.  

A staunch advocate for the communities she serves, Carver lives near Seattle, Washington, with her family — who share firsthand experience managing asthma, eczema, seasonal allergies, eosinophilic esophagitis, and multiple food allergies. 

Sanaz Eftekhari became the Chief of Business Development and Vice President of Research in 2022. Previously, she was the Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Research at AAFA. In her current role, Ms. Eftekhari leads tactical and strategic conversations with business partners and stakeholders across multiple industries, including patient advocacy organizations, pharmaceutical companies, medical societies, research firms and government agencies.

During her tenure at AAFA, Sanaz has served in several roles in business development and has gained experience in patient-centered research, patient advocacy, marketing, communications and business development.

She works closely with project teams – both within AAFA and with other organizations – to collect patient insights, develop programs and increase awareness of asthma and atopic diseases through a variety of social and communications channels.

Working with AAFA’s community outreach staff, she is overseeing the BASIC program, which matches researchers with patient advisors to encourage successful patient-centered research. She also oversees AAFA’s partnership with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) on studies that help patients make informed health care decisions, such as the AFFORD Study.

AAFA has partnered with other organizations to present patient perspectives on the needs for atopic dermatitis treatments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Eftekhari has been instrumental in this effort. The “More Than Skin Deep” patient-focused drug development (PFDD) initiative is the first of its kind for atopic dermatitis.

Eftekhari has also co-authored several of AAFA’s key research reports, such as My Life With Food Allergy, My Life With Asthma and Atopic Dermatitis in America Summary Report. Research from these reports is shared with researchers, medical experts and policy makers to emphasize patient needs for treatment options, advocacy and support.

In a greater effort to connect patients with vital clinical trials, she has been a key player in the development of AAFA’s upcoming clinical trial database. The database will help people with asthma and allergies easily find clinical trials best suited for them.

She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP) – a global organization serving patient groups for asthma, allergy, atopic dermatitis and related conditions. She also served as Secretary on the Board of Directors for Neighbor to Nation from 2017-2018. Eftekhari earned her B.A. in Political Science and Government from the George Washington University. She loves to travel and has visited more than 57 countries.

Jenna Riemenschneider is the Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). She leads AAFA’s advocacy and policy efforts to advance protections and improve quality of life for people with asthma and allergies. Her work focuses on ensuring access to affordable health care and medications, promoting clean air policies, supporting food allergy safety measures, and advocating for healthier indoor environments in schools, homes, and workplaces.

Since joining AAFA in 2018, she has played a key role in the passage of critical state and federal laws, including Laura’s Law, Elijah’s Law, the School-Based Allergies and Asthma Management Program Act, and the FASTER Act.

Riemenschneider directs AAFA’s engagement on climate and health policy, working to advance clean air standards and promote climate resiliency for people with respiratory conditions. She also leads AAFA’s efforts to improve indoor air quality in schools and other buildings, collaborating with policymakers and stakeholders to advocate for stronger standards and funding for healthier learning environments.

Through strategic advocacy and grassroots mobilization, Riemenschneider helps amplify the voices of people affected by asthma and allergies, ensuring that policies at the federal, state, and local levels prioritize their needs. Her work supports AAFA’s mission to improve the quality of life for people with asthma, allergies, and related conditions and to promote health equity for all.

Riemenschneider holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Development from HEC Paris and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a steering committee member of the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition and a national advisor to the Healthy Schools Network.