About Us

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Sheryl Martin survived Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) which led to implementing a research study which is presently a collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sheryl's academic background is in Psychology as well as work experience in the medical field.  Additionally, Sheryl has previous experience as a Research Assistant and is certified in Patient Advocacy by the Bocconi School of Management in Rome, Psychological First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, and Resiliency by the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology program. Sheryl has obtained the Canadian Womens Heart Health Education Certificate.  Sheryl is passionate about improving the quality of life and health outcomes of women who have experienced cardiac events.

sherylmartin@herheartsounds.org

Janet is a Consulting Associate and teaches part-time at Duke School of Nursing. She is an independent consultant and works with healthcare provider organizations to successfully implement, optimize, and manage electronic health records. Her clinical area of expertise is in cardiothoracic and cardiology nursing practice. Her various positions have included clinical nurse specialist, nursing management, and Director for Clinical Informatics. She is interested in engaging nurses and other clinicians in designing health solutions to solve clinical and operational problems, with a focus on improving the clinician’s efficiency while supporting and improving patient safety and quality. She earned her BSN from Clemson University, her MSN from the Medical University of South Carolina, her post master’s in informatics and her DNP from Duke University. Dr. Apter has contributed to the nursing profession for over 30 years, with10 years in healthcare information technology. 

Sylvia survived SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) in 2023 and benefitted from a Her Heart Sounds program. She is a strategic leadership coach and consultant in Silicon Valley. Sylvia has coached Executives in both small tech start-ups and Fortune 50 companies. Sylvia has a strong record of helping companies transform the culture to support business strategy and to help executives grow and lead. Sylvia has a B. A. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and is a graduate of CoachU. Since her SCAD, she has been exploring how she can help other executive women get their life back after a cardiac event.

Robin Gage is a Retired Business Owner & Program Director who has worked in the 501( c )3 nonprofit and education area for over twenty years. Working in policy, advocacy, promotion and mentorship are her forte as she has had the privilege of working alongside the executive teams of several nationally known organizations/companies. Robin specializes in administrative technology and is responsible for educating other peers/employees in using progressive systems and applications, including technology software, mass communication procedures and organizational apps.  Robin has been a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and to succeed. Robin is inspired daily by her second opportunity at life after her death-defying Heart Failure diagnosis and post-surgery prognosis of Super Responder Recovery. All of which has aligned her new goals to Give Back to those Organizations/Practitioners and past clinical trial participants who have and do work tirelessly to Ensure others Hearts Beat 100,000 times a day!
   As a Board Member for Boston Scientific, The Cleveland Clinic, Heart Failure Society of America, a Patient Advocate for Mended Hearts International; a DCM Genetic Study Participant, Texas Women’s Hospital Study Participant, Stanford University Heart Failure Study Participant and the American College of Cardiology, the CVCT, affiliate of the Global Heart Hub and now a Board Member of Her Heart Sounds organization,  her goal is to help patients with the best possible cardiac recovery outcome. These are the many current organizations that she works with in support of heart failure and practitioners. In her free time, Robin likes to swim, hike, paddle board, bike, and playing with her GrandMunchkin’s.