our founders

Creative Heartbeats emerged from a profound understanding of the unique challenges faced by individuals with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).
Our founders recognized that beyond medical complexities lie extraordinary human potential waiting to be unleashed.

Max D'Ambrosio

Max, founder of Creative Heartbeat, brings a unique perspective shaped by his personal journey as someone born with a congenital heart disease. Overcoming this challenge has instilled in Max a deep appreciation for resilience, connection, and storytelling.
With a proven track record as Head of Customer Experience, Digital Community, and Content Production Strategist with some of the top Silicon Valley organizations he brings the expertise of a career in the tech industry to the service of Creative Heartbeats. He excels at building engaged teams and delivering impactful results.
His human-centric leadership style and passion for storytelling empower teams to create experiences that resonate deeply with audiences. Max is dedicated to fostering collaboration, driving innovation, and crafting lasting impressions.

Reach out to him on LinkedIn

Roberto De Giorgio

Roberto is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. His career started in 2015, shortly after receiving a Master Degree from Argosy University. He has dedicated his career to helping families and individuals living with an addiction, as well as providing strong advocacy to victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence, with trauma focused treatment.
He currently supervises the Davis County Utah Receiving Center a short term detox/mental health crisis stabilization unit. Roberto has served on numerous Boards, including: Utah Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and currently serves on the Utah Department of Professional Licensing Behavioral Health Board.
His experience dealing with trauma and advocacy brings a mental health clinical dimension to Creative Heartbeats. When not working or volunteering, he can be found enjoying a soccer game on TV, and reading.

Cybèle D’Ambrosio

Cybèle is an accomplished musician and writer who appreciates the value of creative expression, but who also knows how scary it can be to try something new. Cybèle holds advanced degrees in violin performance and pedagogy and has enjoyed a long career as an educator nurturing the creative potential of others.
She believes in helping students discover their own personal and unique voice - not just in music - but in life. Recently, Cybèle began publishing some stories from her life online which took her decidedly outside of her comfort zone, but she was able to do it because she was surrounded by people who believed in her.
As a founding member of Creative Heartbeats, Cybèle is dedicated to fostering a similarly safe and inclusive space where individuals affected by Congenital Heart Disease can explore their potential and grow through creative projects.

THE ADVISORY BOARD

Mattia Arnaù

A product innovator and design director with two decades of experience, Mattia brings deep design expertise to Creative Heartbeats' Creativity pillar. From founding his own agency to directing design at BEE, where he collaborated with Creative Heartbeats founder Max, he led a global community of 30+ designers.Today, Mattia mentors emerging talent in product design, UI/UX, and AI powered content generation. His belief that design transforms possibility drives his commitment to helping young designers build industry skills and professional pathways that open doors to opportunity.

 

Creativity

Passion-driven projects and digital skills acquisition.

Sal Velluto

A legendary illustrator whose 30 year career spans Marvel, DC, Valiant, and independent publishers bringing iconic characters to life across comics, animation, advertising, games, and design, Sal offers deep industry mentorship to Creative Heartbeats. His design concepts for Black Panther influenced the 2018 Oscar winning film; his work has translated to blockbuster films and streaming series including Bloodshot, Moon Knight, and The Phantom.As a lifetime friend of founder Max, Sal brings proven creative excellence and genuine commitment to opening professional pathways for emerging creators.

 

Lisa Fricke

An event management and community operations strategist, Lisa brings over a decade of industry expertise to Creative Heartbeats' Community Belonging pillar. Having worked alongside Max at Beefree, Lisa understands Creative Heartbeats' mission from the inside and brings genuine passion for building spaces where CHD individuals connect authentically with peers and mentors. Her volunteer work on the CEM Commission Committee reflects her commitment to evolving industry standards through accessibility and growth. Through strategic community design and collaborative leadership, Lisa helps create the belonging and professional pathways that transform Creative Heartbeats from mission into lived experience.

Network

Building a community that fosters inclusion and growth.

Tyrah S. West

A marketing and adult learning professional with over 20 years of strategic expertise, Tyrah strengthens Creative Heartbeats' Community and Belonging pillar. Her close family ties to the CHD community fuel her passion for this work. A lifelong musician and vocalist, Tyrah understands the transformative power of creative expression. She partners with corporate and healthcare organizations to develop accessible educational resources that celebrate our creative community. Through her advisory work, she helps shape the materials and connections that foster belonging and resilience.

 

Jaleh Niazi

A pediatrician with twenty years serving underserved communities, Jaleh brings clinical credibility to Creative Heartbeats' Advocacy pillar. Witnessing systemic barriers at Children's Hospital Oakland inspired her to found New Child Fundamentals. Her longstanding friendship with cofounder Cybele reflects shared esteem for the strength and creativity of the CHD community. Through healthcare partnerships and evidence based advocacy strategy, Jaleh helps build trusted relationships with healthcare systems while centering CHD agency and voice.

Advocacy

Addressing challenges and empowering self-advocacy.

Martina D'Ambrosio

A pre-licensed therapist and narrative therapy specialist, Martina brings clinical expertise to Creative Heartbeats’ Advocacy Healthcare Systems advisory domain. With training in couples and family therapy from Seattle University, she supports youth and families facing anxiety, self esteem challenges, and chronic illness through strength based approaches. Informed by her own family’s CHD journey, Martina helps individuals re-author their stories and find the good already within themselves. Her work empowers CHD community members to navigate systems with confidence and clarity.

 

Partners and in-kind donors

Canva

Adobe

Google

Microsoft

Our donors 

Wayne & Karen DeVincent - Mary McMurtrey

Mark & Valerie Smith - Tristanne Talarico

Cookie Segelstein - James Greening

Lawrence Huang - Jennifer Ellis

Beth Hamilton - Lawrence Stevenson

Emily Flores - Brian Reschke

Ondine Young - Brooke Covington

Pierluigi Alfieri - Eric Tuan

Dean Wheeler - Jacob & Alison Lefler

Merav Singer - Kathleen Marie Balfe

Joan Balter - Van Gessel

Amber Troutman

Massimo Arrigoni - Lylia Guion

Kellianne Benson - Sal Velluto

Vito D'Ambrosio - Maile Urbancic

Chris Stevenson - Emily Stewart

David Bradford - Samuel Pimentel

Francesca Rizzardi - Aubrey Barrett

Annalisa Tanzarella - Marietta Bratta-Gardner

Fabio Ambrosio - Rita and Phil Fanella

Brent & Annette Nordgren - Karen Rosenbaum

Meilin Lu - Jolynn Stevenson

Dave and Julene Stevenson - Mark Stevenson

Erika Miranda

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