Callie Chiroff
Callie is the President and Founder of Project Bubaloo. Losing her son, Theo, to congenital heart disease and other complications was shattering. Creating Project Bubaloo and giving back to the CHD community has helped her find peace and passion for a world she never knew existed. Callie strongly believes that national community awareness and research is the key to advancing CHD care. Her dream is to bring Project Bubaloo to a national platform.
Callie is a part time nurse practitioner and full-time nursing professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She enjoys traveling, reading, karaoke, playing team trivia and spending time with her goofy husband Nick, smiley daughter Sloane, friends, family, and English Bulldog Wallace.
Katherine Jansen
Katherine is the Vice President and CFO of Project Bubaloo, but the title she cherishes most is Aunt and Godmother to Theo James. She is motivated to make a difference in the world of congenital heart disease in Theo’s honor alongside her sister. She believes that funding CHD research is where the biggest impact can be made.
Katherine has worked as a Pediatric Physical Therapist and currently works at Carroll University in the Graduate DPT program. She is also working on launching her own brand, cozy-hearted, in Fall of 2023 and a % of proceeds will be donated to Project Bubaloo. Katherine enjoys meditating, snuggling her teddybear dog TJ, and spending quality time with her husband and daughter Ada.
Brad Jansen
Brad Jansen serves as secretary and legal counsel for Project Bubaloo. He practices law in Jackson, WI and in his spare time enjoys playing golf, following the Milwaukee Brewers, and hanging out with his family. His most honorable title is being a Dad to his Princess Ada. He has proudly supported his wife and sister-in-law on their endeavors to make a change in the world of CHD.
Dr. Becky Bertrandt
Dr. Becky Bertrandt has been an attending physician in the cardiac ICU at Children’s Wisconsin for the last 10 years, and serves as Project Bubaloo's medical advisor. She received her medical degree from UW-Madison, and her training for pediatrics, critical care, and cardiac critical care in Minneapolis, MN, Milwaukee, WI, and Toronto, Ontario. Her scholarly work involves improving quality of care using clinical databases. When Dr. Bertrandt is not in the hospital, you are likely to find her spending time with her family, enjoying something fitness-related, or (loudly) cheering on a local sports team.
Sam Pangborn
Sam is the Director of Merchandise and Apparel. After a tenacious and extraordinary six-month battle with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), Sam lost her son Weston at 6 months old in January 2022. Weston’s short but mighty life changed Sam in ways she never knew were possible – living with passion, purpose, and positivity. She was surrounded by inspiration and passion and knew she had to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by CHD. Sam believes that part of Weston’s impact will be to continue to inspire others to learn, conduct research, and raise awareness for children and families within the CHD world.
Sam is currently the Director of Communications and Administration for a local youth sports club, MVP, and has been a practicing outpatient orthopedic Physical Therapist for Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin. She enjoys traveling, playing competitive games, attending sporting events, being involved in youth athletics, and spending time with her family, friends, and her lovable chocolate lab Remy.
Jenea Koehnke-Waraxa
Jenea Koehnke-Waraxa is our Director of Community Engagement. Jenea’s son Jackson was born with a coarctation of his aorta, Scimitar Syndrome, atrial septal defect as well as a genetic variant that is linked to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy later in life. He inherited this gene from his father and shares it with his youngest sibling as well. After Jackson's first surgery Jenea was introduced to the CHD community at the first annual Hops for Hearts benefit. It was there that she felt the power and support of the CHD community and found her passion for supporting the fight against CHD.
Jenea works as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Working in an academic hospital has allowed her to see firsthand the results of new innovative research and its positive impact on patient outcomes.
In her spare time you will find her camping with her husband Matt, 3 children and her fur baby Chewy Butt.
“There are so many amazing minds out there trying to find ways to fight CHD and I want to help support them. They say if you need to get something done just ask a group of moms. I say ask a group of heart moms.”
Rachel Dilling
Rachel Dilling is our Content Manager. Rachel was introduced to the world of CHD when her best friend Callie had Theo James in 2018. Being a part of Theo’s life had a big impact and she is honored to be working alongside so many amazing people impacted by CHD to try and make a difference.
Rachel works as a Communications Director for a nonprofit in Iowa and has over 15 years of experience in nonprofit communications. Rachel and her husband have three children and in her free time, you’ll find her exploring new places, hiking, practicing photography, and finding great restaurants.